What is sex therapy, and what happens in a sex therapy session?

Sex therapy is a form of relationship counseling that focuses specifically on intimacy and sexual problems. A sex therapist can be a psychiatrist, psychologist, a family or marriage counselor, or sometimes even a clergyman, as long as they are specifically trained in this area.

The role of a sex therapist is not to change someone’s sex drive or orientation, but to help them maximize their potential for satisfaction and happiness. Generally, sex therapy is talk therapy. However, in a very small number of cases, surrogacy may be involved. But note, this is not common and should never be forced upon a patient, who should also not be encouraged to believe that surrogacy is their only treatment option.