Articles from Ocnos Psychology Clinic to better understand desire, intimacy, sexual anxiety, emotional blocks and the difficulties that can appear in sexual life, both individually and within a relationship.
The aim of this category: to offer useful and clinically responsible resources for individuals and couples who want to understand what may be happening when sexual anxiety, loss of desire, performance pressure, shame, difficulty enjoying intimacy or intimate distress appear.
Sex therapy is not about forcing quick solutions. It helps us understand the role of anxiety, self-pressure, communication, the couple’s relationship, the body and previous experiences in the way sexuality is experienced.
In this category we bring together content on sex therapy written from a healthcare, respectful and non-judgemental perspective. The aim is to help you put words to difficulties that are often lived in silence, with shame, or with the feeling that they “should resolve themselves”.
Having a sexual difficulty does not mean there is something “wrong” with you. It may be related to anxiety, previous experiences, insecurity, pressure, relationship conflict, life changes, fear of judgement, the sexual education received or bodily disconnection. Understanding the context is often the first step towards approaching it with more calm.
Ocnos resources are created from a clinical, careful and person-centred perspective. Articles can provide orientation, but they do not replace an individual psychological assessment.
General Health Psychologist · Director of Ocnos Psychology Clinic
Registered with COPAO AN11777
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General Health Psychologist
Registered with COPAO AN13748
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General Health Psychologist
Registered with COPAO AN12933
View professional profileMany sexual difficulties continue because they are lived with pressure, silence or shame. A psychological approach allows the situation to be viewed more broadly: not only what happens, but when it appears, what triggers it, how it is interpreted, which emotions it activates and how it affects self-esteem or the relationship.
Sexuality can intersect with anxiety, mood, the couple’s relationship, communication, personal history and the way the body is experienced.
In sex therapy the aim is not to impose goals or measure the person by their performance. The work focuses on understanding the difficulty, reducing pressure, improving communication and recovering a safer relationship with the body, desire and intimacy.
When anticipation, fear of failing or bodily monitoring block the intimate experience.
Desire can change because of stress, tiredness, conflict, emotional distance or accumulated pressure.
Psychological work can help reduce shame, disconnection or body-related insecurity.
Talking about sexuality with care can reduce tension and support more realistic agreements.
Anxiety can influence desire, arousal, body connection and the ability to experience intimacy calmly.
Intervention can be carried out individually or with the partner, depending on the difficulty, context and therapeutic goals.
When sexuality intersects with the couple’s relationship, communication, trust, safety and emotional closeness may need to be addressed.
It may be useful to seek help when the difficulty continues over time, creates anticipatory anxiety, affects self-esteem, limits intimacy, leads to avoidance, worsens communication within the couple or is experienced with suffering. Therapy helps to understand the problem and build gradual changes, not to judge the person.
This information may help you orientate yourself, but it does not replace a professional assessment. If there are physical symptoms, pain, sudden changes, medical concerns or possible medication side effects, it is also important to consult the relevant healthcare professional. At Ocnos we work on the psychological and relational component of sexual difficulties from a confidential and respectful space.
In intimate matters, feeling heard without judgement is especially important. Patient reviews can help you understand how psychological care is experienced at Ocnos Psychology Clinic.
This category will continue to grow with articles on sexual anxiety, desire, intimacy, communication, individual sex therapy, sex therapy for couples and intimate wellbeing. If you need professional guidance, you can book a first appointment at Ocnos Psychology Clinic.
Explore the latest resources published by the Ocnos Psychology Clinic team on sex therapy, sexual anxiety, desire, intimacy, relationships and psychological wellbeing.
Opening a relationship may add novelty, but it is not an automatic treatment for low desire. This guide explores causes, motives, risks, agreements and alternatives before deciding.
A guide for when one partner regrets opening: immediate safety, understanding regret, responsibility towards others, repair and realistic options.
Learn to understand and manage jealousy in an open relationship without denying the emotion or turning it into surveillance, control or impossible rules.
An inclusive, evidence-informed guide to four-person relationships, with practical ways to manage time, prevent alliances of power and build clear, respectful agreements.
A guide to facing a request for openness without confusing listening with consent: first reactions, boundaries, conversation, pressure warning signs and incompatibility.
A practical psychology-based guide to consensual non-monogamy: how it differs from infidelity, which models it includes, and how to discuss agreements, jealousy, care and boundaries without idealising any relationship structure.
A monogamous relationship involves an agreement about exclusivity, but couples do not always mean the same thing by it. This guide explores fidelity, boundaries, attraction, desire, jealousy, digital behaviour and how agreements can change.
A practical psychology-based guide to open relationships: motivations, consent, agreements, jealousy, sexual health and how to decide without idealising or condemning this relationship model.
A psychological guide to LAT relationships: how they differ from long-distance relationships or separation, possible benefits and difficulties, agreements, care and questions to consider before choosing separate homes.
A psychology-based guide to polyamory: how it differs from other non-monogamous models and how to discuss consent, hierarchy, jealousy, time and emotional responsibility.
An inclusive psychological guide to explicit and implicit hierarchy in polyamory, the difference between priority and control, and agreements about time, power, decisions, autonomy and care.
An inclusive psychological guide to closed relationships: how to define exclusivity without confusing it with control, protect autonomy and agree how to handle intimacy, sexual health, breaches and change.
