Sensate Focus
One of the core pillars of clinical sex therapy is sensate focus therapy. Sensate focus therapy was developed by William Masters and Virginia Johnson in the 1960’s. Masters and Johnson are often referred to as the “parents of sex therapy” because of the incredible sex research they conducted. Through their research, Masters and Johnson discovered that many types of sexual dysfunction are not primarily biological, but instead caused by performance anxiety, requirement of orgasm, and rigid sexual scripts. Masters and Johnson used principals from behavioral therapy and desensitization, mindfulness and body awareness, and non-demand pleasuring to create what we now call sensate focus therapy. Sensate focus therapy takes the focus off performance and places it on experiential intimacy.
When sexual difficulties happen, anxiety often increases which can lead to avoidance, frustration, and relational stress. Performance anxiety activates the body’s sympathetic nervous system, which physiologically interferes with arousal, erection, lubrication, and orgasm. Masters and Johnson realized that by taking the pressure of performance and orgasm off the table, people were able to redirect their attention to the sensory richness of the body. This allowed individuals to decondition anxiety through exposure to pleasure and to replace performance scripts with mindful, sensual exploration. Individuals were able to let go of pressure and rediscover pleasure.
While sensate focus therapy can be very helpful for individuals or couples who experience sexual dysfunction, it can also improve the sexual experience of individuals who do not experience sexual dysfunction. For clients who do not have sexual dysfunction, sensate focus therapy can improve communication, erotic connection, deepen intimacy, and create mindful, pleasurable experiences. Therapists who are trained in sensate focus therapy understand that success is defined by participation, not outcome. This helps clients remove pressure and embrace exploration and curiosity. At its core, sensate focus therapy reframes sex from something to be achieved into something to be experienced. This mindful orientation decreases anxiety, interrupts negative cycles of avoidance, and opens space for authentic arousal to emerge naturally. Sensate focus therapy allows individuals to rebuild intimacy by slowing things down, incorporating playfulness, improving communication, and cultivating eroticism that feels safe and connected.
At Sirianna Relationship & Sex Therapy, our practitioners are educated in the art of sensate focus therapy. We believe that healthy sexuality requires the integration of the emotional, intellectual, energetic, and physical bodies of our clients. We use a combination of talk therapy, mindfulness, and sensate focus therapy to help our clients create the kind of eroticism and intimacy that they desire.
