Demystifying Sex Therapy: A Candid Conversation With a Psychotherapist

Have you ever considered what happens in sex therapy? Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. However, in my experience as a therapist, there are varying ideas people have about the nature of a sex therapist's work.

Similarly, over recent years there's been lots of discourse about race, racism, power and white privilege. Yet, though ideas about these issues are being heard in political arenas, how many people are speaking about them in safe spaces?

As a therapist, I find myself having conversations with clients about these issues on a fairly regular basis. In some cases they express feelings of guilt or shame. Why? For various reasons, which relate to their own experience and worldview.

I also have these discussions as a trainer where I've known people express frustration, anger and fatigue at having unfair assumptions and judgments placed on them because of the colour of their skin or gender.

In either context, I think it's helpful to invite and engage in open discussion where these issues and the impact they have on people from all backgrounds, can be healthily explored in a way that leads to greater understanding and empathy.

In this video, I talk with Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor and Lecturer, Laura Joanknecht, whose work as a therapist has led to her considering power dynamics in relationships, including consideration of marginalisation in society.

During our conversation, we cover a range of topics including female empowerment, the dynamics of race within transcultural relationships and the importance of considering introjected racism, white privilege, and power when engaging with those from the global majority.

Finally, we discuss sex and how it relates to communication, during which Laura helpfully demystifies the nature of a sex therapists work by sharing insights into what typically motivates couples to approach her for support.