New sex therapy (Kaplan)

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Helen Singer Kaplan · 1964 · New York, USA

What it is

New sex therapy (Kaplan's "psychosexual therapy") is a brief, symptom-focused outpatient treatment for sexual dysfunctions. Kaplan developed it from 1964 onwards: first at Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem, then in the Sex Therapy and Education Program of the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic…

Format

• Scope. The method treats dysfunctions: inhibited response that prevents intercourse or enjoyment. It does not treat variations (paraphilias). Kaplan referred those to insight-oriented and behavioural methods. She grouped the dysfunctions by which component of the response is inhibited:
• Phases of a course. Kaplan's own term is "principles", not phases. The sequence below is reconstructed from the book's treatment chapters (11 Basic principles, 12 The therapeutic experiences, 13 The psychotherapeutic session, 14 Conjoint treatment, co-therapy, transference and countertransference)…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Certification. No licence or fidelity programme exists for "Kaplan therapy" under that name. Practitioners usually train in sex therapy through national certifying bodies, which vary by country.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Hostility being acted out through the tasks.
• Guilt about pleasure, which is a remote cause. Use 4.9.
• Embarrassment, or a partner who rejects the information.
• Agreeing intellectually while the anxiety stays unchanged.
• Reports that are only factual. Partners blaming each other.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.