Human sexuality is a complex part of our existence, encompassing sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual wants, and sexual activity to name just a few aspects of sexuality! It can be hard to navigate your own sexuality depending on past education, current access to resources, and the support systems you have. Unbeknownst to some, though, additional guidance and support from professionals or experts is an option for navigating sexuality. This is where the emerging field of sexuality consulting comes in. As sexuality consulting evolves, keeping track of what the field entails can be confusing. So what exactly is a sexuality consultant and what do they do?

Student Perspectives

To start, Sexual Health Alliance gathered some of the viewpoints from our students in our Sexuality Coach and Consultant certification program. We asked students which term (Sexuality Coach vs. Sexuality Consultant) they’d use in their professional career, and to define the two terms based on their knowledge from the certification program. Aubrie Plautz stated that they haven’t used either term yet, but “[they] definitely [plan] on using both terms”. To Aubrie, “Coaching is more of a give and take effort between the client and professional, with the client being the authority on themselves and their situation. Consulting is the opposite, with the professional being seen as the expert and being sought out for that purpose”. Leanne Chesser calls themselves both terms, although they primarily use the term coach. Similarly to Aubrie, Leanne defines a consultant as “someone who provides expertise, information and direct guidance to support clients in developing knowledge and skills in a particular area. Of course, they may also ask questions and incorporate other aspects similar to a coach”.

Differentiating the Sexologist Careers

Sexology professions can sound very similar to each other, which can create room for confusion. Sex therapists, sex counselors, and sexuality coaches have some overlap in roles, but they have distinct differences that set them apart from each other—and from sexuality consulting (all of these terms make your head spin, right? If not, I’m envious because they sure do make mine spin from time to time).

Let’s start with sex therapists. Most typically, a sex therapist approaches emotional or mental challenges related to sexual issues through a clinical perspective. These issues can range from simple sexual concerns to long-term complex concerns. Sometimes, sex therapists create a treatment plan (in accordance with state-sanctioned guidelines) to reduce the distressing symptoms of the issue(s) or to remedy the concern(s) entirely. They are specialized mental health professionals who are able to provide psychotherapy to clients and have also completed graduate school. Switching gears, let’s discuss sex counselors. Sex counselors assist their clients to problem solve their issues through communication, as well as “relevant suggestions of specific exercises and techniques in sexual expression”. These individuals may hold additional roles ranging from clergy to school nurses. They differ from sex therapists in regard to treatment duration and education needed. Sex counselors are “short-term” because they focus on the immediate concerns of the client.

While sex and sexuality coaches are not medical professionals, their role is similar in some respects to that of a sex therapist or counselor. Sex coaches provide tools to overcome struggles regarding sex, relationships, and intimacy. They differ from sex therapists in that they do not “[focus] on resolving past traumas or dysfunctions” (Harel, 2023). According to the Sexual Health Alliance Sexuality Coach and Consultant Certification Program description, sex coaches typically don’t need to have a higher educational background that licensed sex therapists require. Sex coaching also contains fewer sessions between the professional and the client.

A Concrete Example: Intimacy Coordinator

I started this article by defining other sexology careers because sexuality consulting is a new and blossoming field of work. When you Google “sexuality consultant”, only a few articles tend to pop up. By defining other sexology careers first, it gives you, the reader, a baseline level of understanding. This will make it easier to understand sexuality consultants because little research or commentary has been published on these professionals. There are some jobs that fall under the sexuality consulting realm - one of them being an intimacy coordinator.

As defined by the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ Standards and Protocols for the Use of Intimacy Coordinators, an intimacy coordinator is “an advocate, a liaison between actors and production, and a movement coach and/or choreographer in regards to nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes”. An intimacy coordinator’s input ensures a natural connection that’s also safe and comfortable between actors. Intimacy coordinators are experts who are brought onto film sets to bring the scenes to life. Keep this point of expertise in the back of your mind, we’ll be revisiting that later.

Intimacy coordinators and directors have been increasingly recognized over the years due to the film industry’s ever-growing need for them. In one New York Times article, Jennifer Harlan expresses that over the past 5 years, the prominence of intimacy coordinators and directors has skyrocketed. Jessica Steinrock, an intimacy coordinator, is featured in this New York Times piece talking about her experiences. Steinrock’s passion for becoming an intimacy coordinator came from her past experiences working in improv - “‘In the improv world, I was picked up a lot or kissed or grabbed, or jokes were made about me that I didn’t consent to’”. Steinrock is now the Chief Executive Officer for an organization called Intimacy Coordinators & Directors, and she also has a TikTok page where she breaks down intimate scenes within popular media from an intimacy coordinator lens.

The film industry is just one environment though, and not all of us can become actors to experience some sort of sexuality consulting. So how does this translate to other professions? Remember the point about expertise? This is where it comes into play. Intimacy coordinators are looked at as sexuality experts in the film industry. Sexuality consultants are also viewed as sexuality experts that certain organizations and individuals seek out. For example, if companies want to establish policies regarding LGBTQIA+ inclusivity or internal romances, sexuality consultants can be brought in to inform the companies of how to establish and navigate these scenarios. The consultants take their expert knowledge of human sexuality to improve environments and help people implement this knowledge.

To sum up the role of a sexuality consultant, you can think about these main points:

Sexuality consultants are experts in human sexuality
Sexuality consultants are the ones guiding their clients to growth (versus clients taking charge when working with a sexuality coach)
Sexuality consultants may also be brought into organizations to disseminate their expertise so the organizations can become more inclusive and knowledgeable regarding human sexuality

The future is full of opportunities for sexuality consultants to grow, learn, and teach and we - at Sexual Health Alliance - look forward to the work they will be doing.

Written by Jessica Pearse

Resources

About the sex coach and consultant program. Sexual Health Alliance. (n.d.). https://sexualhealthalliance.com/sex-coach-and-consultant-about

American Psychological Association. (2022, November). Sex and sexuality. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/sex-sexuality.

Certification types: Distinguishing sexuality educators, counselors, and therapists: AASECT:: American Association of Sexuality Educators, counselors and therapists. AASECT. (n.d.). https://www.aasect.org/certification-types-distinguishing-sexuality-educators-counselors-and-therapists

Get to know us: History & inception. me too. Movement. (n.d.). https://metoomvmt.org/get-to-know-us/history-inception/

Harel, D. (2023, September 20). What is a sex coach?. Somatica Institute. https://www.somaticainstitute.com/sex-coach/

Harlan, J. (2023, March 2). When clothes fly off, this intimacy coordinator steps in. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/business/intimacy-coordinator-sex-scenes-film-jessica-steinrock.html

Intimacy directors and coordinators. Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. (n.d.). https://www.idcprofessionals.com/

Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. (2021, April). Standards and Protocols for the Use of Intimacy Coordinators. https://www.sagaftra.org/files/sa_documents/SA_IntimacyCoord.pdf

Sex coach & consultant certification. Sexual Health Alliance. (n.d.-b). https://sexualhealthalliance.com/sexcoachcertification

Steinrock, J. [@intimacycoordinator]. (n.d.). [TikTok profile]. TikTok. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.tiktok.com/@intimacycoordinator?lang=en

Stuckrath, A. (2022, August 29). What is the difference between sex therapy, sex coaching, and sex counseling?. Nymphomedia. https://sexualhealthalliance.com/nymphomedia-blog/what-is-the-difference-between-sex-therapy-sex-coaching-and-sex-counseling