A sex therapist has lifted the lid on what her rather unconventional workday can look like – including watching pornography, shopping for adult toys, and even going to raunchy dungeons.
Georgina Vass fell into the line of work after she spent time waitressing, and a co-worker told her about the world of BDSM.
Intrigued, the pair spoke about his experience for hours – and Georgina found herself not only able to help him through the power of talking, but also hooked on the subject matter.
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After studying to cement the profession, she has been a relationship and sex therapist ever since.
While she loves her unorthodox occupation, Georgina says there are some minor downsides – including dates that expect her to be particularly ‘good’ in bed, and clients who expect her to get her hands dirty during sessions.
“I continue to be amazed by are the amount of inquiries that I receive wondering if there will be a hands-on or physical component to the therapy – which is a hard no,” the therapist, originally from the US but currently living in Brighton, UK, told Need To Know.
“And with dating, I think there was an assumption that I must be ‘good’ in bed, so there were some reactions about feeling insecure, and other reactions were more like, challenge accepted!”
But despite the drawbacks, Georgina loves her work and the unpredictable nature of it.
She said: “There is no typical day.
“I have in-person and online sessions, [and also spend time] doing research into topics that I’m working with.
“I do try to stay up to date with sexual topics so I’ll visit sex shops, attend lectures, watch porn, and I recently attended a workshop in a dungeon.”
While many would balk at the idea of heading to adult shops as part of their workload, Georgina embraces the unique aspects to her role.
She said: “Particularly for face-to-face clients who live locally, it’s helpful to know what products are available at the shops.
“I have recommended toys to clients in the past and depending on the difficulty that they’re experiencing, there can be some utility to using toys.
“Porn is a loaded topic and it comes up often in my work, so its helpful to watch and peruse around to have some context for what clients may be referring to.
“I am curious about what videos have the most views, and I find it fascinating how that can vary by country.
“I was always interested in sexuality and relationships, so I feel very lucky that I can combine this subject matter with my therapy skills in a professional way.
I think the difficulty for me socially is turning my therapeutic ‘skill-set’ off!”
Georgina, a registered relationship and sex therapist, also recently attended a workshop in a dungeon about pegging – which involves a woman penetrating a man with a sex toy.
She said it was “highly educational” and a topic that has been coming up more often lately with her clients.
During Georgina’s sessions, she works with both individuals and couples and also assigns “homework” for them to work on the things discussed in the session.
And when it comes to the more particular fetishes, she says they become increasingly normalised in her line of work.
Georgina added: “Over time working with a client, the topics that may have originally sounded unusual to me, begin to make a lot more sense.
“In reality, the most surprising cases occur in social settings where people who know what I do will seek to use me as a confessional booth.”
