Sexual health and wellbeing
Sex therapy for couples
Individual sex and intimacy counselling
Pornography
Emerging sexuality and LGBTIQ counselling
Our sex and intimacy counsellors and psychologists
Sexual wellbeing is a universal human right – everyone deserves a fulfilling, healthy sex life. Intimate sexual relationships with others are an important part of adult life, and have the potential to be amongst the most rewarding aspects of our lives. If we’re happy with our sex lives, we’re often happy in other areas of life too. Society - particularly the media – seems sex-obsessed at times. There are thousands of articles online offering tips and tricks to improve your sex life, and we’re constantly being bombarded with images and ideals of perfect bodies, perfect partners, and perfect sex. Yet when our sex lives don’t measure up to those impossible media standards, people can feel embarrassed about seeking help.
Around 43% of men and 35% of women experience sexual dysfunction at some point in their lives. Yet many people report feeling hesitant about accessing help for sexual difficulties - which is a shame, because in a recent study involving 365 couples, sex therapy resolved the presenting issue for 65% of clients (of the other 35%, sexual functioning was impaired by physical illness, yet the majority of those couples still reported increased sex and intimacy satisfaction). Confidential sexuality counselling can address a range of sexual concerns quickly and effectively, freeing you to enjoy your sex life to its fullest. Back to top
Couples commonly experience sexual difficulties at one point or another during their relationship. When sex becomes dissatisfying for one or both partners, it can have a disastrous impact on your relationship and life in general. Sexual difficulties may be the result of a whole host of psychological, physical or relationship factors. Sex therapy for couples approaches concerns holistically by addressing both the symptoms of the sexual issues, and underlying causes.
Sexual satisfaction involves love, lust, connection, fun, passion, enjoyment and pleasure… Many couples do not know how to communicate their sexual desires with their partner, or they feel like they’re in the dark about the best ways to have a deeply satisfying sexual experience. Life Supports sex and intimacy counselling can shine a light on those areas of your sex life that need improvement, and give you the tools to create the sex life you desire. Life Supports psychologists and counsellors frequently see one member of a couple for individual sex and intimacy counselling – this can be a really effective way to address individual concerns within a relationship. However, if your partner is insisting that you attend counselling by yourself to address a sexual issue you’re experiencing, we actively encourage you to consider attending together. It takes two to tango, and sexual concerns affecting a relationship can be successfully addressed with the full participation and support of both partners. Back to top
Whether you’re in a relationship or single, sexuality counselling can improve your body image, self-esteem, and sexual confidence. Sex therapy has many facets – you can explore your feelings and thoughts around sex and intimacy, and address any physiological symptoms or sexual behaviours that are causing you concern.
Sexuality counselling is a strictly talk-based therapy. Although there is no physical contact during a session, your counsellor or psychologist may give you take-home exercises to practice by yourself or with your partner. These tasks may include sensate focus, communication exercises and/or physical activities for you to explore. The focus of sexuality counselling is to increase your sexual wellbeing and authentically intimate connection to yourself and other people. Back to top
The majority of people have watched porn at some point, either as an aid to masturbation or to enhance their sex lives. Yet sometimes the urge to watch pornography becomes compulsive, and the desire to masturbate with porn consistently overrides any impulse to have sex with your partner. A preoccupation with porn and masturbation is simply a compulsive sexual behaviour. You may feel compelled to spend all of your time watching porn, leaving less time with your partner, children, family and friends. A healthy sex life is a balanced sex life! If your porn use and masturbation habits feel overwhelmingly compulsive and you’d like to moderate your behaviour, specialist sexual counselling can help.
Whilst looking at porn can be part of a healthy sex life, compulsive use can lead to social isolation and the inability to maintain intimate relationships. It is essential to seek help if you feel your compulsive behaviours are preventing you from leading a productive, meaningful and balanced life. Life Supports sexuality counselling for pornography issues helps you to address destructive sexual behavioural patterns, and replace them with healthy ones. Effective, evidence-based treatment for compulsive porn use and masturbation include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Back to top
Sexuality issues can be the source of angst, conflict and self-doubt. A young person who is exploring their sexuality may find it a confusing and challenging time. A parent may also struggle coming to terms with their son or daughter’s emerging sexuality - whether heterosexual or queer - and the way this sexuality is being expressed. Individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ) may experience general sexual issues, yet may also face specific relationship and sexual issues and concerns such as:
Life Supports sexuality counsellors and psychologists have extensive training and experience working with clients around sex, gender and orientation concerns. We are committed to supporting our LGBTIQ clients with effective, respectful, evidence-based LGBTIQ counselling to address a host of diverse issues. Back to top
Sex and sexuality issues can impact greatly on both your personal wellbeing, and the quality of your sexual relationship. Our sex therapy and sexuality counsellors are trained to help you identify and address these issues. Life Supports counsellors and psychologists offer an open-minded, confidential forum for you and/or your partner, to help you better understand the issues you are currently facing. We will encourage you to find new ways to manage those issues, and make the changes required to enhance your relationships with others and yourself.
For appointments or enquiries, please call 1300 735 030 or leave us an email via our contact page.
Sexuality is a poorly understood facet of human nature, not least because so many different factors are at play. Hormones regulate and influence your sex drive. In fact, you may notice that your sexuality is activated more or less at different times. These cycles can be hormonal fluctuations, or they can even last for months at a time, but they are incredibly normal and experienced by pretty much everyone. Sexuality can also fluctuate at different life stages – for example, peri-menopausal women may experience floods of hormones that can raise or lower their libido, but the truth is there’s no hard-and-fast rule, and it’s difficult to predict how hormones will interact with sexuality. Overall, sexuality is a complex spectrum, that can change over the course of your life.
Sexual wellbeing is an important component of being human, and interplays with other aspects of your life to influence your overall health. That’s why it’s important to learn more about yourself and your unique sexuality. One of the best ways to do this is through counselling. Often, we feel intense pressure to have the best, most impressive sex life, and much of this pressure comes from the media and our peers. But the truth is, everyone is different. That’s why sexuality counselling can help you learn more about yourself, your unique sexual identity, and what will improve your overall sexual wellbeing.
While the science is not settled on exactly which biological and environmental factors converge to determine a person’s sexuality, what is clear from the evidence is that sexuality is not a choice. Your sexuality is a state of being that is often pre-determined before you’re even born, and can be influenced by early biological or environmental factors. Sexuality can also be fluid, and many consider sexuality to be a spectrum or a sliding scale.
Questioning your sexuality is an extremely normal and common experience. One American study demonstrated that 1 in 3 millennials considered themselves “less than 100% straight”, meaning they questioned their sexuality and considered it to be fluid. The more we learn about human sexuality, the more apparent it’s becoming that sexuality is mutable, can be fluid, and exists on a spectrum – not everyone fits neatly into one category. Questioning your sexuality is in fact an extremely normal, healthy part of self-discovery.
It can be difficult to understand your sexuality, especially in a society that places a huge cultural emphasis on heterosexuality. Sometimes, the media we consume and the people around us can create ideas about sexuality that we internalise, and these ideas become our own. This can make it harder for people who may not be heterosexual to fully understand or come to terms with their sexual attraction to others. Having a happy, fulfilling sex and love life is core to your mental wellbeing and a basic human right.
Appointments currently available
Open 8am to 8pm weekdays and 9am to 5:30pm weekends