About Us
Center for Sexual Health is dedicated to patient care, teaching and research. The center has two programs that address the treatment of sexual difficulties:
- Sexual Health Counseling Services
- Sex Matters Clinic (for individuals and couples over 60).
Patients do not need a physician referral for individual or couples counseling.
The center educates both professionals and the public about sexual health. The center also is engaged in research to further the understanding of sexual health, and the adjustment and treatment of sexual difficulties.
Mission and goals
The center philosophy is that sexual health is an important part of every individual's general health. The center provides comprehensive sexual health treatment, encourages sexuality education of professionals and the public, and advances research in sexual health. Through patient care, teaching and research, the center addresses the needs of individuals and couples who are sexually active or who anticipate becoming sexually active. The center treats couples in both heterosexual or same-sex relationships. The center is able to address a multitude of sexual problems and concerns, giving attention to the psychological, hormonal, medical and relational facets of sexual health.
Staffing
The sex therapists at the center for sexual health are licensed mental health professionals who have received specialized training in helping people resolve sexual difficulties through counseling. Sex therapists counsel individuals or couples. We teach sexuality education, as well as communication and stress reduction techniques. We also give specific information to help resolve sexual problems. No sexual activity is ever practiced in the therapist’s office. Sex therapists listen and talk to you, and help you find ways to overcome or adjust to your problems.
Sex therapists at University of Michigan Health Systems are required to hold the specialized national certification called “AASECT certified” sex therapy. You will see a certified sex therapist or a sex therapist who is finalizing their certification in sex therapy. We are also all engaged in teaching sexuality education to faculty and graduate students. We are committed to better standards for providing information about sexual health to patients and clients at University of Michigan and its clinics.
What is certification as a sex therapist?
For the great majority of professionals in health care and human services, sex therapist certification is a prerequisite to independent practice as a sex therapist. It is important to know that there is a national credentialing body called the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. AASECT credentials sexual health professionals on the basis of rigorous standards for academic preparation, supervised training and consultation, field-related experience and applied skills. Certification by AASECT is a crucial step in professional stature, demonstrating to all that the sex therapist has met stringent requirements for training and experience.
Past and present
The center began in 1982 as Sexual Health Counseling Services. Over the years, the original counseling program expanded to create a center that includes specialized counseling services, education and research.
The center is a part of the University of Michigan Health System’s Department of Social Work. The center also is part of several subspecialty clinics in Gynecology and Urology, helping women with vulvar pain, developmental disabilities, problems related to sexual development or disorders of sexual diffentiation – and in clinics for men who are being treated for certain types of urologic cancers. The center engages in collaborative clinical care and research with other departments and centers within the University of Michigan Health Systems, including Turner Geriatric Center and the Comprehensive Cancer Center.
