What is a sex therapist?
A sex therapist is a licensed mental health professional who specializes in helping individuals and couples address concerns related to sexual health, intimacy, and desire within the broader context of emotional and relational health.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, I bring clinical training, compassion, and a focus on relationships to these deeply personal conversations.
The whole person belongs here.
Our experiences of intimacy are shaped by our bodies, emotions, relationships, spirituality, and culture. My approach is evidence-based and trauma-informed, with attention to how those parts of our lives meet.
We explore how emotional safety, communication, stress, body image, and faith influence connection. I integrate clinical training, relational models, and spiritual understanding to make room for both your story and your beliefs.
How faith enters the conversation
I am a Christian and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. I bring my faith and my clinical training into the same conversation. I see intimacy as part of the whole person: body, emotions, relationships, and spiritual life.
In practice, that means making room to explore how faith, beliefs, and the messages we have received shape our experiences of desire, shame, trust, and closeness. These conversations belong alongside learning about the body, building communication skills, and understanding emotional safety.
My approach brings spiritual understanding together with evidence-based, trauma-informed care. The aim is to help people understand their own stories and move toward intimacy that honors their values and feels safe, meaningful, and life-giving.
What we might talk about
Sometimes the conversation begins with desire. Sometimes it begins with pain, shame, anxiety, or a sense of distance. Areas I work with include:
- Differences in desire and difficulty communicating about intimacy
- Sexual pain, performance concerns, and anxiety
- Shame, body image, and the impact of sexual trauma
- Rebuilding trust and connection after infidelity
- Changes related to childbirth, menopause, hormonal shifts, or aging
- The ways faith and beliefs shape our experience of sexuality
WHAT SESSIONS INVOLVE
Conversation. Learning. Reflection.
Sex therapy is talk therapy. Sessions involve education, guided dialogue, and practical strategies to build safety, communication, and confidence.
There are no sexual demonstrations or physical or sexual contact with clients. I may offer readings or exercises to practice at home, but the work in sessions happens through conversation and reflection.
What AASECT certification involves
AASECT stands for the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Its sex therapist certification recognizes specialized education and supervised clinical work beyond professional licensure.
The current standard pathway includes:
- A graduate clinical degree, psychotherapy training, independent licensure, and post-degree clinical experience.
- At least 90 hours of sexuality education and 60 hours of sex therapy skills training.
- At least 14 hours examining the therapist’s own attitudes, values, and beliefs about sexuality.
- At least 300 hours of clinical work with sexual concerns under a supervision contract, plus 50 hours of supervision over at least 18 months.
- A documented application, professional endorsements, agreement to the code of conduct, and committee review.
Certification requires renewal every three years and ongoing membership. Some experienced applicants have an alternative supervision pathway; applicable requirements depend on when supervision began.
Making room for closeness
My role is to walk alongside people as they understand their stories more deeply and explore new ways of connecting. My goal is to help intimacy feel emotionally connected, authentic, meaningful, and life-giving.
Kristen BarrickTHERAPIST · WIFE · HUMAN