Sex, Intimacy and Relationship Coaching vs Sex Therapy

Somatic Sex and Intimacy Coaching is a method of learning that is proving to be an invaluable cutting-edge modality in teaching us how to understand and enhance our sexual enjoyment and deepen our capacity for intimacy with our partners.

I like to help clients understand the differences between sex coaching and sex therapy, so they can find the modality that can best serve their present needs.

While most sex therapists use talk therapy as their only modality, somatic sex coaching uses two-way touch as well as talk therapy. It’s our belief that by including the body through in-session experiential exercises, clients learn what is modeled for them.

Imagine trying to teach someone how to touch without giving them the experience of being touched.

This holistic model works with the whole person, body and mind, thinking, feeling, and sensing. What that means is that at times the focus will be on your experience in the moment rather than content about a particular recent or past memory.

A somatic sex coach uses talk therapy to process thoughts and feelings, as would happen in any therapy session, but they might also help you explore gestures, bodily tension, and particular sensations through mindful awareness, movement, or touch.

Which is best for you?

When I speak to a client about their past, I look for patterns that may influence their current thinking, but I do not lead them in a psychological process that is based on the medical model of therapy. Sex therapists help with psychiatric and physical maladies that inhibit normal sexual functioning.

Most sex therapists are talk therapists with licenses that restrict physical contact with their patients. Because of this, a sex therapist will sometimes refer a patient to me to deepen their learning through somatic experiencing.

As your coach I want to see you find a sex life that is more than just functional, but meets your deepest longings and hopes of what sex can be for you. Becoming functional is just the beginning of your journey to amazing sex.

I recommend the somatic coaching model to the majority of clients seeking help with sex and intimacy. Working somatically with present time body awareness is the key to gaining freedom from unhealthy sexual patterns and beliefs.

Each profession has capabilities the other does not have. Both therapists and coaches ascribe to high ethical and professional standards.

I hope this helps explain some general differences between these two modalities. If you are unsure which modality is best suited to your current needs, I’m happy to consult with you by phone.