A sex therapist is a licensed mental health professional who specializes in sexual concerns, intimacy problems, and relationship issues. Sessions are talk-based only. No physical contact takes place. Common reasons people seek sex therapy include low libido, erectile dysfunction, sexual trauma, desire discrepancy between partners, and compulsive sexual behavior.
If you’re wondering what actually goes on in a sex therapist’s office, the answer is that it looks a lot like other forms of counseling. The subject matter is different, not the format. A sex therapist listens, asks questions, and helps clients work through whatever is getting in the way. That’s it.
What Is a Sex Therapist?
A sex therapist is a licensed mental health clinician who has added specialized training in sexual health to an existing credential. That underlying license matters: sex therapists come from backgrounds as licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), licensed professional counselors (LPCs), marriage and family therapists (LMFTs), psychologists, nurses with independent clinical practice credentials, or physicians in relevant disciplines such as psychiatry, depending on state law and training. Sex therapy isn’t a standalone profession you enter from scratch. It’s a specialization built on top of a graduate-level mental health license.
The primary professional body in the US is the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, known as AASECT. Clinicians who hold AASECT certification have completed specific training requirements in human sexuality beyond their base license. AASECT certification generally isn’t required by state law, but it’s a widely recognized voluntary credential in the field.
What Does a Sex Therapist Do?
The work is talk therapy, focused on sexual health and intimate relationships. A sex therapist meets with individual clients or couples to identify the concern, take a history, and build a treatment plan. Issues that commonly bring people to sex therapy include:
- Low libido or mismatched desire between partners
- Erectile dysfunction or delayed ejaculation
- Pain during intercourse (conditions like vaginismus or dyspareunia)
- Sexual trauma or abuse history
- Compulsive sexual behavior
- Difficulty with intimacy in long-term relationships
- Questions related to sexual identity
Treatment typically runs for a defined number of sessions. If a physiological factor is likely involved, a sex therapist will coordinate with or refer to a physician rather than attempt to address it through therapy alone. The psychological and the medical don’t always stay neatly separated, and a good sex therapist knows which lane they’re in.
Do Sex Therapists Have Physical Contact With Clients?
No. This is probably the most persistent misconception about sex therapy, and it’s worth stating plainly: sex therapists work entirely through conversation. No client disrobes. No physical examination takes place. No physical contact occurs in any session. The work is psychological and relational. A clinician who crosses that boundary isn’t practicing sex therapy. They’re violating professional ethics.
What Credentials Does a Sex Therapist Need?
To practice sex therapy in the US, a clinician typically holds a master’s or doctoral degree in a mental health discipline and a state license in one of AASECT’s six recognized fields: psychology, medicine, social work, counseling, nursing, or marriage and family therapy. From there, AASECT’s Certified Sex Therapist (CST) credential requires 90 hours of coursework across 15 core areas of human sexuality, at least 300 supervised clinical hours working specifically with clients presenting sexual concerns, and supervision with an AASECT-certified supervisor.
If you’re interested in this path, the starting point is the underlying graduate degree in counseling, social work, or psychology. The sex therapy specialization comes later. Our sister page on how to become a sex therapist covers that progression in more detail.
Looking for accredited graduate programs in counseling or psychology? Search by state to find programs, application links, and licensing information for your area.