The Difference Between Sexual Compulsion and High Sex Drive: A Fine Line: Sex Therapy in Philadelphia, Ocean City, Santa Fe & Mechanicsville.
Many couples seek sex therapy because of mismatched sexual desires, sex habits, skills and needs. Common sexual complaints are:
- My partner’s sex drive is much higher / lower than mine
- My partner is too conservative / experimental for me
- My partner is too inhibited/wild, if only he/she were comfortable with himself / herself sexually (or be less focused on sex), we could have a great sex life
- My partner never thinks about sex / my partner is always thinking about sex
- My partner only wants to have sex on vacation when they are relaxed / my partner uses sex as a form of stress release
- When we are having regular sex my partner is much nicer to me / I worry that my partner is going to have sex with someone else if I don't have sex with them
After a thorough sexual assessment, the therapist believes that the client is struggling with an issue of mismatched sex drives the focus of sex therapy sessions will be on increasing the lower sex drive partner’s desire, fostering sexual comfort in both partners, improving sexual communication, improving sexual techniques, accepting sexual differences and compromising. If the situation is a case of mismatched sex drives than some improvement enables both clients to feel closer and more satisfied. Often the person with the higher sex drive will need to do some grief work, and grieve that they will never get the frequency that they had hoped for, and accept the effort that their partner is making towards increasing their energy on a topic that is very important to you. If the self-labeled “wilder, higher sex drive” discounts the progress and has no level of flexibility, the partner with the "higher sex drive" may be suffering from an undiagnosed sex addiction. Thus, no matter how much the partner “improves” the quantity of sex will never be good enough.
What is the difference between a high sex drive and a sexual compulsion? The primary difference between the two is the way that people feel after sex, and their actual need to be sexual. People with a high sex drive feel satisfied after sex. Though they desire frequent sex, they can tolerate a different pace. For example, if they are told “no, not tonight, I have a headache” they do not feel rejected, hopeless, angry, agitated etc. They are able to switch gears and enjoy the rest of the day because they see their desire as just that – desire, not necessity. If, on the other hand, the tolerance for difference, the flexibility, and the ability to take a sexual rebuff in stride are not present, there may be an undiagnosed sexual compulsion.
What is the difference between a low sex drive and being asexual? The primary difference is that the person with a low sex drive still wants sex, and gets pleasure from the actual sex. The person who is asexual, only derives pleasure from pleasing the other person. They are not getting anything directly from the sexual experience.
To further explore your sexuality, we strongly encourage you to speak with a sex therapist. You are welcome to self schedule an inperson or virtual sex therapy appointment.
You can self schedule an in-person or virtual therapy session at the Center for Growth by calling (215) 922- LOVE (5683) x 100.
Our Guarantee: If after your first session you are not sold that you are working with the right therapist, do not hesitate to call our intake line at 215 922 5683 x 100 or Alex at (267) 324-9564 and ask to be rescheduled with another therapist. The choice of how you want to proceed is yours. Our only goal is to support you in becoming the best you possible.
For your convenience, we have brick and mortar offices and work with clients virtually in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Physical Therapy Office Locations:
Ocean City Therapy Office 360 West Ave, Floor 1, Ocean City, NJ 08226
Mechanicsville Therapy Office 9044 Mann Drive, Mechanicsville Virginia, 23116
Society Hill Therapy Office 233 S. 6th Street, C-33, Philadelphia PA 19106
Art Museum / Fairmount Therapy Office 2401 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 1a2, Philadelphia PA 19130
Providence Therapy Office 173 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02906
Fayetteville Therapy Office 101 Devant Street #606, Fayetteville GA 30214
Santa Fe Therapy Office, 2204 B Brothers Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505
Telemedicine Therapy Locations: We have therapists who are licensed to work in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia and Pennsylvania
Therapy Services Offered in Fayetteville, Ocean City, Mechanicsville, Philadelphia, Providence, Santa Fe:
Individual Counseling and therapy
Couples Counseling and marriage counseling
Teen Therapy and Adolescent Therapy and tweens and child counseling
Family Therapy and multi-generational counseling
Art Therapy and Counseling no art skills needed
ADHD Therapy and ADD, Dyslexia, Autism, Tourettes counseling
Anxiety, Panic, OCD Therapy and worry and fear support
Breaking the cycle of Codependency and being your own person
Overcoming Chronic Illness and Chronic Pain .
Depression Therapy and sadness, gloom, and upset support
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Therapy is a particular style of therapy designed for people with problems affecting their nervous system, how the brain and body send and receive signals.
Grief Therapy and loss, End of A Relationship, rejections, pregnancy and loss and therapy
Mindfulness Based Therapy and spirituality based therapy
Narcissistic Abuse Recovery child of, parent of, spouse of, sibling of a narcissist.
Sex Therapy and sexual function & dysfunction, sex addiction, sexual orientation and gender identity support
Trauma Therapy both emotional and sexual abuse, complex trauma, PTSD counseling
Divorce support
Affairs, Infidelity, Unfaithful, Cheating counseling
Parenting therapy
Personality disorder treatments Narcissist, Borderline, Histrionic
Setting Boundaries and identifying ones own Core Beliefs
Just name some of the Mental Health issues that we work with. Our goal is to help you Change and Achieve Your Dreams
