As a counselor, one of my primary values is supporting the whole person – including their sexuality. Counseling involves developing a relationship of trust and opening yourself to a stranger in vulnerable ways. It’s critical for me that clients know it is safe to bring all of themselves into the room with me. After all, sex, sexuality and sexual identity are huge parts of who we are.
But what does Sex-Positive mean? For people who haven’t heard the term before, they often assume it’s about being overly enthusiastic about sex. That’s not it. Sex-positive counseling is about dismantling the shame we as a society have about sex and sexuality, providing information that is comprehensive, body positive and gender inclusive, creating a culture of consent and affirming each person’s individual sexuality as is true for them. This includes identities and expressions that might be outside societal norms.
In the context of individual counseling, sex-positive involves supporting clients as they explore their own preferences and identities. It also includes helping clients navigate their relationship with their bodies, self-image, and self-love. We all have the right and the capacity to experience a healthy sexuality in a way that is pleasurable and consent based.
In couples counseling,being sex-positive involves exploring intimacy, sensuality and sexuality. It involves giving couples a safe space to explore the relationship they want to co-create and helping them learn how to speak about sex together in an open way. And it involves supporting them in moving forward with all the hiccups that ensue along the way.
As a sex-positive counselor, I offer clients my unconditional regard to explore all of who they are and how they show up. Wherever you find yourself on the sexual continuum, you have the right to feel confident in your sexuality and in yourself.