Sex & Gender Therapy
Currently Accepting New Clients!!!
Odyssey prioritizes providing sex and gender therapy to trans/non-binary/two-spirit/intersex folx and their partners. Sexual pleasure and authentic gender embodiment are essential elements of our overall mental/health and wellbeing. Topics can include exploring gender and authentic embodiment, reclaiming sexual pleasure & joy, navigating the challenges and joys of transition, exploring identity/relationships to self, breaking through barriers to intimacy/connection, and overcoming pain, trauma, and arousal/desire challenges.
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy focuses on goals related to your personal health, growth, and exploration.
Relationship Therapy
Therapy for relationships of two or more people.
WPATH Letters of Support
The requirement for letters of support to access gender affirming care is rooted in anti-trans prejudice, reinforces systemic oppression, and contributes to disparities in healthcare. OdysseySH recognizes the privilege of their license and experience and chooses to provide letters in an attempt to reduce the impact of the medical gatekeeping model. Letters are written collaboratively in 1-2 sessions, with education and context about the process; OdysseySH is happy to share experiential knowledge/referrals about accessing care through local medical providers. The fee for letters are “Pay What You Can.” (Click the link for more information!)
Sessions via tele-therapy available throughout MI. In-person appointments in Ypsilanti, MI.
Meet Marshall and Gibby! An integral part of your tele-therapy team! I schedule sessions M/T/T/F during business hours.
Insurance
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Payment
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Odyssey accepts BCBS, BCN, and Aetna insurance plans. We are happy to verify your coverage before your first session so you have an idea of your portion of the cost of services.
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Our full out of pocket rate is $180/session. This price enables us to offer some appointment slots at a reduced, sliding scale rate to provide equitable access to services for those across the income spectrum. Sliding scale slots and rates can be discussed in an initial phone/video consultation. Please refer to our sliding scale fee page for guidance in determining a rate.
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If you have insurance that Odyssey does not accept, you may be able to submit claims to your insurance company for partial reimbursement for your sessions. Call your insurance company and ask if you have “Out of Network coverage for Outpatient Mental Health services (CPT code 90837)”. This option is available for many PPO insurance plans; you pay OSH out of pocket, we provide you with a “superbill” to submit to your insurance company, and your insurance company may reimburse you for a portion of the cost. Check out “Insurance 101” for more information.
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WPATH letters are “Pay What You Can.” There are many unnecessary, gatekeeping barriers to accessing affirming medical care; I do not want the ability to pay me for my time to be an additional barrier….AND….if you have financial privilege, and are able to pay something, it helps support me to provide more letters for folks who do not have this privilege. I trust you to determine what you are able to afford while maintaining stable access to housing/food/bills, etc; you will be asked to state what you can afford and that will be the rate! No questions asked.
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Insurance is complicated. Understanding how insurance works and what your coverage is is essential to accessible, consensual healthcare. I will do my best to be transparent with the nuances of insurance, answer any question you have about your insurance coverage, find answers to questions I haven’t encountered before, and collaborate with you on finding solutions to situations we didn’t anticipate arising. As a step in that direction, I have created an Insurance 101 page that explains some of the common terminology and nuances of insurance to hopefully help make some sense of the complexity. Please feel free to reach out with questions/need for clarification!
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Most of the time my caseload is closed. I do keep a short waitlist of folks I’ve met with and we’ve determined it is a good fit and worth waiting for my next opening. I am happy to do my best to provide referrals to other providers who may have current availability.
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What to Expect
We recognize that beginning therapy can be a challenging, vulnerable step; we approach work with clients collaboratively and offer phone consultations to help explore good fit. Start by reaching out via Psychology Today or Email (contact@odysseysexualhealth.com) telling us a little about what you are hoping to work on, your availability, and your insurance/payment method. You will receive a response from Fitz about availability/openings/waitlist and scheduling a time for a phone consult to explore if OSH is a good fit for what you are hoping to work on. Determining good fit is a collaborative process; we welcome questions about our practice, therapeutic approaches, identities, experience with specific presenting concerns, and/or things that help you determine if we are a good fit for your needs.
What is Sex Therapy?
There are often misconceptions about what a sex therapist does as part of their therapeutic work with clients and what training is required to practice sex therapy. All sex therapists are licensed mental health professionals with a degree in social work (LMSW), psychology (PhD, PsyD), or psychiatry (MD) who have sought additional post-graduate training in supporting people struggling with sexual health concerns/difficulties. Certified Sex Therapists (CST) have completed the required educational training, supervision, and clinical experience required by The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT).
Sex therapists work with individuals and their partners to help increase sexual pleasure and address sexual health concerns. We assess all areas of a client’s life, collaborate with medical providers to determine factors contributing to a problem or acting as barriers to pleasure, and collaboratively determine values aligned approaches and techniques to address concerns/reach goals. This can include providing sexuality education, support with relational and emotional concerns, addressing related mental health concerns, providing outside resources, and guiding clients in developing skills and techniques to help meet their goals.
Sex therapy DOES NOT involve sex, sexual touch, or physical examinations of any kind. Sex therapists talk with clients about their concerns/goals and assess the situation through questions, descriptions of the problem, and collaboration with medical providers. Certain treatment approaches and interventions may involve intimate/sexual activities or exercises for the client to try in the privacy of their home, but these exercises never take place in a therapist’s office.
NOTE:
I only work with adults.
My practice can not meet the high acuity needs of those who are actively suicidal, homicidal, have untreated substance addiction, active anorexia, are living in a domestic violence situation, have needed psychiatric hospitalization in the past year or who need a legal evaluation for disability, custody, or court-ordered treatment.