Sex Therapy in Charlotte, NC
What Is Sex Therapy?
Sex therapy is a safe, professional place to talk about intimacy, sexuality, and relationship concerns. Touching between therapist and client is always prohibited. Sex therapy helps individuals and couples address sexual difficulties, emotional disconnection, questions about sexual functioning, compulsive sexual behaviors, and the impact of trauma on intimacy.
Because our sexual lives are so personal and private, many people suffer in silence. Couples often believe they are the only ones living in a sexless marriage. Individuals may feel ashamed about low desire, erectile difficulties, inability to orgasm, painful sex, or anxiety about intimacy. Many people never talk openly about these struggles with anyone—not even their partner.
At Awakenings Center for Couples and Sex Therapy, we provide compassionate, expert care to help couples and individuals heal sexual disconnection and restore emotional and erotic intimacy.
In a committed relationship, sex often functions as emotional glue. When sexual connection disappears, couples can become lonely, resentful, insecure, or vulnerable to deeper relationship distress. You do not have to continue struggling alone.
What Issues Are Treated in Sex Therapy?
We help with a wide range of intimacy and sexual concerns, including:
- Low libido or low sexual desire in men or women
Low desire is one of the most common concerns we treat. Desire differences can create painful pursue-withdraw cycles where one partner feels rejected and the other feels pressured or inadequate. - Anorgasmia and orgasm difficulties
Difficulty reaching orgasm is common and often highly treatable with the right therapeutic approach. - Differences in sexual frequency
Couples often get stuck fighting about how often to have sex. We help partners stop the conflict and create a sexual relationship that feels pleasurable, connected, and sustainable for both people. We specialize in helping couples heal sexless marriages. - Erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE)
We help men and couples address psychogenic erectile dysfunction, performance anxiety, and premature ejaculation with evidence-based treatment and emotional support. - Pornography concerns and compulsive sexual behavior
We evaluate concerns about pornography use, cybersex, compulsive sexual behavior, and betrayal trauma. We also help spouses heal from the emotional impact of sexual secrecy and broken trust. - Sexual trauma and abuse recovery
We help survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, and unwanted sexual experiences reclaim safety, agency, and pleasure in their intimate lives. - Painful sex and sexual pain disorders
Including vaginismus, vestibulitis, pain associated with menopause, medical illness, cancer treatment, or anxiety-related sexual pain. - Premarital sexual counseling
We help engaged couples build emotional and sexual confidence, improve communication, and reduce fear or anxiety surrounding intimacy and the wedding night.
Is Sex Therapy Something I Can Trust?
Yes. Licensed sex therapists receive extensive training in sexual anatomy, physiology, emotional attachment, relational dynamics, and evidence-based treatment approaches. Many clinicians at Awakenings Center for Couples and Sex Therapy are certified sex therapists or have advanced training in sex therapy.
There is:
- No nudity
- No sexual touching
- No sexual contact between therapist and client
- No physical sexual exercises performed in session
Sex therapy is talk therapy focused on emotional safety, education, healing, and relationship change.
We also understand that sexuality is deeply shaped by culture, faith, family background, trauma history, and personal values. Our therapists work sensitively with clients from many different backgrounds and orientations.
Emotionally Connected and Erotic Sex
At Awakenings, we believe that sex without emotional connection can become mechanical, and sex without eroticism can become lifeless.
Healthy sexuality is not just physical functioning—it is about feeling emotionally safe, desired, playful, alive, and connected to your partner. We help couples strengthen both emotional attachment and erotic intimacy so sex becomes a source of closeness rather than conflict or loneliness.
Christian Sex Therapy
We understand that sexuality is often a deeply moral and values-centered part of life. Some clients want therapy that respects their Christian faith and beliefs about marriage, sexuality, and commitment.
We offer Christian sex therapy for individuals and couples seeking a faith-sensitive approach. All of our therapists, regardless of religious orientation, are deeply respectful of the shame, vulnerability, and value conflicts that can arise when discussing sexuality.
Sex Therapy in Charlotte, NC
If you are struggling with intimacy, emotional disconnection, sexual dysfunction, desire differences, or the aftermath of betrayal or trauma, help is available. Our therapists have helped thousands of couples and individuals create more emotionally connected, pleasurable, and satisfying intimate relationships.
You do not have to navigate these struggles alone!
Frequently Asked Questions About Sex Therapy
How do I know if we need sex therapy?
If sex has become a source of conflict, loneliness, pressure, rejection, avoidance, resentment, or emotional distance, sex therapy may help. Many couples wait years before seeking help, hoping the issue will improve on its own. Often, the earlier couples address intimacy struggles, the easier healing can be.
Do both partners need to attend sex therapy?
Not always. While couples therapy is often most effective for relationship and intimacy concerns, individuals also benefit from sex therapy for issues such as low desire, sexual shame, compulsive sexual behavior, orgasm difficulties, trauma recovery, erectile dysfunction, or anxiety about sex.
Is sex therapy awkward or embarrassing?
Most people feel nervous during the first session. Our therapists are trained to talk about sexuality in a calm, respectful, non-shaming way. Clients are often surprised by how relieved they feel once they begin discussing concerns they’ve carried silently for years.
Will we have to talk explicitly about our sex life?
Sometimes yes—but always at a pace that feels emotionally safe. We may discuss desire, frequency, sexual patterns, emotional disconnection, arousal, pleasure, avoidance, or specific concerns. The goal is never to embarrass you, but to understand what is happening and help you reconnect.
Can sex therapy help save a sexless marriage?
Often, yes. Many couples who come to therapy feel hopeless, rejected, pressured, or emotionally disconnected. Sex therapy can help couples understand the emotional cycle underneath the sexual struggle and begin rebuilding trust, desire, affection, and erotic connection. Our director wrote Wanting Sex Again – How to Rekindle Desire and Heal a Sexless Marriage.
What if one partner wants sex much more than the other?
Differences in sexual desire are extremely common. One partner may feel lonely and rejected while the other feels pressured, inadequate, overwhelmed, or shut down. We help couples stop the pursue-withdraw cycle around intimacy and create a sexual relationship that feels more emotionally connected and mutually satisfying. Laurie Watson, PhD, our director also wrote Brave Love, Great Sex to explore how couples can break painful emotional and sexual cycles to create lasting love, deep connection, and passionate intimacy.
Can sex therapy help after an affair or pornography betrayal?
Yes. Sexual betrayal often deeply impacts trust, safety, self-esteem, and intimacy. Therapy can help couples process the injury, rebuild emotional connection, restore transparency, and eventually rebuild sexual trust and closeness when both partners want repair.
Do you offer Christian sex therapy in Charlotte?
Yes. We understand that faith and sexuality are deeply connected for many couples. We offer Christian-informed counseling that respects your beliefs and values while helping couples develop emotional and sexual intimacy within their relationship.
Is sex therapy covered by insurance?
Many sex therapists are out-of-network providers. Depending on your insurance plan, you may be eligible for partial reimbursement for psychotherapy services. Our office can help explain options for payment and reimbursement.
How long does sex therapy take?
The length of therapy depends on the concern, the level of relationship distress, trauma history, and the goals of treatment. Some couples experience meaningful change in a relatively short period of time, while others benefit from longer-term work to rebuild emotional and sexual connection.
Can sex therapy help older couples or menopause-related issues?
Absolutely. Aging, menopause, medical illness, medications, hormonal changes, and life stress can all impact sexuality. We help couples navigate these transitions with compassion, creativity, and realistic hope for continued intimacy and pleasure.
Do you see LGBTQAI clients?
Yes. All of our therapists—including our faith-based therapists—are LGBTQIA+ affirming and welcoming. We provide a safe, respectful space for individuals and couples of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and relationship structures.
We understand that living in a heteronormative culture can profoundly affect intimacy, identity, safety, and desire. For many people, experiences of rejection, shame, discrimination, religious injury, family estrangement, or fear of visibility can deeply shape emotional and sexual connection. In today’s climate, even simple acts of affection—like holding hands with your same-sex partner in public—can carry vulnerability and stress.
Our therapists recognize that sexuality and attachment do not exist in a vacuum. We work sensitively with the unique relational, emotional, cultural, and societal pressures LGBTQIA+ clients may face while helping couples and individuals build secure, emotionally connected, and fulfilling intimate relationships.
What makes Awakenings different from other therapy practices?
At Awakenings Center for Couples and Sex Therapy, we specialize in both emotional connection and sexual intimacy. Many therapists are comfortable discussing emotions but lack training in sexuality, while some sex therapy approaches focus on technique without addressing attachment and relationship distress. We integrate both emotional bonding and erotic connection to help couples create lasting change.