NYU Hopes to Offer Students Access to Sex Therapy

Dear Prudence, I'm an incoming freshman at New York University and have found myself very confused sexually. Where can I find information about help?

Answer: Likely in every single one of NYU's residence halls this fall. The school plans to post ads offering free sex therapy at the NYU Langone Medical Center, according to a report from DNAinfo New York.

The ad refers students to the Program in Human Sexuality, which started 35 years ago. According to the flier, students will be able to get help with "problems related to sex," "difficulty reaching orgasm," and "difficulty communicating your sexual needs."

The programs website says: "Sex therapy is a form of behavior therapy that focuses on intimacy and sexual problems. It can be helpful to people of all ages, sexual orientation and genders."

The goal behind the initiative is to make is easy for students -- who traditionally find sexual problems difficult to address -- to access sex therapy, said Amy Rosenburg, the program's co-director.

"They're tormented by it," she said. "It does take a lot for them to get help because there's so much shame involved in this."

Sex therapy at Langone addresses problems common in males, like erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation, and females, like low libido or perceived inability to have an orgasm.

Patients will work with gynecologists and urologists to determine if biological factors are contributing to their problems. Rosenburg said with college students it's typically anxiety or a previous traumatic sexual experience.

Therapy at Langone is open to both NYU students and the public. Students pay nothing after an initial $50 session. Members of the public pay $50 per session. Rosenburg said the public rate is a bargain, compared to other sex therapies that can charge around $500 per session.

Patients are welcome to come alone or bring their partner and are treated by fourth-year psychiatry residents, who are overseen by a team of doctors. The residents have completed medical school and are in their final year of residency.

"They're very experienced," Rosenburg said. "These are people who are really running things at the hospitals. By the time they're at this point, they're just below the attendings."