Yvette Wass (Accredited Sexual And Relationship Psychotherapist)

About me

I am a COSRT Accredited Sexual and Relationship Psychotherapist who works with individuals and couples who are experiencing sexual difficulties and/or relationship issues. I am also qualified in family counselling and counselling in Emotional Eating Behaviours.

Relationship/Family Counselling
The types of Relationship issues that I work with can be varied but may include a breakdown in communication and intimacy, infidelity, the impact of changing roles and responsibilities, external pressures on the relationship, loss of a relationship etc.

My therapeutic approach in my relationship/family counselling is integrated so I work systemically and psychodynamically and use some Cognitive Behaviourial Therapy (CBT) techniques too. I also embrace the principles that lend itself to person centred counselling in terms of being genuine, non judgemental and empathic. This blend can be helpful in making sense of you as a person/couple, life experiences and upbringing that may have formed beliefs about yourself, relationships and how you attach to others.  I also look at the wider context and influences to help you gain insight into your specific difficulties which helps to make sense of your problems, your behaviours and the thoughts and feelings generated. 

Sex Therapy
The range of sexual difficulties I work with include (but are not limited to) sexual avoidance and fears of intimacy, loss of sexual interest and desire, erectile difficulties, painful sex, fear of penetration, ejaculatory difficulties, arousal or orgasmic difficulties, sexual trauma and sexual abuse. I can also undertake initial assessments for sex addiction or sexually compulsive behaviour and work with couples affected by this.

Within my sex therapy, I follow a CBT framework which ensures that there is a detailed assessment to make sense of your sexual difficulties. This is helpful to understand what may have triggered the arrival of your sexual difficulties, what might have made you/your partner vulnerable to developing those difficulties and what might be influencing the problems continuing. This can help you understand 'Why is this happening to me/us?' and enable a tailored treatment programme to be put together. Sex Therapy follows a structured process, so you take little progressive steps towards your goals which helps to reduce any anxiety and work through any stumbling blocks that may crop up along the way.

Emotional Eating Behaviour Programme
The Emotional Eating Behaviour Programme involves around 10 sessions of therapy to look at how certain foods are used to regulate mood. It helps to make sense of why you eat, what you eat and when this is not as a result of hunger but other factors, perhaps to relieve low mood, boredom, sexual avoidance or relationship tension etc. It is particularly helpful for clients that may have yo-yo dieted, repeatedly attempted many different diets and who may have a tendency to binge eat.

Looking at emotional eating behaviours within a counselling context enables the role of food to be explored in much more depth, looking at a client’s relationship with food, weight and mood over different stages in his/her life. It looks at the messages received about food, understanding the emotions driving the need to eat and the inner conflict that is often present that generates self- criticism and feeds a continuing cycle to sooth via food.

Aims
The aim is that you ultimately leave therapy with your own toolkit for self maintenance, knowing what to do if things were to slip in the future and this can feel hugely empowering.

Ways to Access Therapy
Therapy can be offered a variety of ways - face to face where I practice in Doncaster, South Yorkshire for Sex Therapy, Relationship Counselling or Counselling on Emotional Eating Behaviours, or by email, telephone, webcam or scheduled live chat if this is more convenient to you. Please see more information on my website www.relationshipwellbeinguk.co.uk on the options available to help you decide which medium may work best for you.