Sexual therapy in Stockholm and online – a professional space for sexuality, desire and intimacy

Sexuality can be connected with closeness, vitality, pleasure, identity and a sense of being deeply known by another person. It can also become an area of uncertainty, frustration, grief or silence.

Desire may change, intimacy may feel different, partners may lose a shared rhythm, or it may simply be difficult to put personal wishes and boundaries into words.

Sexual therapy offers a professional space in which these questions can be explored without imposing a fixed idea of what sexuality should look like.

I work with both individuals and couples. The starting point is always the actual situation: what is happening now, what has changed, and what would you like to understand or develop?

My further training includes clinical sexology, which I integrate with psychodynamic and analytically informed psychotherapy. Where relevant, I may also draw on sexual-therapeutic perspectives informed by Desjardins.

These approaches are not used as a rigid programme. They are integrated according to the needs of the individual or couple and the therapeutic process.

Sessions are available at my practice in Stockholm and, where appropriate, online. I work in English, Swedish and German, which can be particularly helpful for international and multilingual clients.

People seek sexual therapy for many different reasons. Sometimes there is a clearly defined concern.

At other times there is simply a sense that something has changed: desire is less accessible, intimacy has become tense, sexual contact carries expectations, or an important subject has been avoided for a long time.

Sexual therapy can also be useful when there is no specific problem to solve.

You may want to understand your sexuality more fully, become clearer about what feels good and meaningful, or develop language for wishes, uncertainty and boundaries.

Sexuality changes across the lifespan. The aim of therapy is therefore not to achieve a particular frequency, performance standard or norm.

The work is to understand what is meaningful, possible and sustainable for you or for your relationship.

Sexual desire is not a fixed personal trait. It is influenced by stress, sleep, physical health, medication, hormonal changes, life transitions, relationship experiences, body image and emotional safety.

A change in desire therefore rarely makes sense when viewed through a single explanation.

In therapy we can look more closely at when desire is present and when it withdraws. Is closeness welcome while sexual contact feels associated with pressure?

Does the body need more time? Has the emotional relationship changed? Are there competing demands that leave little space for erotic attention?

For many people it is helpful to distinguish spontaneous desire, responsive desire, the wish for physical closeness, emotional connection and sexual attraction. These experiences overlap, but they are not identical. Greater differentiation can create new possibilities.

Differences in desire are common in long-term relationships. The difference itself is often less difficult than the meaning each partner gives to it.

The partner who initiates more often may experience a refusal as rejection or loss of attraction. The partner with less desire may feel pressured, inadequate or responsible for the other's wellbeing.

Over time both partners may begin to protect themselves. One stops initiating to avoid another refusal.

The other avoids affectionate touch because it may be interpreted as an invitation to sex. Gradually, everyday tenderness can also diminish.

In sexual therapy for couples we can examine this cycle without assigning one partner the role of the problem.

We can work with desire, initiation, rejection, closeness, boundaries and the emotional meanings that have developed around sexual contact.

Intimacy can be created through touch, eye contact, conversation, humour, care, shared vulnerability and the experience of being received by another person.

For some couples sexuality is an important pathway into closeness. For others emotional intimacy remains strong while sexual contact gradually becomes less central.

Therapeutically it can be useful to ask which forms of closeness are still available and which have become difficult. What kind of touch feels free and welcome? What has become linked with expectation? What is missed?

Sometimes grief is part of this process. The body, the relationship or the circumstances of life may have changed.

The task is not necessarily to recreate the past exactly, but to discover what form of intimacy is possible and wanted now.

Many people have learned to speak confidently about work, family and practical life but have had little opportunity to develop language for sexuality.

A person may know what does not feel right while finding it much harder to describe what they actually want.

Therapy can help distinguish fantasy, wish, need, boundary and intention. A thought or fantasy can be spoken about without creating an obligation to act on it.

For couples, more precise language can reduce the need to guess. It becomes easier to communicate yes, no, perhaps, not now or in a different way. Clarity can support both safety and freedom.

A self-directed sexual life requires space for both desire and boundaries. Consent is not a one-time agreement; it is an ongoing process that can change from one moment to another.

Some people find it easier to sense the needs of another person than their own. Others recognise a boundary only after it has already been crossed.

Therapy can help develop earlier awareness of bodily signals and a clearer distinction between personal desire, adaptation and internal pressure.

Clear boundaries are not the opposite of closeness. When a genuine no is possible, a yes can also become freer and more meaningful.

The body changes throughout life.

Pregnancy, childbirth, illness, surgery, menopause, ageing and changes in weight or physical capacity can affect how familiar we feel in our bodies and how easily we can remain present during sexual contact.

When attention is dominated by how the body looks, it may become harder to notice what the body actually feels.

Sexual therapy can provide space to explore the relationship with the body without reducing the question to appearance.

Physical symptoms and medical concerns may require assessment by a physician or another appropriate healthcare professional. Sexual therapy does not replace medical evaluation, but it can complement it when physical, psychological and relational factors interact.

Questions concerning sexual orientation, gender, identity and belonging can be part of sexual therapy when they are relevant to the person or couple.

The focus may be on self-understanding , a relationship, family responses, social expectations or experiences of minority stress.

A sexual or gender identity is not treated as a problem that needs to be explained or changed.

The focus remains on the person's own experience and on the questions that matter in their life and relationships.

There can also be periods of exploration in which fixed labels are not useful. Therapy can offer room for reflection without pressure to arrive at a quick conclusion.

Previous sexual violations, coercion or other difficult experiences can continue to influence sexuality long afterwards. The body may respond with tension, withdrawal, numbness or heightened vigilance even when the present situation is safe.

Work in this area needs to proceed carefully and at a pace that respects stability and choice.

The aim is not to produce sexual activity or to push through reactions. Safety, self-determination , awareness of boundaries and the possibility of making one's own decisions may be central.

Depending on the situation, sexual therapy may form one part of a broader psychotherapeutic process. The appropriate form of treatment needs to be considered individually.

Clinical sexology provides a professional framework for understanding sexuality as part of biological, psychological, relational and social life. This broader perspective is important because sexual concerns rarely belong to only one dimension.

A change in desire, for example, may be connected with stress and physical factors while also being influenced by relationship dynamics.

Pain can change expectations around sexual contact. Shame can make it difficult to express needs even in an otherwise safe relationship.

The therapeutic process therefore begins by building a sufficiently broad understanding of the situation. This helps clarify what can be addressed psychotherapeutically and when medical, physiotherapeutic or other professional expertise may be useful alongside therapy.

Where it is relevant to the presenting concern, I may integrate perspectives and forms of work informed by Desjardins into sexual therapy.

They are embedded within the wider therapeutic process and adapted to the individual or couple.

Sexuality is not treated as an isolated function. Body, emotion, relationship, communication, personal history, boundaries and current life circumstances influence one another.

Sexual experiences take place in the present while also carrying personal history. Experiences of closeness, affirmation, rejection, shame, embodiment and earlier relationships can influence the meaning that present situations acquire.

A psychodynamic perspective can help explain why particular moments become especially sensitive or why a recurring pattern remains difficult to change despite good intentions. The past is explored where it helps make the present more understandable.

The therapeutic focus remains on life now: recognising reactions, becoming clearer about needs and boundaries, and creating the possibility of new experiences of contact.

Individual sexual therapy may be appropriate when the main concern involves your own sexuality, desire, body experience, identity, boundaries or personal history.

It can also be useful when you want to understand your position before discussing a sensitive issue with a partner.

An individual setting allows thoughts and feelings to be explored without simultaneously having to respond to a partner's immediate reaction. For some people this makes it easier to identify what they actually feel and want.

If it becomes clear that the central difficulty is primarily located in the interaction between partners, couples therapy or joint sexual-therapy sessions may be the more appropriate format.

When sexuality has become a shared relationship issue, both perspectives need room.

This is particularly relevant when partners experience different levels of desire, difficulty with initiation, repeated rejection, changed intimacy or sexual questions that have become too charged to discuss.

In couples work we examine sexuality together with the relational pattern around it. What happens when one partner reaches for closeness? How is a refusal understood? Which expectations remain unspoken? What kind of contact is missing?

When communication, conflict, trust or broader relationship patterns are the main concern, couples therapy may be the clearest primary route. Sexuality can then be integrated as one important part of the relationship.

Sexual therapy is available at my practice in Stockholm in the Odenplan/Vasastan area. For personal and intimate topics, a neutral therapeutic setting outside everyday life can be particularly valuable.

For international residents and English-speaking clients in Stockholm, working in a language in which complex emotional and relational experiences can be expressed accurately is often important.

The full address is shown at the bottom of every page.

Online sexual therapy may be suitable if you live outside Stockholm, travel frequently or prefer to work in English regardless of location. Sessions require a private setting where you can speak without interruption.

For people living elsewhere in Sweden, online work can widen access to a therapist whose language and clinical background fit their needs. It can also support continuity for internationally mobile clients.

Cross-border therapeutic work is subject to relevant professional and legal frameworks. Whether online work can be offered in a particular situation therefore needs to be considered individually.

You do not need to arrive with a complete explanation.

The first session is used to understand what brings you, what has changed and what you or you as a couple would like to understand or develop.

Even a subject that is difficult to name can be approached gradually.

Depending on the concern, relationship dynamics, health, stress, medication, body experience, previous experiences and current life circumstances may all be relevant.

Not everything needs to become a therapy topic. The wider orientation helps identify what actually matters.

After an initial orientation it usually becomes clearer whether the work should primarily be sexual therapy, couples therapy or part of a broader psychotherapeutic process.

If medical or other specialist assessment would be useful, this can be discussed transparently.

The central self-assessment page includes an orientation section on sexuality and intimacy. It can help you reflect on desire, closeness, communication, boundaries and how sexuality is currently experienced.

This is not a diagnostic test and it does not determine whether someone's sexuality is normal or abnormal. Its purpose is to organise thoughts and identify areas that may be useful to explore further.

A dedicated introductory questionnaire for sexual therapy is available as a PDF. It helps individuals and couples organise relevant background information and questions before the first session.

The questionnaire is a preparation tool without any diagnostic function. It asks only for what is useful for a first conversation and approaches intimate information with respect and restraint.

Any question you prefer not to answer in writing can be left open.

You will find it on the central questionnaires and preparation page, together with practical information about how it is used.

I am a licensed psychotherapist in Sweden with extensive clinical experience in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. My therapeutic background includes psychodynamic psychotherapy and analytical psychology.

I have additional training in clinical sexology and sexual science, which I integrate into my work with individuals and couples. Where relevant, sexual-therapeutic perspectives informed by Desjardins may also be included.

A fuller overview of my education, clinical experience and professional roles is available in my CV and expert profile.

If you would like to understand changes in sexuality, explore desire and intimacy, talk as a couple about a difficult pattern, or work therapeutically with questions concerning body, boundaries and relationships, you can send an enquiry for an initial session.

Current fees and the contact form are at the bottom of every page. The first contact can also help clarify whether sexual therapy, couples therapy or a broader psychotherapeutic approach is the most appropriate starting point.