Having sex with yourself as a trans+ person can be pretty overwhelming. Finding sex advice tailored to trans bodies is hard to come by if you don’t know the right blogs or zines to search. Plus, a lot of sex advice is often written with trans+ people as an afterthought. Some sex advice is so heavily focused on euphoria, where the sheer grandiosity of it all makes it sound like the heavens will part and the angels will sing every time you touch yourself, and if it doesn’t, you’ve done something wrong. Luckily, more information available now is more realistic and accessible. While we might not h ..read more

Introducing Ashley Macklin. Ashley has been with Sex Life Therapy for a while now, so was wanted to give him a formal introduction. Ashley has worked in community mental health, supporting those with addiction. He was interested in becoming a sex therapist before he even knew it was a thing!  Through his work, Ash provides a place to vent, explore and feel understood. He works mainly with couples and men and can be booked through our Collingwood and Frankston locations.   How did you get your start in psychosexual and relationship therapy?   I was interested in becoming a sex th ..read more

We often have people come to Sex Life Therapy concerned about low sexual desire or a loss of sexual desire. This includes couples who have mismatched desires. Low sexual desire or loss of desire is thought to be a “problem” that needs to be solved with the individual or the relationship. However low desire does not mean you are broken or need to be fixed. In fact, low desire is not static, and is influenced by several factors that I discuss below. To begin with we need to explore the outside messaging that affects how we view our own sex lives and desire. We live in society which promotes the ..read more

Date night is wonderful idea.  Date night communicates love for each partner from each partner.  When we make space for a date night, we make space for our partner; for our relationship.  It is a demonstrable way to show our commitment; our love; our want to be with our partner or partners. Date nights are one of the strategies people try when it comes to rekindling a relationship.  I often find myself sitting with relationships in therapy listening to partners talk about how they go on date night and it does not go to plan – they struggle with conversation; they fight – th ..read more

Introducing Alexandra Sutherland! She is our newest member of the Sex Life Therapy team. Alex has worked in community mental health and wellness for over seven years. Through her work, she provides an empathetic and holistic approach to many. We (including Alex’s dog) sat down over Zoom to chat. During, we spoke about how mental health affects sexual health, what it’s like being a big sex nerd and her favourite parts of working at Sex Life Therapy. How did you get your start in psychosexual and relationship therapy? I did my placement with Sex Life Therapy as part of my postgraduate degree in ..read more

Anal play and anal sex, like many sex topics are not often discussed. There are many myths about anal play: it’s immoral; it’s weird; only sluts do anal sex; anal sex is dirty; anal sex is painful; only gay men have anal sex. Spend a moment thinking about where your ideas about anal sex/play have originated. Much of what people know originates in social myth and messages. Good information is important when thinking about anal play. Anal play/sex can be fun, clean and wonderful when approached in a positive way. How Often do people Engage in Anal Sex? The Sex in Australia study published in 200 ..read more

Introducing Lily Reed – the newest member of the Sex Life Therapy team. As a psychosexual therapist and counsellor, Lily provides a whole-picture approach to her therapy. We sat down and got to know a little about Lily and how she’s been travelling. How did you get your start in psychosexual therapy? I got my start working in youth mental health and critical incident response. While I gained valuable experience through my work I wanted additional skills to support gender and sexually-diverse individuals with their psychological and sexual health and well-being. Growing up, sexuality education ..read more

在此博客中，我们要介绍性生活疗法中的性爱和关系之一林海莉。 Hailey是一位经验丰富的社会工作者和心理治疗师。她精通广东话和普通话，并于2019年从香港加入我们的团队。我们问了Hailey一些问题，以帮助您进一步了解她。 Q: 为什么你会想成为一名性治疗师？ 「我渴望那天人们说起『我喜欢性』，就如说出一句『我爱你』这般浪漫，不淫荡、不污秽、不需深藏于某个不见光的黑暗之中。」 这是我数年前还没成为性治疗师之前写下过的一句话，是这个信念让我走上性治疗的这个领域。在香港或者国内，“性”依旧是被带上色彩的一个话题。对大部分人来说，谈性很羞耻，谈性难以启齿，甚至部分的人认为不道德。可是，从小到大，从来没有人教育过我们该如果坦然面对「性」，甚至在缺乏性教育的环境之下，我们所知道的性知识也是错的。当步入恋爱踏进婚姻时，才惊觉自己房事遇上困难却无处求助。 加上在亚洲甚至华人世界里，性治疗依旧未见普及，才让我决定在澳洲进行相关的专业训练，成为一名性治疗师。所以我希望能以自己小小的力量，走上性治疗师的这条路，为困惑的人们解惑，更深地了解自己及了解另一半，让更多人在性生活上更添完美，重译幸(性)福的定义。 Q ..read more

In this blog we would like to introduce Hailey Lin, one of the sex and relationships here at Sex Life Therapy.  Hailey is an expereicned social worker and psychosexual therapist.  She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin and join our team in 2019 from Hong Kong.  We asked Hailey some questions to help you to get to know her more. Why did you want to be a sex therapist? I always believe that sex is not something to be ashamed. It is this belief that has led me to the field of sex therapy. In Asia countries, sex still remains a taboo and a sensitive content to public. For most peop ..read more

The phone rings: it is your GP, and they want you to come into the clinic to discuss the results of your recent sexual health screen. The journey of being diagnosed with HIV can sometimes begin with this simple phone call. The early days of diagnosis can be a whirlwind, and information overload can be one experience. Further blood tests are necessary and then there is the introduction of a (new) medication regime. Some people experience unpleasant side effects to the meds and this adds to the experience. While there have been significant advances in the treatment of HIV, the diagnosis of HIV c ..read more