Sex Therapy & Sex-Positive Counseling
Aspen Therapy offers sex therapy and sex-positive counseling in San Diego and online throughout California. We work with individuals, couples, and partners of all genders, orientations, and relationship structures.
Sex and intimacy are some of the hardest things to talk about, even with the people closest to us. Here, you can say what's true for you without embarrassment or judgment.
Who We Work With:
We see individuals, couples, and partners in monogamous, open, and polyamorous relationships. You don't need a diagnosis or a crisis to come in. Curiosity is reason enough.
People often come to us for support with:
Differences in desire between partners
Low desire, or desire that has changed over time
Difficulty with arousal, orgasm, or pain during sex
Anxiety, shame, or guilt about sex
Rebuilding intimacy after betrayal, illness, birth, or a long dry spell
Talking with a partner about wants, boundaries, and fantasies
Exploring sexuality, kink, or non-monogamy
The effects of purity culture or a sex-negative upbringing
Sexual concerns connected to past trauma
Some sexual concerns have a medical cause. When that seems possible, we'll encourage you to see a medical provider alongside therapy.
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Sex therapy is talk therapy focused on sex, desire, and intimacy. Sessions look like any other therapy session: we talk. There is no touch, nudity, or sexual activity in session, ever. It is an opportunity to learn more about sex, your body, pleasure, desire, and resolving sexual concerns.
Sex-positive means we see sexuality as a healthy part of being human, and we don't hold a single idea of what a "normal" sex life looks like. What matters is that it is consensual and that it works for you.
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If kink, BDSM, or fetish is part of your life, you shouldn't have to hide it or defend it in therapy. We understand kink as a valid form of sexuality, identity, and connection, not a symptom.
You can bring it into the room when it's relevant, whether that's negotiating with a partner, exploring something new, or working through shame. And when it isn't relevant, we won't make it the focus.
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We offer respectful, nonjudgmental therapy for people with current or past experience in sex work, in any part of the industry. We won't assume your work is the reason you're here, and we won't try to talk you out of it.
You can talk openly about work, boundaries, stigma, relationships, and safety, or about things that have nothing to do with your job. What you share is confidential, the same as for every client.
How We Work:
Sexual concerns rarely live on their own. They're tied to how safe we feel with a partner, what we learned about sex growing up, and how we feel about ourselves. Our approach is relational and attachment-based, so we look at the whole picture.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): helping partners understand the emotions underneath a sexual stalemate and feel safe enough to reach for each other again.
Gottman Method: practical tools for talking about sex, desire, and conflict without the conversation falling apart.
Psychodynamic Interventions: sex therapy pulls on many different approaches, including sex therapy specific tools and approaches, such as Desire Mapping.
Somatic Exercises: tools and processes for connecting to your body and integrating mindfulness into sex.
Internal Family Systems (IFS): getting to know the parts of you that carry shame, fear, or pressure around sex, with curiosity instead of judgment.
We move at your pace. You decide what to talk about and when.
Therapists Specializing in Sex Therapy & Sex Positivity:
Specializes in trauma informed therapy with queer/trans, sex worker, kink, ENM, and sex positive communities
Nova Zych
Works with individuals and couples on areas of intimacy and sex. Specializes in polyamorous and ENM relationship structures.
Adam Renteria
Works with individuals and couples on addressing concerns with sex and intimacy in their relationship.
Savannah Henderson
Works exclusively with couples, integrating sex therapy into her work to improve relationship functioning.
Sydney Williams
FAQs
Do I need a partner to come to sex therapy?
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No. Many people come on their own to work on desire, shame, identity, or past experiences. If you're partnered, you can come alone, together, or both.
What does sex-positive therapy mean?
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It means your therapist sees sexuality as a healthy part of life and doesn't judge consensual choices. You won't be told what you should want.
Is kink or BDSM something I'll have to explain or defend?
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No. Our therapists are kink-affirming. You can talk about kink when it's relevant and leave it out when it isn't.
Is what I share about sex work confidential?
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Yes. What you share is protected by the same confidentiality as any other therapy client. Your therapist will explain the few legal limits to confidentiality in your first session.
Do you offer online sex therapy in California?
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Yes. We offer secure online sessions to anyone located in California, and in-person sessions at our San Diego office.
