If you’re interested in exploring how sex-positive therapy can support your journey towards greater sexual well-being and fulfillment, I invite you to connect with me. Together, we can work towards understanding and embracing your unique sexual identity, improving your relationships, and navigating any challenges you may face. For more information or to schedule a session, please visit my website. I look forward to working with you on this empowering path.

Parenting is a rewarding yet demanding journey that often places significant demands on the time and energy of caregivers. Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily responsibilities, maintaining intimacy in a relationship can become a challenge.

An orgasm is possible during childbirth because the baby is moving through the same parts of the body involved in sexual pleasure. As we know, the clitoris is more than the small nub most people think it is, meaning as the baby passes through the vagina it may stimulate the clitoris along the way. An orgasmic birth is also a possibility because of hormones: Oxytocin, the feel-good, bonding hormone, is released during childbirth, lactation, and orgasm.

At Whole Person Integration and Psychology, we don’t think sex should ever be painful. In fact, if sex doesn’t involve pleasure, is it even sex? Something can look like sex and even result in pregnancy, but if there’s no pleasure, what are the people involved even doing? There are numerous reasons to have sex, but just as we mentioned, an orgasm is perhaps not what you think it is, there should be different names for sex because not all sex is created equal. It’s perhaps why people already put a qualifier onto sex, classifying it as “good” and “bad.”

Sexuality consists of five circles, which means it’s not limited to one body part in another body part. Sexuality is also flirting, touch, fantasy, sexual identity, and health, and, perhaps above all, a psychological state of being. So no, it’s not just about body parts. And even then, don’t discount the various ways sex can be performed be it oral, mutual masturbation, and digital, to name just a few ways of expression!

It is important to study women's sexual health because women have unique pleasure and health needs that differ from those of men. These issues are multifaceted and include sexual pleasure, menstrual understanding, sexual expression and communication, pregnancy-related curiosities and concerns, and menopausal transitions. Women's sexual health is not only essential for their physical well-being but also for their mental and emotional health because they are connected.

This lack of focus and knowledge can create a lot of issues for those with clitorises.  Psychologically, there is a message put forth that there’s less importance on these bodies, that women overall are less important, and that can affect self-esteem, confidence, and a general sense of embodiment. This is changing but/and the change is so very slow. It’s important to talk about the issues for people with clitorises, understand it, and have deeper knowledge of the vulva, vagina, and clitoris. Normalizing pleasure is key to a sense of embodiment.

In the hypersexualized culture of the U.S., asexuality is not discussed much but it still exists. Around 1% of the population, perhaps more, are asexual (or “aces”) according to the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Asexuality is not celibacy. Celibacy is a choice to abstain from sexual activity whereas asexuality is a sexual orientation intrinsic to the person, similar to other sexual orientations. Asexuality is also not abstinence, a phase, an inability to find a partner, or evidence of sexual dysfunction. It’s an inherent way of being.

From that lens, relationships not only support spiritual growth, the relationship itself is a spiritual practice. That’s true in the sense that relationships provide people with numerous opportunities to practice love, acceptance, understanding, and patience.

Because everyone is so different from one another, sex can look a certain way on the outside and feel differently on the inside for each person. That is why good communication is extremely important, even if the person you’re having sex with is yourself. Doing so will help you build a better relationship with yourself and with others, if you choose to involve them in sex.