This is the one time NSFW content is suitable for the workplace.
When she isn’t hosting client sessions, sex therapist Georgina Vass spends time researching various X-rated topics, telling Jam Press that she will “visit sex shops, attend lectures, watch porn” and even “recently attended a workshop in a dungeon.”
“There is no typical day,” said Vass, who hails from the US but resides in Brighton, UK.
For the clients she sees in person, she explained that it’s “helpful” to see what adult toys are available locally, since she has to give recommendations.
“Porn is a loaded topic and it comes up often in my work, so it’s helpful to watch and peruse around to have some context for what clients may be referring to,” she continued.
“I am curious about what videos have the most views, and I find it fascinating how that can vary by country.”
Vass was first intrigued by sex therapy when she worked as a waitress and an old coworker divulged information about BDSM.
“I was always interested in sexuality and relationships, so I feel very lucky that I can combine this subject matter with my therapy skills in a professional way,” she said.
Now, as a sex therapist, she works with individual clients or couples, assigning “homework” and helping them discuss taboo topics, such as certain fetishes.
“Over time working with a client, the topics that may have originally sounded unusual to me, begin to make a lot more sense,” she said.
“In reality, the most surprising cases occur in social settings where people who know what I do will seek to use me as a confessional booth.”
But her profession is accompanied by high expectations. When dating, she said that prospective lovers expect her to be a superstar between the sheets.
“And with dating, I think there was an assumption that I must be ‘good’ in bed, so there were some reactions about feeling insecure, and other reactions were more like, challenge accepted,” Vass explained.
“I think the difficulty for me socially is turning my therapeutic ‘skill-set’ off!”
Another pitfall of the job is inquiries into “hands-on” therapy.
“I continue to be amazed by are the amount of inquiries that I receive wondering if there will be a hands-on or physical component to the therapy,” she said, “which is a hard no.”