Sex Therapy and EMDR: Bringing the Bedroom to the Therapy Room

Psychotherapists often express fear about addressing sexuality in the therapy practice. Therapists must create safety for clients by bringing up sexuality and related life stressors. Otherwise, clients often report wanting to talk about sex but feeling uncertain about when to ask their professionals important questions (Timm, 2009). Some sexuality topics include, but are not limited to, sexual shame, childbirth, fertility issues, lack of pleasure during sex, body image, coming out, and host of other issues relevant across the life course. If therapists create this safe space, then clients will benefit from processing and overcoming many traumas besides the big T traumas of sexual abuse. This presentation will also briefly take an intersectional approach by helping therapists to targets oppression based on marginalized sexual identities while understanding how racial background may compound on those targets.