Practice Heinis
Sex Therapy
Sex Therapy: Your Path to a Fulfilling and Healthy Sexuality and Physical Well-being
Sex therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy that supports individuals with sexual problems and dysfunctions. It can take place individually or with a partner and includes working with aspects of intimacy and connection.
Since the landmark work of Masters and Johnson in the 1960s, sex therapy has established itself as a therapeutic tool that offers valuable support through person-centered therapy, education, and targeted exercises, including those for home use. For me, the individual and their feelings are always at the forefront, creating a safe atmosphere to discuss intimate topics.
As in general psychotherapy, I begin with a comprehensive initial assessment, including a detailed sexual history, to establish a solid foundation for the sessions that follow. Together with you, I formulate therapeutic goals and develop concrete steps to achieve improvement through various methods and interventions.
In the next section, you will find an overview of the variety of issues for which I can offer support, as well as an interesting article on sex therapy that I recently published. If you have any uncertainties or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, or you can book a free discovery call.
Kink-friendly work is a particular focus of mine. There is more about that on the page on kink, BDSM and fetish therapy.
Sex therapist in Munich and online
My practice is at Grillparzerstr. 23, two bus stops north of Ostbahnhof, right on tram lines 19 and 21 and within walking distance of Leuchtenbergring. If you don’t live in Munich, or you would rather talk from home, we work online. With sexual topics that works just as well in my experience, and sometimes the start is even a little easier.
As a state-authorized psychotherapy practitioner (Heilpraktikerin für Psychotherapie) with a focus on sex therapy, I work with individuals and couples, in German and in English. You don’t have to explain or defend what you bring: kink, fetish, BDSM, open and polyamorous relationships are part of the normal spectrum for me. That is what my clients tell me back most often, that they don’t feel judged.
Ways I Can Support You
- Sexual dysfunctions (e.g., erectile problems, vaginismus)
- Sex addiction & libido - low desire & heightened desire
- Intrusive sexual thoughts (e.g., HOCD)
- Performance pressure & self-confidence
- Paraphilia & Paraphilic Disorder (formerly Sexual Preference Disorder) (e.g., pedophilia, voyeurism, sadism, exhibitionism)
- Sexual offenses (prevention and consequences)
- Trauma from sexual assault (e.g., abuse)
- Masturbation (e.g., compulsive masturbation)
- Porn addiction & dependence on (commercial) sex
- Sexual shame and guilt
- Sexual practices and fantasies (e.g., fetish, kink, BDSM)
- Psychosomatics in sexuality
- Sex education, also for adults who never had any
- Feminine and Masculine parts - as archetypes and themes, not as genders
- Questions around your own orientation or gender identity. I am glad to work with you on things like coming out, uncertainty and how to handle it - or on what the people around you make of it. What I don't do: treat your identity as if it were the problem.
- Sexuality as you get older: after menopause, after prostate surgery, with a body that is not the same anymore
"How sex therapy can change your life"
Here is an article I recently wrote for I am Expat, an online portal for expats in various countries.
“Yes, sex therapy seems like a relevant topic, but of course, not for you! This is for others! Obviously, why would you need it? Did that just cross your mind? Well, it is understandable. As intimidating as sex therapy may sound, and as unnecessary as it may seem to many, it offers something valuable and vital for everyone.
Whether you are dealing with challenges like low desire, dysfunction, or simply a disconnect with your sexual self, therapy can help you take control and transform how you experience your sexuality.
…..
How I work
Sexuality can’t be sorted out in your head alone, it happens on too many levels at once. So I pay close attention to how mind, emotions and body work together. You get a space where you can say your questions, needs and wishes out loud without toning them down first.
That matters especially for people looking for a way back to their sexuality after an assault or a trauma. There I go very slowly, and you set the pace.
I also work with people who have come into conflict in connection with sexual offenses, both preventively and in working through what happened. For this I am listed as a specialist with the LMU prevention outpatient clinic „Kein Täter werden“.
When coaching is the better fit: RelatingWise
Important Questions about Sex Therapy
Effective therapy begins with a thorough initial assessment and diagnosis, which we will carry out together. We will also define clear therapy goals to give our work direction and a shared focus.
From there, we will explore which next steps, therapeutic approaches, and interventions are most suitable for you. If needed, I may refer you to other specialists or consult with them for further clarification.
In addition, we will integrate exercises into our sessions, along with reflections or tasks between sessions, allowing you to make the most of the time in between.
You can easily book your free discovery call online using the button on this website. Therapy sessions can be scheduled online via the booking link or arranged together during our sessions.
Psychotherapy services provided by a state-authorized psychotherapy practitioner (Heilpraktikerin für Psychotherapie) are generally not covered by statutory health insurance. However, private or supplementary insurance may cover part or all of the costs. Please check with your insurance provider.
An individual session is 50 minutes long. For a couples session, 80 minutes are scheduled.
This depends on various factors, including your specific concerns and personal circumstances such as time and availability. As a general guideline, weekly sessions are a good starting point in the initial phase. For more acute issues, sessions may take place more frequently, while longer-term support can be adjusted more flexibly over time.
Please refer to my Fees page for details. Costs vary depending on the duration of the session and the time of day.
In this practice, I offer psychotherapy only. Coaching is available separately through my business, RelatingWise, where I provide additional support services. You are welcome to visit the website to get a better sense of my work.
You decide that, not me. That is exactly what the free discovery call is for: you get to know me, you ask every question you brought along, and you notice fairly quickly whether you can talk to me.
Everything else will unfold individually over time, shaped by your progress, your experience, and how safe and seen you feel.
Yes, from the age of 14. Stress at school or at home, anxiety, questions of self-worth, or simply because there is no therapy place to be found right now. For treating minors I need the consent of both legal guardians, and the first session takes place together with at least one parent. What is talked about after that stays confidential, including from the parents.
In accordance with my professional code of conduct, I am bound by strict confidentiality. If you would like me to communicate with other professionals or individuals on your behalf, I will ask for your explicit consent.
I offer sessions at my practice at Grillparzerstr. 23, 81675 Munich. It is beautifully located two bus stops north of Ostbahnhof and also directly on tram lines 19, 21, and within walking distance of the Leuchtenbergring S-Bahn station. Paid parking is available in the surrounding streets. Please note resident parking restrictions where applicable.
About access: the practice is on the ground floor, but there is a step at the building entrance and no ramp, and the way in is narrow — possibly difficult if you use a wheelchair. I would rather tell you now than have you find out at the door. If the rooms do not work for you, online sessions are the same work; by arrangement I also come to you, and I bill travel and time on top. The toilet is gender-neutral. Whatever you need, just tell me. You do not have to explain why.
Yes. I have been working online for years, and with sexual topics many people find it even easier to start that way.
I use Jitsi for video sessions; if the technology gives up on us, we switch to Google Meet. How the data is processed is described in my privacy policy. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me — we will find a suitable solution.
As a state-authorized psychotherapy practitioner, I am authorized by the state to provide psychotherapeutic treatment under the German Heilpraktiker Act of 1939. In contrast, psychological psychotherapists complete a university degree in psychology, followed by additional specialized training in psychotherapy and state approbation.
My training took place primarily at the Academy for Sexual Therapy (AkST), where I completed 112 hours of training in clinical psychology, along with an additional 112 hours focused on practical work and therapeutic methods in sex and couples therapy. I also engage in ongoing professional development and regular supervision. You are welcome to learn more on the About Me page or reach out if you have any questions.
First, try to remain calm and reach out to trusted relatives or friends. If this is not possible, you can contact local crisis services or a telephone helpline. In an emergency, please call 112.
I work with an integrative approach, combining different therapeutic methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, person-centered therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and systemic therapy. Together, we choose the approach that best fits your individual needs and concerns.
I am committed to ongoing professional development and continuously expand my expertise across related fields. I have a particular interest in classical psychotherapists and psychoanalysts such as Carl Gustav Jung and his work on archetypes. In addition, I deepen my knowledge through literature, courses, and training with experts such as:
– Julie & John Gottman for couples therapy
– Melanie Büttner and Ulrich Clement for sex therapy and sexual trauma
– Esther Perel for relationships and affairs
– Peter A. Levine and Melanie Büttner for trauma
– Om Rupani, Gillian Pothier for liberated sexuality and polarity work
– Shefali Tsabary for Conscious Parenting
I also engage with neuroscientific perspectives, including the work of Joe Dispenza, as well as Eastern philosophies, integrating these insights through the connection of mind, body, and soul.
First of all by how the first contact feels. It helps if you notice that you can say your topic out loud without toning it down first. On the professional side, the things worth looking at are the training, regular further education and supervision, and whether your topics even come up there. With me the discovery call is free and exists for exactly that: you can check in peace whether it fits before you decide. If you don’t live in Munich, the same thing works online.
The path into sex therapy almost always leads through shame
For most people, years pass between „something is not right here“ and the first appointment. Understandable: why would you of all things talk to a stranger about your most intimate wishes, fears and failures?
Because that is the point where it stops being hard. Almost everyone says the same thing after the first few sessions: that it was a relief to have said it out loud once, without being looked at sideways for it.
Sex therapy is then not only about symptoms. It is about what lies underneath, and often the same patterns show up outside the bedroom too. Depending on the topic I work with cognitive behavioral therapy, EFT, Sexocorporel or further systemic and body-oriented methods. Which of them, we decide together.
When the body does not work to the script. Chronic pain, an illness, medication that has shut desire down, a body that has changed and taken sexuality with it. Almost everything written about sex quietly assumes a body that does what it is told. Yours may not. That changes how we work, not whether it works.
Neurodivergent. Autistic, ADHD, highly sensitive, or simply never at home in the way other people create closeness. Limits on stimulation, the need to have things said instead of hinted at, desire that runs through interest and not on cue. I work with how you function, not with how you are supposed to function.
And age? Hardly matters here. Young adults come to me, by arrangement also adolescents from 14, just as much as people well past sixty.
