Sex Therapy Questions, Answered

Find answers about sex therapy before you book with The Cannon Institute in Denver, CO.

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Specialized AASECT Leadership

Directed by a Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor.

Gender-Affirming Care

WPATH-verified standards for LGBTQ+ and poly safety.

Advanced Clinical Mentorship

Elite supervision backing every staff clinician.

A Denver Icon Since 2008

Decades of trusted care throughout Colorado.

How Sex Therapy Works

Sex therapy is talk-based care for concerns that affect sex, intimacy, desire, and connection. At The Cannon Institute, sex therapy gives you room to talk about questions, patterns, or experiences that may feel too private, confusing, or difficult to sort through alone.

You might talk about:

Low desire or mismatched desire
Painful sex or anxiety around intimacy
Erectile concerns, orgasm difficulties, or performance pressure
Shame, guilt, or past sexual messages
Kinks, fantasies, boundaries, or sexual preferences
Gender, sexual orientation, or identity questions
Open relationships, infidelity, sexual trauma, or compulsive sexual behavior

Your therapist may help you:

Understand what is shaping the concern
Talk about sex with less shame or pressure
Name needs, boundaries, and desires more clearly
Use education, mindfulness, or exercises outside of therapy when they fit your goals

Cost and Scheduling Details

Review fees, insurance, payment options, and cancellation timing before scheduling your first appointment.

Fees

Rates range from $75 to $175 per 50-minute session. Your exact fee depends on the clinician.

Good Faith Estimate Policy

Insurance

The Cannon Institute is an out-of-network provider and does not bill insurance directly.

We provide superbills to our clients for possible reimbursement.

Payment

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and FSA/HSA cards.

Payment is processed securely after each session.

Cancellations

Cancellations must be made at least 3 business days before your scheduled appointment time.

Late cancellations may be charged the full session fee.

First Sessions

Your first sessions are a place to explain what brought you in, ask questions, and begin shaping the kind of support that fits your goals.

At The Cannon Institute, your therapist will move at a pace that respects your privacy, comfort, and readiness.

Start with what feels most present

You can share what feels most important right now. We may ask about your concerns, your relationship, your history, and what you want to understand or change.

Clarify the focus of therapy

Early sessions help us understand where support is needed. That may include desire, pain, anxiety, shame, identity, sexual functioning, or relationship patterns.

Shape the next steps

From there, we collaborate on where to begin. Sessions may include conversation, education, reflection, communication tools, or guided exercises.

Common Concerns

Find answers to the questions people often have before starting sex therapy.

Yes. You do not need a clear label for what is happening before you start. Sex therapy can help you sort through confusion around desire, intimacy, pleasure, identity, boundaries, or changes in your relationship with sex.

If it affects your comfort, confidence, intimacy, or sense of self, it is worth talking about. Sex therapy is not only for crisis points. It can also help when something feels confusing, disconnected, or hard to say out loud.

This is a judgment-free zone, and we are guided by the concept of unconditional positive regard. Sex therapists are trained to talk about sexual concerns with care and clinical professionalism. The goal is to understand what is happening and support clearer conversations about sex and intimacy.

No. Sex therapy can be helpful for individuals, couples, and partners in different relationship structures. You can come to therapy to understand your own desire, body, identity, sexual history, shame, boundaries, or relationship patterns.

You can still begin on your own. Individual sex therapy can help you understand your experience, clarify what you want to communicate, and decide what support makes sense next.

Yes. Avoidance can happen for many reasons, including anxiety, pain, past experiences, shame, conflict, or fear of disappointing a partner. Sex therapy can help you understand what avoidance may be protecting and what support may help.

Sex therapy may support healing after sexual trauma, especially when trauma affects desire, safety, touch, trust, or intimacy. The work should move at a pace that respects your consent and readiness. Your therapist may also discuss trauma-focused support if that fits your care needs.

Everything at The Cannon Institute, sex therapy should affirm LGBTQ+ identities, relationships, orientations, and experiences. You can talk about identity, desire, gender, intimacy, relationships, and sexual concerns without having to educate your therapist on the basics.

Somatic sex therapy pays attention to how sexual concerns can show up in the body. This may include awareness of tension, shutdown, anxiety, sensation, or nervous system responses. Any body-based work will remain consent-based, clothed, and within appropriate clinical boundaries.

It is right for you if you would like to make changes or if sex, desire, intimacy, identity, pleasure, pain, shame, or communication has become confusing, distressing, or difficult to navigate alone. A consultation can help you ask questions and decide if The Cannon Institute is the right fit.