What is a Sex Therapist?
What is a Sex Therapist?
Though many of us know what therapists do, there is still a veil of mystery for some concerning sex therapists. So what is a sex therapist? Sex therapists are licensed mental health clinicians with additional training that better enables them to help their clients with sexual health concerns such as compulsive sexual behavior, sex-negative attitudes, attraction to minors, mismatched libido in relationships, performance anxiety, exploring gender and sexuality, difficulties with arousal and/or orgasm, and sexual trauma, to name just a few examples. Although these are all topics that clients might see a traditional therapist or doctor about, these professionals often receive little education about sexuality themselves and may not be prepared or even willing to help clients address their sexual problems. You might be shocked to learn that the average medical student receives just 3 to 10 hours of sexual health education! So additional sex education is a must.
How do I become a sex therapist?
Sex therapy isn’t a degree in itself. Instead, it’s a specialized certification or track in addition to the basic education and experience required to become a mental health professional. A sex therapist may be a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), licensed professional counselor (LPC), or licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Professionals can seek certification from a university or, specialized training institute like the Sexual Health Alliance, or the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), each of which requires an advanced degree to achieve certification. For example, to enroll in the Sexual Health Alliance’s sex therapist certification program, an individual must have or be in pursuit of a Master’s Degree in counseling or a mental health field. The certification programs from AASECT and the University of Michigan, for example, similarly require an advanced degree, including master’s and doctorate degrees.
Although an advanced degree is required to pursue sex therapist certification, there is variation among the different certification programs. Cost, program length, and topics covered can all vary. However, many organizations design their certification programs to align with AASECT certification, as it is because it’s the main organization that regulates sex education and certification for professionals. AASECT requires 90 hours of coursework to cover core knowledge of human sexuality. 60 hours of training in providing sex therapy, and 300 hours of supervised training. AASECT also requires a sexual attitudes reassessment, or SAR, for certification. SARs are interactive workshops in which students examine their feelings about how sex and how that might impact the therapy they provide to clients.
In the case of the Sexual Health Alliance, certification includes all of these elements, and once completing their rigorous training, all graduated students receive a packet containing everything they need to apply for AASECT certification. However, not all programs align this closely with AASECT’s requirements or include everything required for AASECT certification, too.
An important distinction between AASECT certification and other certificates is that AASECT requires sex therapists to renew their certification every three years to remain in the professional directory. Renewal requires 20 continuing education credits, which therapists can earn through workshops and conferences like those hosted by Sexual Health Alliance. Anyone listed in AASECT’s directory meets the requirements for current training, so you don’t have to worry that their training and education were years or decades ago.
Regardless of the differences between programs, professionals seeking to become certified sex therapists will gain education about sexuality ranging from anatomy and development to identity and orientation to problematic sexual behaviors and sexual dysfunctions. Once a clinician is certified, they can advertise themselves as such. Some professionals choose to focus their careers on sex therapy, while others offer those services in addition to more traditional therapy.
What comes after sex therapy training?
After certification, sex therapists are ready to work with individuals and couples, or even groups of people, of different orientations and genders. Sex therapists can continue their educational pursuits by adding specialized additional certifications for specific sexual interests or lifestyles. Sexual Health Alliance offers consensual non-monogamy and kink certification programs, for example, for sex therapists whose clients might have multiple partners or be involved in the BDSM lifestyle. These and other topics may not be covered in depth by sex therapy certification.
Do sex therapists touch their clients?
One of the common misconceptions about sex therapy is that it involves sexual touch between the therapist and the client. Therapists do not touch their clients or have sex with them. Talk therapy is as common in sex therapy as it is in standard psychotherapy. If clients are attending with their partners, they may be asked to speak with or perform relationship or conversational exercises with their partners, and therapists can give clients homework that involves more explicit and erotic exercises. However, homework can also include assigned media (books, articles, podcasts, or videos), role play, and strategies to improve communication between partners. A sex therapist may also work with a client’s GP or prescribing doctor to ensure sexual issues are managed from multiple angles, especially if medicinal or surgical interventions are necessary or the cause of sexual difficulties.
It can take some trial and error to find the best sex therapist for you (and potentially your partner), just like you may have to try on a few therapists for size for nonsexual issues. But if your concerns are sexual in nature, looking for a sex therapist specifically may help you more effectively solve or learn to cope with them than a therapist who doesn’t specialize in sex.
By Nicole Martinez