My name is NIchole Hood and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in sex therapy for the past 13 years. Sex therapy is a form of counseling or “talk therapy” conducted in an open, relaxing, and therapeutic environment with the goal of helping clients deal with sexual concerns that may impede the path to optimal sexual health and satisfaction. I am also trained to conduct sex therapy with a spiritually-sensitive lens, if desired. One of my favorite words in the English language is “apricity”, meaning “the warmth of the sun in winter”. That is what I aim to help clients achieve in their lives and relationships. One’s intimate connections may have grown cold from hurt, betrayal, lack of intimacy, or maybe just the busyness or natural transitions of life, blocking out the warmth that had once been there. Because of the myriad of issues that can impact sexual concerns, I welcome each client as a unique individual—I will listen to your story to clarify the issues and develop a specialized treatment plan to help rekindle the fire and bring some warmth to those cold places.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In the first session, I will get to know you and get an understanding of why you decided to seek therapy now, as well as an understanding of the history of the issue you would like to address. In the second session, I will get a more detailed history of the presenting issue. In the third session, we will work together to set goals and develop a clear plan, letting that plan guide future sessions.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Since elementary school, I have been described as a good listener. I have been married for over 3 decades and raised two children to adulthood, so I am familiar with the ups and downs of parenting and partnership. My 13 years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and couples, primarily in the areas of trauma and abuse, sexual challenges, and relationship distress, have developed in me the ability to sit with all types of stories and provide compassionate support in a healing, therapeutic relationship.
About Nichole Hood
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Sex Therapy
I received my masters degree in marriage and family therapy with a concentration in sex therapy in 2010, and I am currently a doctoral student in clinical sexology. For the past 13 years, I have worked with individuals and couples using sex therapy to address desire disorders, sexual trauma and abuse, and life transitions that impact sexual functioning (e.g. menopause).
Narrative
Usually when a client seeks out a therapist, it is because they are distressed about the way a part of their life is going, they are struggling with the way the narrative of their life is playing out. I love to help clients understand how or where their story went awry, how they can deconstruct the old narrative and re-author a new narrative, one that facilitates more positive emotions and adaptive behaviors. I have used narrative therapy techniques with most of my clients over the past 13 years.
Faith based therapy
I understand that a client’s faith might be very important to them, and they wish to work with someone who will honor that. With specialized training in Christian Sex Therapy and 13 years clinical experience with a variety of faiths, I am able to integrate faith and clinical practice and provide a unique and focused plan to meet your individual needs with spiritual sensitivity.
Attachment-based
I believe that the quality of the relationship with one’s earliest caregivers can have an immense impact on one’s relationships as an adult. Using a genogram (i.e. a relational family tree, of sorts) and the clinical interview, I glean information about those earliest relationships and how they may be informing the issue the client presents with in therapy.