Therapy Basics

You might be asking what narrative therapy is, or what sex therapy is, or what narrative sex therapy is. So glad you asked. Here is a brief rundown of how I view therapy.

I work with individuals 18+ and couples of all structures.

A person holding an open book outdoors with a foggy, forested mountain landscape in the background.

Narrative Therapy

We all have a story to tell. These stories are based on our experiences. Be it our childhood, what our parents, teachers, siblings, and friends taught us, or how we used our imagination to make us feel brave, scared, confident, and ashamed. What we learned and were exposed to as we grew into adults. How our relationships form an internal understanding of how the world sees us. Taking in what society expects of us. How we built our drives and inhibitions. All of these data points are woven together to construct our internal narrative of who we are, how we understand our environment, and how we see the future.

Though these narratives are authentic in their own right, they do not necessarily avoid conflicting information, plot holes, or narrow viewpoints. These shortcomings cause narrative frictions that can elicit emotional responses or keep us in unhealthy thought or behavioral patterns. Working together, we can become a team of investigative journalists, uncovering how the evidence comes together and reauthoring a new narrative that reflects your preferred wellness story.

An elderly couple walks together down a leaf-covered sidewalk surrounded by colorful autumn trees, one using a cane.

Sex Therapy

Sex therapy has its roots in the feminist and liberation movements. Sex therapy seeks to understand how you experience your sexuality and sex life on the continuum of sexuality.

Let’s break down some terms. Sexuality and sexual orientation are two separate things. Sexual orientation refers to how you are attracted to what you are attracted to, or how you are not attracted to anything sexually arousing. Sexuality is how you understand yourself as a sexual being who has wants, desires, and fantasies. Sexuality can be emotions/sensations that you have with yourself, a partner, or a group of people. Gender is often roped into sexuality and sexual orientation. However, gender runs parallel to sexuality. Oftentimes, gender plays a role in sexuality, though it is not an absolute necessity. There are plenty of people who think little about their gender when they are considering their sexuality.

So when we engage in sex therapy, we will be looking at how you understand yourself as a sexual being and how that impacts your overall well-being. We can work on topics ranging from:

  • Understanding sexual needs

  • Understanding what your sexual orientation is

  • Understanding how you construct romantic relationships

  • sexual mismatch in relationships

  • sexual communication

  • Poly, ethical nonmonogamy, and open relationships

  • Impact medical dysfunctions:

    • erectile dysfunction

    • premature or delayed ejaculation

    • loss of sensation

    • pelvic floor

    • painful intercourse

    • vaginal dryness

    • vaginal spasming

    • per and onset of menopause

Two hikers, a man and a woman, standing in a forest, looking at a map together with tall trees in the background.

Narrative Sex Therapy

As the name suggests, it is the combination of narrative therapy and sex therapy. We will look into those narrative scripts you hold about being a sexual person. The hope is to understand how you learned to be a sexual person, negotiate how you want to be a sexual person in your current life, and understand how you want to construct your life with sexuality being a key role in living a holistic life.