Experiencing pain during sex? Learn how sex therapy in Florida helps reduce pain, ease anxiety, and restore connection. Evidence-based care with Dr. Jennifer Betancur, PhD, LCSW, CST.
Painful Sex Is Common—But Treatable
Many people quietly struggle with pain during intimacy, known as dyspareunia or genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder. According to the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), about 15 % of women experience chronic sexual pain that affects relationships, desire, and self-esteem.
At Metamorphosis Psychotherapy, Dr. Jennifer Betancur provides compassionate, science-based sex therapy to help clients in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, and across Florida via telehealth find lasting relief and reconnection.
Common Causes of Pain During Sex
Sexual pain can come from multiple sources—often a mix of physical, emotional, and relational factors:
- Pelvic-floor muscle tension or vaginismus
- Endometriosis, vulvodynia, postpartum changes, or menopause
- Anxiety, stress, or performance pressure
- Past trauma or fear responses
- Relationship strain or communication breakdown
While physicians or pelvic-floor physical therapists address the body, sex therapy helps you address the mind, emotions, and relationship patterns that keep pain going.
How Sex Therapy Supports Healing
- Easing Anxiety and Breaking the Fear–Pain Cycle
Anticipating pain creates muscle guarding and tension that increase discomfort. Sex therapy teaches relaxation, body awareness, and cognitive tools to calm the body before and during intimacy.
Verified by ABCT and cognitive-behavioral therapy research for female sexual pain.
- Restoring Pleasure and Confidence
Through sensate-focus exercises and guided touch activities, clients relearn how to experience closeness without pressure for penetration or orgasm. The focus shifts from performance to comfort and connection.
Technique originally developed by Masters & Johnson, validated across sexual-pain treatments.
- Building Emotional Connection
Couples sessions help partners express needs, set boundaries, and create intimacy even while pain persists. Partners learn to support each other rather than avoid intimacy.
- Coordinating Medical and Emotional Care
Dr. Betancur often collaborates with gynecologists, urologists, pelvic-floor physical therapists, and pain specialists to ensure full-body healing.
Supported by the National Library of Medicine review on multimodal dyspareunia treatment (2021).
What to Expect in Therapy
- Comprehensive assessment – understanding your pain patterns, history, and emotional triggers.
- Education – learning how pelvic muscles, nerves, and the stress response contribute to pain.
- Relaxation and mindfulness – guided techniques to release tension and reconnect to the body.
- Partner work – safe, collaborative sessions to rebuild intimacy and trust.
- Ongoing collaboration – integration with your medical providers for holistic results.
Every plan is personalized to your body, emotions, and relationship goals.
Evidence That It Works
- CBT-based sex therapy and physical therapy combined reduce pain and distress in roughly half of clients within six months (ABCT fact sheet).
- Manual and multimodal therapies improve comfort and sexual satisfaction in dyspareunia cases (National Library of Medicine, 2021).
- Integrated treatment—physical plus psychological—shows the highest long-term improvement rates (Open Public Health Journal, 2024).
These studies confirm that sex therapy is an essential part of recovery from painful intercourse and related intimacy challenges.
Benefits Clients Commonly Report
- Noticeable reduction in pain
- Decreased anxiety before intimacy
- Improved body confidence
- Better partner communication
- Renewed pleasure and closeness
When to Reach Out for Help
You deserve to enjoy intimacy without fear or pain. Consider professional support if you experience:
- Ongoing burning, tightness, or pain during sex
- Avoidance of sexual activity due to fear
- Emotional distress or relationship strain
- Past trauma affecting comfort with touch
Dr. Jennifer Betancur, a Florida-licensed psychotherapist and AASECT-certified sex therapist, provides both in-person sessions in Tampa and secure telehealth across the state.
Take the Next Step
You don’t have to face sexual pain alone. Healing is possible—physically, emotionally, and relationally.
👉 Book your confidential consultation today to begin sex therapy for painful intercourse in Florida and rediscover intimacy without pain.
