Vibrators can contribute to stress relief, relaxation, and enhanced blood flow, potentially leading to better sexual health. For some people, a vibrator can also help with pain relief, particularly for menstrual cramps or pelvic discomfort. And for people who want to use a vibrator for more than masturbation, it can promote intimacy and communication with a partner. As a Marin County sex therapist, I work with couples around communication and sometimes even how sexual expression could include toys.

Miscarriage is a profound and often silent form of grief that extends beyond the parent who physically miscarried. The grief experienced by partners, extended family, and friends is equally real and deserves recognition and support. By acknowledging and addressing disenfranchised grief, society can help those affected by miscarriage navigate their loss and find healing and solace in the company of empathetic and understanding communities.

Your creative, and thus sexual, energy is life-sustaining. It’s an expression that is unleashed and followed. Your creative expression is an energy that can be surrendered to and followed. It is the flow of life. The flow of life can be blocked for numerous reasons – primarily trauma, but also social conditioning. Inner child play can unblock that flow and transform your whole person.

Mostly what I care about is folx keeping in mind two things: sex isn’t supposed to hurt, and if it does, there may be a physical reason as to why. There’s no shame in asking for help and doing so could make all the difference. It’s important in my line of work to have colleagues to refer to who are sex-positive.

Because everyone is so different from one another, sex can look a certain way on the outside and feel differently on the inside for each person. That is why good communication is extremely important, even if the person you’re having sex with is yourself. Doing so will help you build a better relationship with yourself and with others, if you choose to involve them in sex.

Surrogate partner therapy includes the use of services of a surrogate partner (who works in close consultation with the referred client/patient and the psychologist or psychotherapist who said client/patient is in treatment with) to help the client gain a deeper understanding of themselves and any challenges they are having in their sexual life, which also includes issues related to partnership, relationship, dating, and communication of desires, wants, and needs. Sexual issues are not limited to sex and instead fall into at least five circles of sexuality.

When it comes to sexuality, most people think of, well, sex. This word is both loaded and very limited. However, there are so many other aspects of sexuality that don’t get nearly enough air time.

Sex therapy isn’t just about sex – it’s about expression and pleasure and communication. Yes, I’ve worked with people experiencing vaginismus, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, hypo- and hyperarousal (to name a few), but ultimately what I care about is connecting the body and mind.

As an aside, everything from casual hook-up sex to committed monogamous has room for communication as a way to increase safety, pleasure, and fun. Pleasure and anxiety cannot coexist so remember when you are playing, if anxiety is up, voice it to your partner(s)

Lack of honesty and lack of connection (true connection and acknowledgment) of one’s desires can be traced back to a yearning to stay safe, to protect the constructed self.