Has intimacy become something you worry about?
Perhaps one disappointing experience has changed how you approach the next. You might find yourself monitoring your response instead of being present, worrying about what your partner thinks, or avoiding intimacy because you're afraid of being disappointed again.
Sexual difficulties are common and can be difficult to discuss. You do not need to feel embarrassed about bringing them to therapy, and there is no expectation of unnecessary graphic detail.
What we might explore
- Sexual performance anxiety and worry about future experiences
- Erectile difficulties where psychological factors may contribute
- Confidence, avoidance, pressure or self-monitoring during sex
- The effect of previous experiences, relationship concerns or communication difficulties
- Unhelpful expectations about what sex must be like
When anticipation adds to the pressure
If you begin predicting another unwanted experience, you may become watchful for any sign it is happening again. That attention and pressure can sometimes influence the very response you're hoping for. We look at the pattern sensitively, without assuming psychological factors are the only explanation.
How working together might help
Depending on the issue, psychosexual work may draw on conversation, communication and behavioural strategies, anxiety-focused psychological work and appropriate hypnotherapy or BWRT®. The aim may be less performance pressure, greater comfort with intimacy, better communication or a different response to uncertainty. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed.
I also have a separate information and self-guided programme website for men interested in psychological aspects of erectile difficulties: The Quiet Problem →. You can explore it privately without making an enquiry.