Why Now? Reflections on Launching My Sex Therapy Practice, well, NOW (2025).

After more than 15 years working across sexuality education, clinical therapy, and systems-level training, I decided to open my second—and hopefully improved—private practice focused on sex therapy. I’ve had an exciting and unique career that spans my humble beginnings as a retail associate at a local sex shop, to leading an award-winning, multidisciplinary team at the Adult Gender and Sexuality Behavioral Health Clinic at Brown University Health.

So why did I leave an incredible team in the largest hospital system in the state to found something entirely new?

It comes down to this: I’ve always needed my labor—especially the work of care—to align with my values. When it doesn’t, I can’t do it.

I’m building this practice not as an act of rebellion, but as an act of devotion—to my values, to my community, and to a vision of care that is possible even if it’s not yet common. I want this practice to be a seed—humble and rooted—growing toward something collaborative, worker-owned, liberatory. Something that doesn’t require clinicians to burn themselves out for a system that doesn’t protect them, and doesn’t require clients to fight for care that should have been accessible from the beginning.

Brown University Health, like so many institutions, is stretched thin by bureaucracy and increasing external pressure. This pressure includes inconsistent federal research funding and potential medicaid cuts, to an increase in diversity and complexity of need. The clinicians and administrators are remarkable—but the system they are inside is not built for patient-centered, identity-affirming care. I was able to connect to wonderful clients, and truly inspiring colleagues. And, I kept asking myself: what else could this look like, if we weren’t constantly compromising?

And truthfully, I’ve reached a point where I no longer believe that care that supports sexual and gender liberation can be delivered through the current U.S. insurance systems. I used to believe that making sure my care was supported by insurance felt the most aligned with my values around accessibility. However, after years of legislative attacks on trans and queer people—youth and adults alike—I’ve watched insurance become a tool of gatekeeping and harm. I’m no longer willing to organize my practice around structures that actively block access to evidence-based, life-affirming care.

So I’m building a new container. One that invites people to access high-quality clinical care in ways that center equity, integrity, and sustainability—for both clients and clinicians. I believe in a “we take care of us” model: one where we trust people to pay what they can, redistribute resources when possible, and co-create care systems that actually feel like care.

This practice is the natural evolution of my work—but more than that, it’s a response to this moment. In the wake of a global pandemic that deeply altered our relationships to our bodies, our identities, and each other, more people than ever are hungry for grounded, expansive, and honest conversations- including me! The regression of rights, the rising visibility of oppression, and the looming threats and daily violences of the current Trump presidency have left many of us grieving, reflecting, and reaching for deeper care and connection.

At this critical juncture, launching a sexuality practice feels like my way of actively building the world I want to live in. A world where care isn’t siloed or transactional, but integrated into our everyday lives. A world where abundance is shared—not hoarded—where resources flow toward collective well-being, not concentrated power. This practice is not just a professional move; it’s a refusal. A refusal to let burnout, bureaucracy, and oppressive systems dictate how care is delivered and who gets to access it.

Instead, I am choosing to focus my energy—my grief, my rage, my hope—into creating something rooted in love. I want this work to nourish me and others, to support people in finding clarity, power, and healing in their sexual lives. And I want to support other clinicians in finding a path forward too—one that is values-aligned, justice-oriented, and emotionally sustainable. This isn’t just about therapy. It’s about building a different kind of infrastructure for care. One where we take care of each other, and where no one has to do that work alone.

This is a clinic where people across all income levels can access the highest level of sexual health care. Where clinicians can show up whole, and trust their voice is equally seen and active in decisions. Where the work of sex therapy—deep, complex, beautiful—can be done in alignment with the world we’re trying to build.

So, this is your NPOI (no pressure open invitation):If this resonates with you—if you’re looking for support, if you’re curious, if you’ve been waiting for a different kind of space—I’d love to hear from you. Come explore. Or don’t. You’re welcome either way.