Sexual Trauma Therapy
The impact of trauma on sexuality is profound, touching every aspect of the sexual cycle, from desire (libido) to arousal (excitement). These natural responses, designed to prepare the body to both receive and give pleasure, can become disrupted when trauma is present.
Instead of opening up to connection and joy, the body can freeze, shutting down to avoid potential pain. For many, this creates a deep sense of isolation—feeling as though they are the only ones struggling while struggling to express their needs to their partners.
At CRIWB, we understand that trauma and PTSD affect men, women, LGBTQ+, and nonbinary folks differently. Men often have a hard time talking about abuse, while women may feel that something is wrong with them, and LGBTQ+ and nonbinary individuals may face unique challenges, reinforcing a cycle of silence and shame. Trauma leaves its mark on the body, heart, and mind, making it challenging to trust pleasure again. But this doesn’t have to be the end of your story.
What sets CRIWB apart is our holistic, sex-positive approach to healing. We work somatically with the body, helping you reconnect to your natural capacity for pleasure rather than remaining stuck in the aftermath of trauma. Through this work, we support you in creating new, empowering relationships with yourself and your partner. We also offer relational support, helping partners learn to hold space with compassion without losing sight of their own needs or unintentionally enabling patterns that block healing.
Our team of dedicated clinicians understands that healing is multifaceted. That’s why we work alongside a network of pelvic floor specialists, doulas, and medical professionals with expertise in women’s sexual health. Together, we provide comprehensive care that honors your unique journey.
With CRIWB, you are not alone. We walk with you, helping you reclaim your body, your desires, and your connection to pleasure.
The Impact of Trauma on Sexual Desire and Arousal
The sexual cycle response of desire (libido) and arousal (excitement) consist of physiological and emotional responses that prepare an individual to both receive and give pleasure.
However, when there’s been a trauma that has been experienced, quite the opposite is true. The same sequence that aids the body in opening up to pleasure, may feel like the very reason to shut down and avoid it. The body essentially freezing in a state of being stuck.
Understanding Sexual Trauma Therapy — What is trauma?
Traumatic experiences involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can be traumatic, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm.
It is not the objective experience that ultimately determines whether an event is traumatic—your subjective physiological and emotional experience of the event does.
And, it’s not so much reliving what occurred, but feeling as if you are re-experiencing the event in the present. The more frightened and helpless you felt during an event, the more likely you are to be traumatized.
Events that can be considered traumatic are wide ranging—from what might be considered the stuff of ordinary life such as divorce, illness, accidents and bereavement to extreme experiences of war, torture, rape and genocide.
Sex Therapy After Trauma – Making Sense of the Trauma
Suffering from trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It can also leave you feeling numb, helpless, hopeless, disconnected, and unable to trust others and your body’s natural responses to sensations. Sexual trauma therapy can help with these issues.
Freezing is a State of Hyperarousal and Fear.
When a traumatic event occurs, it can shatter one’s sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. And in an effort to feel safer, many individuals experience a disconnection with parts of the self.
Trauma is disruptive to the body’s natural equilibrium and holistic state.
In essence, leaving you in an endless cycle of being slightly “turned-on” to sensation, so when you are engaging in desire and arousal, your body is quickly overwhelmed leading it to shut-down or not feel pleasure at all. Sex therapy after trauma is important to break this cycle.
Sexual Trauma Therapy and Holistic Healing
We find ways to release and heal the memory of the body, relaxing the emotions, and ceasing the mental loops while connecting to more aliveness and relaxation.
At CRIWB our sexual trauma therapy takes a holistic approach—movement, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral, somatic practices—to help you unravel the habitual mental loops and your stories beyond what occurred and remembering pleasure as your birthright while opening up the heart space and reconnect more “wholey” with the energy of the body.
We provide a safe and inclusive place to explore yourself and spirituality, embracing all cultures, religions, orientations, expressions, backgrounds, and lifestyles.
With holistic healing we can let go of the idea of being “fixed” and instead receive healing. Contact us to learn more about sexual trauma therapy.
How We Support Our Clients: A Holistic Approach to Healing
At the Center for Relationship and Intimacy Well-Being (CRIWB), we take a holistic approach to support our clients on their journey toward healing, growth, and reconnection. We recognize that sexual health and well-being cannot be fully addressed by focusing solely on physical symptoms or behaviors. Instead, we integrate the body, heart, mind, and spirit, offering a safe and supportive space for profound transformation.
Our approach is rooted in the 4-D Wheel and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, which offers unique pathways to healing.
The 4-D Approach: Reconnecting to Wholeness
The 4-D Approach, created by Gina Ogden, honors the four dimensions of our experience: body, mind, heart, and spirit. Rather than isolating one area of focus, this model helps clients “step into” their full stories—beyond the constraints of colonial, patriarchal narratives.
- Body: We guide clients in reconnecting to their bodies, healing old wounds, and reclaiming the body as a place of pleasure and wisdom. Somatic practices allow you to release stored trauma, feel more embodied, and find joy in your physical being.
- Mind: We help you shift limiting beliefs, reframing narratives shaped by trauma, shame, or societal conditioning. Through reflection and dialogue, we support you in expanding your mindset and fostering a healthier relationship with your sexual self.
- Heart: Relationships are at the core of our well-being. We work relationally, helping you develop new, more empowering connections with yourself and others. This includes learning to communicate openly, honor boundaries, and deepen intimacy with your partner.
- Spirit: CRIWB holds space for spiritual exploration, recognizing that healing often involves reconnecting with a sense of meaning, purpose, and inner guidance. We create a space for you to integrate all aspects of your being, including your sexual and spiritual selves.
The 4-D Approach offers a comprehensive path to healing, inviting you to fully inhabit your story, release what no longer serves you, and reclaim your authentic self.
EMDR: Healing Trauma on a Deeper Level
Many of our clients come to us carrying trauma, whether it be physical, emotional, or relational. Trauma can live in the body, resurfacing through triggers and interfering with sexual desire, pleasure, and connection. We incorporate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy.
EMDR is an evidence-based approach that helps reprocess traumatic memories and reduce their emotional impact. Through guided eye movements or bilateral stimulation, we support you in revisiting painful experiences in a safe, controlled way. EMDR allows the brain to reprocess these memories so that they no longer trigger overwhelming responses in the present. This can free you from patterns of avoidance, fear, and shutdown, opening up new possibilities for intimacy and pleasure.
At CRIWB, we can integrate EMDR into a series of intensives tailored to your unique healing process along with your regular therapy sessions. Whether you are addressing sexual trauma, relational wounds, or PTSD, EMDR works in conjunction with our 4-D holistic model, allowing for a deeper, layered approach to transformation.
Culturally Sensitive and Inclusive Care
Our approach at CRIWB is deeply culturally sensitive, intersectional, and inclusive, embracing our clients’ diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We provide a safe, welcoming space for LGBTQ+, nonbinary, and gender-expansive folx, as well as individuals from multicultural backgrounds. We understand that healing must honor each person’s unique cultural context, and our services can also be provided in Spanish to support the Latine community’s needs better. We are committed to creating an environment where all expressions of sexuality and identity are respected, celebrated, and held with compassion.
Comprehensive Support and Collaboration
At CRIWB, our holistic approach means we don’t work in isolation. We are part of a more extensive network of pelvic floor specialists, doulas, and medical professionals with expertise in women’s sexual health. This allows us to provide truly integrative care, addressing the physical, emotional, and relational aspects of your well-being.
We walk alongside you on your path to healing, helping you reconnect with your body, create healthier relationships, and find deeper meaning in your life. With our holistic, trauma-informed approach and expert collaboration, you can reclaim your pleasure, restore intimacy, and rediscover the fullness of who you are.