Several great books have been written on sex therapy. Preview them here:
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
Researchers have spent the last decade trying to develop a “pink pill” for women to function like Viagra does for men. So where is it? Well, for reasons this book makes crystal clear, that pill will never be the answer—but as a result of the research that’s gone into it, scientists in the last few years have learned more about how women’s sexuality works than we ever thought possible, and Come as You Are explains it all.
The first lesson in this essential, transformative book by Dr. Emily Nagoski is that every woman has her own unique sexuality, like a fingerprint, and that women vary more than men in our anatomy, our sexual response mechanisms, and the way our bodies respond to the sexual world. So we never need to judge ourselves based on others’ experiences. Because women vary, and that’s normal.
She Comes First by Ian Kerner
As women everywhere will attest, men are “ill-cliterate.” But in the pages of She Comes First, the mystery of female satisfaction is solved, and the tongue is proven mightier than the sword. According to Ian Kerner—sex therapist and evangelist of the female orgasm—oral sex isn’t just foreplay, it’s coreplay, and is simply the best way to lead a woman through the entire process of arousal time and time again.
Fun and informative, She Comes First is an encyclopedia of female pleasure, detailing dozens of tried-and-true techniques for consistently satisfying a woman and ensuring mutual sexual fulfillment.
With Sprinkles on Top by Stefani Goerlich
With Sprinkles on Top offers a positive and empowering resource for talking about and working through sexual differences―particularly between kinky and vanilla partners. With more than 80 percent of adult couples in the US reporting desire discrepancies between partners, and many people holding fantasies they don’t feel comfortable sharing, With Sprinkles on Top offers much-needed support. As Dr. Stefani Goerlich makes clear―vanilla can be delicious… and so can kink! Focusing on communication and connection, this guide helps you find the sprinkles that can enhance your relationship.
Desire by Lauren Fogel Mersy and Jennifer A. Vencill
Desire invites readers of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship structures to shed the shame and misinformation that surround the topic of sex and instead learn from 2 certified sex therapists about how libido really works. Desire differences are one of the most common relationship issues, yet, with fewer than 1,100 certified sex therapists in the country, it can be difficult to find help. This essential book breaks the mold of the sex self-help genre, which typically focuses only on cisgender women.
Healing Sex by Staci Haines
The first encouraging, sex-positive guide for all women survivors of sexual assault – heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, coupled, and single – who want to reclaim their sex lives. While most books on the topic broach sexuality only to reassure women that it is all right to say “no” to unwanted sex, Healing Sex encourages women to learn how to say “yes” – to their own desires and on their own terms. This mind-body approach to healing from sexual trauma was created by Staci Haines, who has been educating in the area of sexual abuse, sex education, and somatic healing for over 15 years. Her techniques are ideal for anyone looking for a new way to heal from trauma, beyond traditional talk therapy.
The Art of Receiving and Giving by Betty Martin
In this book, Betty guides the reader through the Wheel of Consent framework, and shares practices to help us recover the ability to notice what we want and set clear boundaries. While the practices are based on exchanges of touch, they can also be learned without touch. In these practices, we discover that the Art of Giving includes knowing our own limits so we can be more generous within those limits, and not give beyond our capacity – a common problem which creates feelings of resentment or martyrdom. We also discover that the Art of Receiving invites us to notice and ask for what we really want, and not just what we think we are supposed to want. This knowledge, and its embodied practice, is foundational for creating clear agreements and bringing more satisfaction into relationships.
Guide To Getting It On
by Paul Joannides
The Guide To Getting It On! has won five awards and has been translated into 12 foreign languages. It has sold hundreds of thousands of copies from the dorms of UC San Diego to the bedrooms of Tripoli. Some people say The Guide is the best how-to book on sex ever written–we say it’s the most fun to read. It is smart enough to be used in sex education courses, but is also a favorite at stores that sell the kind of sex toys that will land you in the slammer in Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. Schools even use it to train doctors. The Guide covers a full range of topics from romance, necking and losing your virginity, to things we can’t even mention here.
Arousal: The Secret Logic of Sexual Fantasies
by Michael Bader
Psychoanalyst Bader argues that rather than being programmed by society or biology, sexual fantasies and preferences are psychological antidotes to unconscious dangers and should not cause feelings of shame to arise. Using vignettes and case studies from his practice, he interprets both the conventional and the bizarre, presenting readers with a way to understand such issues as sexual chemistry and boredom, cybersex, pornography, and the differences in how men and women get excited.
Assisted Loving: The Journey Through Sexuality and Aging
by Ginger T. Manley
Assisted Loving is a frank discussion of the problems older men and women face as their love lives collide with the challenges of aging. The book probes a broad range of physical and emotional subjects such as ED, prostate cancer, and waning or abandoned interest in physical contact. Its format — a series of columns addressing questions from both men and women — allows readers to easily pick the topics that interest them. – Amazon review
Great Sex: A Man’s Guide to the Secret Principles of Total-Body Sex
by Michael Castleman
An advanced guide to whole body pleasure that offers new and groundbreaking information outlining the keys to sexual fitness that can lead to a lifetime of great sex.
Love in the Time of Colic: The New Parents’ Guide to Getting It On Again
by Ian Kerner
Sex. After. Baby. These three words are spoken in hushed voices over playdates and at playgrounds. But while we may whisper them to our closest girlfriends, or joke about them after one too many beers with the guys, when it comes to talking with our partners about what’s really going on (or not going on, as the case may be) in our child-proofed bedrooms, more and more of us find ourselves tongue-tied and tiptoeing.
Resurrecting Sex: Solving Sexual Problems and Revolutionizing Your Relationship
by David Schnarch
In this remarkable new book, Dr. David Schnarch, world-renowned sex and marital therapist and author of Passionate Marriage, offers a groundbreaking approach to resolving sexual difficulties and the relationship problems they cause. By showing couples how they can turn their worst sex and relationship disasters into personal growth and spiritual connection, Dr. Schnarch offers couples the best sex of their lives. In addition to taking an unflinchingly honest, realistic, and erotic approach to sex, Dr. Schnarch reveals the complicated emotional interactions hidden within couples’ most private moments. Resurrecting Sex speaks of compassion, partnership, generosity, and integrity in adult sexual relationships, offering hope to millions of people — golden-anniversary marriages, newly formed couples, and singles alike — who are struggling with sexual difficulties.
Silently Seduced: When Parents Make Their Children Partners
by Kenneth Adams, PhD
Did you have a parent whose love for you felt more confining than freeing, more demanding than giving, more intrusive than nurturing? Did you feel trapped in a “psychological marriage” with this parent? If so, you may be a victim of covert incest. Identification of this kind of incest is difficult, since covert incest victims often feel idealized and privileged, not violated and abused. In Silently Seduced, Dr. Adams, through illustrative case examples and perceptive insight, provides covert incest victims a framework to understand what happened to them, how their lives and relationships continue to be affected and how to begin the process of recovery.
Size Matters: The Hard Facts About Male Sexuality That Every Woman Should Know
by Harry Fisch & Kara Baskin
A man’s anatomy is a lot easier to understand than his mind, and knowing what’s going on down there is just as important to a happy relationship as figuring out the deeper meaning of his every word. You can analyze your relationship with your girlfriends, but who can you turn to with the more . . . sensitive questions? In Size Matters, Dr. Harry Fisch, an expert on the male reproductive system, and writer Kara Baskin team up to introduce you, metaphorically speaking, to the penis. Clearing up mysteries about male anatomy, orgasm, masturbation, STDs, testosterone, impotence, sexual response, and much more, Size Matters is the first women’s user manual for male sexuality—a guidebook that will answer all your questions and lead you to a better sex life. For example:
- Can masturbation have any effect on sex? Can he do it too much . . . or too little?
- He always orgasms before me . . . is there any way to slow him down?
- Do grown men still have wet dreams?
- Can his weight affect our sex life?
Size Matters is a fun, prescriptive, easy-to-understand troubleshooting guide for women who have questions about male sexuality or who want to have better sex. You might not always understand what’s going on in his mind, but now you can know what’s going on in his pants.
The Enlightened Sex Manual
by David Deida
We are all created through the radiance of love – an energy that continually seeks expression through our bodies, teaches David Deida. Many of us have glimpsed this truth in occasional moments of passionate sex, only to be left wondering how to reconnect with the infinite love we intuit within and around us. With nine highly acclaimed books on the essence of sex and spirit to his credit, David Deida now offers The Enlightened Sex Manual, his first work dedicated to sharing the sexual skills and techniques taught in his sought-after international workshops and lectures.Join this best-selling author and revolutionary teacher to explore: How to circulate internal energy for greater relaxation and heightened sensuality, the secrets to multiple, “whole-body” orgasms – for men and women; a variety of sexual techniques that enhance the fullness of sexual pleasure and spiritual surrender, and advanced sexual energy exercises for continued practice in the art of enlightened sex (including two extensive guided practices on CD).
“The primary purpose of enlightened sex is to live as love by recognizing and relaxing into the open, unlimited, aware depth of being that you are,” teaches David Deida. With The Enlightened Sex Manual, now you have all the tools you need in one practical resource to help you become a “superior lover” – one who shines in the moment-by-moment offering of love’s light.
The Good Vibrations Guide To Sex
by Cathy Winks & Anne Semans
A complete guide to a healthy sex life for people of all ages and sexual orientations, written in a friendly, inclusive, and nonjudgmental style.
Sober Dating 101 Workshop
Integrate Healthy Dating Back Into Your Recovery Journey Whether you’re a sex addict in recovery or dating a sex addict in recovery, this workshop will
Foundations of BDSM/Kink Online Workshop
This 1-day online workshop is designed to give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to explore your desires in ways that are safe, informed, and
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Center for Healthy Sex offers a therapeutic modality called Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Ketamine is a legal, safe, and effective medicine
Sex Addiction 101 Workshop
A Practical Introduction to Recovery from Sex Addiction If you or someone you love struggles with sexually compulsive behaviors, knowing where to start can feel
Psychological Assessment & Testing
Center For Healthy Sex offers psychological testing services for California clients. Psychological testing is beneficial for increasing your self-awareness and identifying the complexities of your
Online Queer Men’s Sexual Recovery Group
The Online Queer Men’s Sexual Recovery Group is designed for any male-identified or non-binary individuals on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. The group offers a safe, queer-affirmative