What Is Sex Therapy? Pleasure, Shame, and Sexual Wellness with Dr. Shannon Chavez
About this episode
Dr. Shannon Chavez discusses the true nature of sex therapy, focusing on intimacy and the impact of shame on sexual wellness.
Most people think sex therapy means Masters and Johnson-style homework or uncomfortable demonstrations. Dr. Shannon Chavez explains what it actually is—and why sexual concerns are rarely about sex at all. They're about intimacy, attachment, and learning to feel safe in your own body. Dr. Chavez has spent her career helping individuals and couples navigate sexual shame, intimacy disorders, and compulsive behaviors through a trauma informed, non-pathologizing framework. We discuss how shame is learned, not inherent, and why the opposite of shame is acceptance. We talk about how she approaches vaginismus and pelvic pain patients in therapy, why pain can live in the body even after the physical issue is resolved, and how mental rehearsal and visualization help people reclaim pleasure. We also discuss compulsive sexual behaviors not as addiction in the traditional sense, but as intimacy disorders rooted in early trauma and attachment. Dr. Chavez explains why the sex negative addiction model has done more harm than good, how porn is designed to overconsume just like doom scrolling, and why education around healthy sexuality is more effective than abstinence only approaches. We cover…
More episodes of Gyno Girl Presents: Sex, Drugs & Hormones
- Understanding Orgasms: Science, Solutions, and Why Doctors Don't Ask with Dr. Lauren Streicher
- Pelvic Venous Disorders, Chronic Pain, and the Pelvic Floor with Dr. Julie Baron
- Labiaplasty, Anatomy, Overdoing It, Traveling for Surgery & Prevention with Dr. Dahlia Rice
- Fertility Myths, Egg Freezing, and The Lucky Egg with Dr. Lucky Sekhon
- How We Treat Pelvic Pain, Painful Sex, and Sexual Dysfunction
- Functional Strength Training, Nutrition, and Midlife Reset with Katalin Rodriguez-Ogren
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Gyno Girl Presents: Sex, Drugs & Hormones podcast page.