Do you simultaneously feel like you’re TOO MUCH and somehow also NOT ENOUGH?

Perhaps you consider yourself a “WEIRDO IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING,” having learned to mask in a range of settings?

Are you looking for therapy that honors agency and POSSIBILITIES within a world on fire?

hello!

I am an AASECT certified sex therapist specializing in experiences of trauma and dissociation. 

All experiences, social locations, and identities (including all genders and sexualities) are explored together with curiosity through a trauma-attuned lens. This includes those who identify with any flavors of neurodiverse or not perfect enough to be a perfectionist or in recovery or artsy weirdo or hiding my kink or even allergic to pathologizing constructs and terms! 

I invite the following into sessions, in no particular order: joy, laughter, slowing down, amazement, curiosity, co-regulation, the expansiveness of grief and celebration, and my own accountability. My default setting is authenticity, showing up in sessions through protective caring, creativity, puns and a nerdy sense of humor.

My labor history includes letterpress printing & artist bookmaking, and I continue to dabble actively in a range of mark making on paper. Music factors prominently in my life: I play alto sax and clarinet in community honk bands, and midlife introduced me to the spiritual edges of experimental noise. My pronouns are primarily she/her, equally welcoming of they/them. My favorite word is and.

AASECT Certified Sex Therapist

services

PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR TRAUMA & DISSOCIATION and SEXUAL WELLNESS

The most significant overlap integrating trauma and sex therapy treatment is consent! Paired with consent is the commonly used term“boundaries,” and one that I take seriously and with curiosity. The most striking boundary in therapy is that I function to serve your needs within our framework of shared consent. 

My interdisciplinary lens that focuses on history: your history, intergenerational histories, the history of your intersecting identities, the history of systems in which we all live. We’ll be exploring meanings of these pasts to make sense of your present, all the while looking towards the future. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) scaffolds our sessions, with ego state theories (I use terms such as “parts work“) always in action. 

For both individual psychotherapy and relational/couple’s psychotherapy, when integrating sexual wellness into trauma treatment, we can explore:

  • sexuality
  • gender, both internal identity and external expression
  • boundaries (check out the 8 Elements of Boundaries, below!)
  • communication & consent, particularly for:
    • variations of neurodiversity, such as ADHD, “AuDHD,” experiences of synesthesia, etc
    • dissociation, including those have parts, systems, identify as plural
  • sexual interests (ranging from BDSM & kinks to “vanilla” varieties!)
  • desire discrepancy (fancy for one person is wanting sexual activities more than another is)
  • relationship styles (monogamy, polyamory, and more)
  • influence of developmental and life changes (such as: perimenopause; having children; disability needs)

I provide both in-person office visits and telehealth. It’s not unusual for people to do a mixture of both!

Be sure to check out the FAQs page because I know you are curious.

CONTACT ME

I am primarily a private, out-of-network provider.

Individual psychotherapy rates and duration options:

  • Initial phone consultation, 20-30 minutes: no charge.
  • Initial assessment (75 minutes): $250
  • Weekly sessions (60 minutes), for consistency and week-to-week integration: $200
  • Extended sessions* (1.5 hours to 3 hours): $200 per hour, prorated at the same hourly rate, broken into 30 minute increments.
    • Extended sessions are typically scheduled every two to eight weeks depending on what we determine together will best serve your integration. It’s also not unusual to meet for weekly hour-long sessions with extended sessions sprinkled in.

If your health insurance plan includes out-of-network coverage, at your request I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

  • I am in-network with Optum plans, which include ConnectiCare, Harvard Pilgrim, UnitedHealthcare.
  • *Extended sessions are not covered by insurance plans.
  • Initial consultation, 20-30 minutes: no charge.
  • Intake and planning session, 2 hours: $450
  • Extended sessions (2, 2.5 and 3 hour options): $200 per hour

For couples and all relational configurations, my services offered are only private pay. Why? Because I only offer extended sessions; any shorter and the approach I take to therapy is rushed. The durations of these extended sessions are not recognized by commercial insurance billing codes; commercial insurance requires a corresponding behavioral health code, requiring diagnostic interviews and assessments to substantiate. The diagnostic code I use is “Z70.9: Sex Counseling, unspecified,” not typically (or ever?) recognized by insurance companies for reimbursement. 

consultation for therapists

Consultation for trauma-focused therapists who want to build confidence and clinical skill in addressing sexuality, gender, intimacy, and sexual health with their clients. Whether you’re unsure how to open these conversations, want an assessment framework, or need support navigating complex clients, I provide trauma-specific integration of sex therapy. My approach centers belonging, social justice, and curiosity for how the self-of-the-therapist influences the therapeutic relationship.

Available in individual or group consultation formats, tailored to you and your comfort level.

Whether it’s a clinical stuck point with one client or a generalized interest in bringing more trauma-specific sex therapy skills into your practice, clinical consultation offers protective containment for vulnerability.

  • Practice addressing anything (yes, anything!) sex-related in clinical contexts.
  • Consult on how sexuality, gender, and sexual preferences relate to dissociation and internal systems.
    • For example, how do we support a client with an internal part who has a gender or sexual preference different that differs?
  • Explore your own positionalities and bias (we all have them all life-long!)
  • Practice applying the Eight Elements of Boundaries.

Let’s get curious doing self-of-the-therapist exploration, identifying your own patterns showing up in your sessions with clients.

(If only you could see my eyes twinkling and hear my delighted squeal at the excitement for self-of-the-therapist growth!)

Calendar: consultation for therapists

  • Individual consultation: $175 per scheduled hour
  • Consultation for 2 colleagues: $125 each per scheduled hour
  • Consultation for 3 to 4 colleagues: $100 each per scheduled hour

Just like the extended duration sessions I offer clients, you have the option for extended consultation time. These consultations are prorated at the same hourly rate, broken into additional 30 minute increments.

Follow this link for booking!

calendar

Just like the extended duration sessions I offer clients, you have the option for extended consultation time:

  • prorated at the same hourly rate
  • broken into additional 30 minute increments

If so:

  • book two hours within the calendar
  • include a note if you are reserving 30 minutes or the full 60 minutes of the second hour

*some people are wary of using google products; if this is you, you can submit an inquiry through the “Contact Me” form on my website, which is not linked to google products. 

Want to learn more before committing? Reach out to schedule a free 15-minute consultation for consultation!

Tell me more!

I’m already comfortable initiating topics on sex, gender, sexuality and all forms of relationship constellations. Is this too beginner for me?

My favorite answer: it depends! Because the consultation focus includes conceptualizing how expressions of complex trauma interweave in all areas of life, my hope is that together we will collaborate and identify options for your clinical stuck points.

Am I causing harm addressing sex with clients seeking treatment for sexual assault and sexual abuse?

No. That said, we’ll be exploring strategies that integrate your established approaches for trauma attunement and constant consent, as well as identifying other areas.

Can I consult on clients who have dissociative parts with different sexual identities, genders and sexual preferences?

Yes please!

Do you have recommendations for evidence-based literature on sex therapy interventions for clients who have dissociative parts with different sexual identities, genders and sexual preferences?

I do not because I have not been able to find them. So please share if you do!

Why wasn’t sex addressed in my graduate program?

Sigh. One answer is that suppression of pleasure is a historical and ongoing tool of oppression.

What if I’m not officially a trauma therapist?

My bias is therapy only benefits from more integration of interventions related to sex and complex trauma! I’m delighted to share how these approaches inform all clinical styles and specializations.

Does this count toward a sex therapy certification?

No, it does not. Though I am an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, please go visit AASECT’s website for much more information on the steps towards formal/official certification.

BOUNDARIES PROJECT

The Eight Elements of Boundaries: Making Visible the Invisible

The Eight Elements of Boundaries (previously called the Eight Dimensions of Boundaries) is a tool highlighting the overlap of boundaries’ psychological and concrete nature.

It is a response to the phrase “I need to set boundaries!” Rather than being prescriptive (ie, an expert knows a “good” or “healthy” boundary) it opens the floor for boundaries to be as unique as the individuals enacting them. The tool emphasizes that all individuals are part of intersecting groups, communities and institutions.

This mega venn diagram is particularly helpful for neurodiverse and visual folks to help clarify their own needs and receive others’ communication. It offers a strategy not only for speaking, but also for listening. 

I have presented the boundaries framework at:

  • AASECT Annual Conference
  • Connecticut Women’s Consortium 
  • Oxford College of Emory University
  • Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit

860.470.6211 | anne@annethompsonlpc.com | 270 Farmington Ave, Suite 333, Farmington, CT 06032