Intimacy Therapy Guide: How to Make the Most of It

When talking about intimacy therapy, many of us will assume it has to do mostly with sex. However, there is so much more to intimacy than just that, while it is a crucial component. When you are close to someone, your mind, body, and spirit may all be involved. This is what it means to be intimate. It’s about having the strongest possible sense of connection to individuals who are close to you.

You might feel intimately connected whether you’re in a romantic, platonic, or family connection. Counseling for intimate relationships might be helpful if you need help in this area.

What Is Intimacy Therapy?

Most of us seek closeness because it helps us feel close to others and like valuable members of a group. We can’t always have intimacy in the manner we’d like to, though. That is where intimacy therapy comes in.

Both single people and couples who want to explore intimacy might benefit from intimacy therapy. The goal is to find any obstacles preventing you from having the connection you deserve and want. It might have some similarities with sex therapy, yet they are not the same. Sex therapists concentrate on sex-related difficulties, while intimacy therapy doesn’t always have to be about that.

You should be able to develop trust, vulnerability, and commitment with yourself and others through effective counseling. It is a type of talk therapy that may assist you in locating healthy answers to any intimate issues you may be experiencing.

Understanding Intimacy

Before finding the right therapist for you, you will need to understand intimacy first. It’s important to comprehend the many sorts of closeness to determine whether you require intimacy therapy. Some of the most typical are the following:

Emotional: Frequently has to do with how you feel and how close you think you are to someone. Anything that gives you a deep emotional connection, such as the sensation of being loved, noticed, heard, or safe while discussing your feelings, might qualify.
Sexual: When you interact sexually or in a sensual way with someone.
Intellectual: The joining of two brains via deep discourse, common interests or principles.
Physical: Closeness that is either non-sexual or sexual, such as hugs, kisses, massages, hand holding, or snuggling.
Spirituality: Supporting one another’s personal growth and working for a shared objective and respect for one another’s unique or shared views.
Experiential: Establishing relationships via common interests or experiences.

Benefits of Intimacy Therapy

Intimacy isn’t often at the top of the list of all the education we receive. The media, our caretakers, or our friends frequently provide us with some unhelpful examples. This implies that we could develop behaviors that prevent us from engaging in intimacy and having healthy relationships.

Perhaps you find it difficult to be personal with yourself because you find it difficult to overcome emotions of shame. Or a once-warm relationship has abruptly turned frigid. This wouldn’t be unusual, given that research shows that closeness increases throughout the early stages of a relationship before finally becoming static. Through counseling, you may discover new techniques for fostering closeness in your relationships and with yourself and help you break harmful patterns.

The easiest subject to discuss is intimacy difficulties. You might not yet be able to communicate respectfully, listen actively, and have an open mind. You may acquire insight and develop workable answers to any problems by speaking with a qualified expert. Counseling can offer solutions whether you want to improve your sexual relationship or get to know yourself better. When there is someone who can assist, you shouldn’t have to deal with these problems on your own.

How to Build Intimacy in Relationship

It is possible to overcome your fear of intimacy or issues you might have in that area. A sympathetic therapist can assist you in comprehending the underlying feelings that underlie your dread. They can assist you in addressing these emotions and identifying other, better-coping mechanisms for isolation.

Occasionally, mental health conditions like avoidant personality disorder can further exacerbate problems with intimacy. This can be treated, which has important advantages for those facing these issues.

Even when neither partner dislikes intimacy, a couple may struggle to communicate. The following advice may help you and your partner get closer and have more intimacy in your relationship.

Be more tolerant. It takes a lot of time to get to know someone well. The process of establishing trust is frequently laborious. No race can define intimacy.
Start with the little things. Discuss your hopes and objectives if you prefer to talk about the future rather than the past. As trust grows, you could find broaching the more challenging subjects less threatening.
Openly discuss your needs. Do you frequently require alone to rejuvenate? How frequently do you like having sex? Instead of presuming that your wishes are “obvious and clear,” be explicit with your spouse about what you want to avoid a lot of misunderstandings.
Be respectful of one another’s differences. Even the closest of couples still have their personalities. To love each other and have a happy relationship, you and your spouse do not always have to agree on everything.

There is still hope if you and your partner struggle to become closer. Couples counseling can improve communication and help you clear up misconceptions. Additionally, it can aid both parties in overcoming any intimacy-related issues that could hold them back. Getting assistance is not a sign of shame.

Finding the Right Intimacy Therapist

It’s crucial to find a therapist who can help you with your intimacy issues, regardless of what they are. A good therapist is crucial for your healing path, and finding one should not be that difficult if you know what you need.

For instance, maybe you will prefer in-person sessions, so you will look for an intimacy therapist nearby. Or, you will want someone with years of experience in couples therapy, so you might opt for someone with work experience in that field. Whatever it is you’re looking for, it’s important to feel positive and motivated about working with that therapist because it’s a crucial element of each therapy, especially if you’re working on your intimacy issues.

About Life Coaching and Therapy

Life Coaching and Therapy (LCAT) is a therapy and coaching practice that transforms our clients lives through our flexible. Multi-technique approach and pleasure-skills training provided by systematically-trained and licensed therapists!

Get to know our founder and owner, Amanda Pasciucco, (a.k.a. The Sex Healer) PhD, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST) that has developed innovative therapy programs and therapy videos that get results.

Our team of compassionate, licensed therapists and certified sex therapists help all clients who visit us for a variety of personal, relationship, intimacy and sex problems.

LCAT provides on-site appointments, as well as video chat and text therapy programs.

Learn more about how LCAT can help improve your life at What We Do.