Welcome!
Welcome to Switch On Sex Therapy!
I am so glad you are here to see what we are all about. My name is Heather Brooks Rensmith and I started my practice in 2015 wanting to work with people, their relationships, and sexuality.
And while anyone (yes, anyone) can call themselves a sex therapist, not everyone is a certified sex therapist.
I am an American Academy of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) certified sex therapist and invite you to visit www.aasect.org to learn more about what means.
I specifically want to be a safe place for folx to become more self aware in their sexuality and who want to figure out how to make the bold moves to really live into what they hope their sexual and relational lives can look like.
What I have learned thus far is that kinky, queer, and people in non-monogamous AND long term monogamous relationships are the folx wanting to pursue bold, fulfilling sexual relationships by coming to relationship and sex therapy. I have learned so much! Please know you are welcome at Switch On Sex Therapy, and will be treated with respect, care, competence, and compassion.
I set out to create safe, relational, and deep therapeutic relationships with people who seek my services, and I feel I’ve been able to do that over and over again. I wake up feeling excited about who I get to see each day, I am humbled by your trust, and I look forward to the many heart connections I will make with my clients.
While I am a sex and relationship therapist, I am also a social worker and have been for over half my life since my first job in a domestic and sexual violence program at the age of 20. I work to keep the frame of social justice close to my work, especially in working with LGBTQA+ folx.
I work to continually educate myself to do better. I do not want to contribute to the oppression of others. It is important for me that you know my identities and how I bring that awareness of the privilege I have not earned, but that I benefit from daily.
The following identities shape my work. I am cis female and use she/her/hers pronouns. I am white. I am in a heterosexual relationship. I have grown up in and live with relative financial security. I am housed. Please bring your identities to therapy, and let’s talk about how they impact what you have come to examine and understand.
Talking about sex does change the world, and it all starts with YOU wanting to do this work.
See, you are not all cookie cutter folx seeking the same solution to your various problems. You need someone who is willing to take the time to look in all the nooks and crannies to deepen your understanding of the moves you make to keep your heart safe.
I want to be the therapist to do this with you.
As a sex and relationship therapist, I am rooted in a relational style of working with clients. Our relationship can be one of the most important interventions we have in your healing.
I work within the Emotional Focused Therapy framework, feminist theory, narrative therapy, and sprinkles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Basically, I am going to work to bring what works for YOU based on my years of training and practicing in evidenced based interventions.
When working on sexual issues, trust you and I will complete a thorough assessment. I may refer you to providers that can be part of the care team if needed. You came to me for help and I am so glad you don’t have to do this alone! I welcome the opportunity to enlist other helpers and healers in your care if that is what meet your needs.
You may be wondering if your concern is something I am competent to treat. While the following list is broad, trust we will zoom in on what specifically may be contributing to what you want to work on. If you don’t see your concern on the list, please feel free to reach out and ask!
Low desire/ Low libido:
You can feel the tension between you and your partner. Is it normal to not be aligned in how much you want to be sexual? How do you even go about approaching this sort of thing? Are you wondering if your low libido is your problem, your partner’s problem, or a problem you share? I’ve got you. We can make sense of this together.
Sexual function (problems with erections, orgasm, delayed or rapid ejaculation, difficulty with arousal):
You may experience issues with desire, excitement or arousal, obtaining or maintaining an erection, problems reaching orgasm, ejaculating before you’d like to, not being able to ejaculate at all, have pain in your genitals or struggle with your pelvic floor.
The good news is many problems with sexual functioning can be addressed. I provide a thorough assessment and make referrals as needed to sexual medicine providers to address your concerns.
Relationship counseling (couple, marriage, pre-marital, non-monogamy, polyamory, betrayals, communication, and anything else you can think of):
if you are focusing on one relationship
you are engaged in consensual non-monogamous relationships
you are part of the LGBTQI+ community and you want to understand what that means for you and your relationships
you are recovering from a betrayal in your relationship
you are beyond or between the binary and are trying to make sense of how to be in the world
you want to dig into the work with your partner/partners(s)/ in-any-combination that makes the most sense.
your behaviors are in conflict with your relationship agreements
you want to explore the wild, complex, exciting world of sexuality, kinks, BDSM
Again, welcome to Switch On Sex Therapy. I am so glad you visited, and learned more about my practice and how I can help.
~ Heather
