LCSW-Therapists

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Therapists for Sexuality

This page lists licensed LCSW clinicians who identify sexuality as a focus of their work. Use the listings below to review profiles, learn about each clinician's focus areas, and explore options that fit your needs.

Browse the therapist grid to read more about professional backgrounds, languages, and the issues each LCSW highlights.

What sexual health and sexuality cover and why it matters

Defining sexuality broadly

Sexuality includes your sexual identity, orientation, desires, behaviors, relationships, boundaries, and how those elements intersect with culture, religion, work, and daily life. For many people sexuality is not only about physical experience but also about intimacy, self-understanding, and how you connect with others. When these parts of life cause distress, confusion, or friction with partners, friends, or family, you might look for professional support to clarify feelings and find a practical path forward.

When you search specifically for LCSW clinicians, you are looking for practitioners who hold a master of social work degree, have completed the state-required supervised post-graduate clinical hours, and passed a clinical licensing examination. An LCSW license is granted by a state board and governs clinical practice in that state. Social work training emphasizes the person-in-environment perspective, so an LCSW will routinely consider how housing, work, finances, family, community, and access to care shape your sexual concerns as well as your inner experience.

Signs you might benefit from seeking support for sexuality

Recognizing common indicators

You might start thinking about therapy when sexual concerns begin to affect your mood, relationships, or daily functioning. That can look like ongoing anxiety about intimacy, repeated conflicts with a partner about needs or boundaries, loss of desire that worries you, distress about sexual identity or orientation, or fear and avoidance related to sexual activity. It can also include physical concerns that have emotional components - for example, pain associated with sex that leads to avoidance, or compulsive sexual behavior that interferes with work or relationships.

Other signs include repeated patterns that feel stuck despite your efforts to change, difficulty communicating about sex with partners, distress following an experience of nonconsensual sex, or moral and cultural conflicts that leave you feeling isolated. If you are navigating questions about gender, identity, or how your sexuality fits into your community, an LCSW may help you explore those areas while also attending to the broader life circumstances that influence them.

What to expect in sexuality-focused sessions with an LCSW

The process and practical steps

When you begin working with an LCSW about sexuality, expect an initial conversation that gathers your history, current concerns, relationships, and life context. The clinician will typically ask about how sexual issues intersect with your daily routines, stressors, medical history, and social supports so that goals can be defined in realistic terms. You and the clinician will identify areas to address first - that may be reducing anxiety, improving communication with a partner, coping after trauma, or exploring identity - and set collaborative goals.

Sessions often include education, skills practice, and reflective exploration. You may practice communication skills for conversations about consent and boundaries, learn strategies to manage anxiety or intrusive thoughts, or work through trauma-related material at a pace that feels manageable. Because LCSWs train to see the whole person in their environment, they often bring practical problem-solving into therapy - helping you manage scheduling, access resources, or navigate systemic barriers that affect sexual wellbeing. Progress is usually gradual, shaped by your goals and circumstances, and guided by your comfort level.

Common approaches you will see listed and how LCSWs use them

Approaches described on profiles

Profiles often list therapeutic approaches such as psychodynamic work, cognitive behavioral strategies, sex-positive counseling, mindfulness, trauma-informed care, or couples work. Keep in mind that listing an approach does not certify specialization; profiles indicate what a clinician includes among their approaches, not a formal endorsement of specific training. When you read a profile, you will find statements like therapists who list cognitive behavioral therapy or therapists who list sex-positive care among their approaches. Those phrases help you understand the framework a clinician prefers to use in sessions.

LCSWs bring the person-in-environment perspective to these approaches, which means they combine attention to internal experience with an analysis of external factors. For example, when addressing sexual anxiety, an LCSW might blend anxiety-management skills with exploration of work stress or housing instability that contribute to tension. When working with couples, an LCSW may help surface how financial strain or caregiving responsibilities affect intimacy. This broader lens can be especially useful if social, economic, or systemic issues are part of the challenge you want to address.

How online work can function for sexuality concerns and choosing an LCSW

What online sessions involve

Many LCSWs offer sessions by video or phone as one option for care. In online sessions you can expect the same general structure as in-person work - assessment, goal-setting, and focused interventions - while communicating through a digital platform or phone line. If you are considering remote work, think about factors such as whether you have a personal place to speak, which communication format feels most comfortable for sensitive topics, and whether you need documentation for insurance or workplace purposes. Note that an LCSW's license is issued by a state board and scope of practice varies by state, so clinicians indicate in their profiles the states in which they are licensed to practice.

When choosing the right LCSW for sexuality work, focus on elements that matter most to you. Compare clinicians by the focus areas they list - for example, sexual identity, sexual trauma, sexual pain, or couples and relationship work - and look at the approaches they describe. Consider language skills, experience with specific communities, and any population focus such as adolescent, adult, or older adult practice. Read clinician statements about their values and boundaries, and review practical details like fees and whether they work with insurance. Think about cultural competency and whether a clinician expresses openness to your background and identity. Trust your sense of comfort when reading profiles; the right match is often about feeling understood and respected.

In sum, searching for an LCSW who lists sexuality as a focus gives you access to clinicians trained in clinical social work and skilled at integrating personal experience with life context. By learning about a clinician's focus areas, approaches, languages, and stated experience, you can narrow your options and move toward an informed conversation about the support you want.

Find Sexuality Therapists by State

Alabama

26 therapists

Alaska

19 therapists

Arizona

115 therapists

Arkansas

68 therapists

California

989 therapists

Colorado

177 therapists

Connecticut

133 therapists

Delaware

42 therapists

District of Columbia

8 therapists

Florida

982 therapists

Georgia

268 therapists

Hawaii

39 therapists

Idaho

50 therapists

Illinois

450 therapists

Indiana

247 therapists

Iowa

9 therapists

Kansas

33 therapists

Kentucky

166 therapists

Louisiana

165 therapists

Maine

66 therapists

Maryland

29 therapists

Massachusetts

17 therapists

Michigan

43 therapists

Minnesota

16 therapists

Mississippi

86 therapists

Missouri

188 therapists

Montana

62 therapists

Nebraska

2 therapists

Nevada

71 therapists

New Hampshire

24 therapists

New Jersey

300 therapists

New Mexico

69 therapists

New York

659 therapists

North Carolina

441 therapists

North Dakota

12 therapists

Ohio

39 therapists

Oklahoma

87 therapists

Oregon

78 therapists

Pennsylvania

272 therapists

Rhode Island

4 therapists

South Carolina

45 therapists

South Dakota

2 therapists

Tennessee

134 therapists

Texas

617 therapists

Utah

121 therapists

Vermont

3 therapists

Virginia

232 therapists

Washington

20 therapists

West Virginia

9 therapists

Wisconsin

161 therapists

Wyoming

22 therapists

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Australia

0 therapists

United Kingdom

0 therapists

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