All About Genophobia, the Fear of Sexual Intercourse, and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling
What is Genophobia?
Genophobia is the Fear of Sexual Intercourse and, like all other fears and phobias, can be a cause of significant anxiety and stress if you suffer from it.
There may be a number of reasons why you developed Genophobia such as:
- Negative sexual experiences in the past.
- Sexual abuse.
- Social or cultural conditioning.
- Sexual performance anxiety problems.
There is no scientific evidence that Genophobia is the result of any kind of biological fault or chemical imbalance in spite of the traction that biomedical models of mental illness are given in the media.
On the contrary, Genophobia is much more likely to be the result of your own, subjective evaluation (meaning-making) of what happened to you and is therefore a psychosocial phenomenon.
Genophobia Symptoms & Behaviours
All phobias, including Genophobia, create feelings of anxiety because phobic objects or situations are always perceived as a threat.
Consequently, the symptoms of Genophobia are both specific and generic and may include:
- Avoidance of Intimacy.
- An elevated heart rate.
- A sense of dread about what might happen.
- Worrying that you might pass out.
- Feeling dizzy or disoriented.
- Heart palpitations.
- Dry or Sticky mouth.
- Hot sweats.
- Stress.
- Difficulty breathing easily.
- Feelings of panic.
You may have all, some or even different symptoms to these listed here and this is due to the subjective nature of Genophobia.
However, it is important to be aware that these symptoms WILL subside over time and rarely last for more that 20 to 30 minutes.
What Causes Genophobia?
It’s possible that your Genophobia may be the result of traumatic events or adverse situations that you experienced at some point in your life.
It is also possible that you grew-up in an environment in which sex was regarded as ‘bad’ or ‘sinful’ and you have carried this idea forward into your adult life.
However, because a Fear of Sexual Intercourse is by no means universal, the most likely explanation for your Genophobia is your subjective evaluation of earlier experiences around which you have constructed a set of beliefs.
Is your phobia making you anxious or are you creating the anxiety?
It might be hard to accept, but it’s almost certain that the anxiety you experience when you encounter your phobic object or situation is being unwittingly created by YOU and NOT the thing you fear.
Find out more about the subjective vs objective nature of phobias here.
Counselling and Therapy for Genophobia
We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for Genophobia the Fear of Sexual Intercourse.
Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:
- How long you have had the problem.
- Your personal preferences.
- How your problem is affecting you today.
You can read more about the different types of therapy for Genophobia on the following links:
Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.
Furthermore, research also suggests that the therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.
Behaviour Change Framework – BCF
All of our counselling sessions and programmes are enhanced by applying the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).
This scientifically proven protocol clearly defines the incremental stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.
Drawn from the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM), the framework provides a roadmap that not only gauges the current stage of progression through the change process, but also indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of therapy or coaching.
In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your problems as well as ensuring that we don’t terminate the change process prematurely.
You can read more about the Science of Change here.
Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.
If you’d like to find out more about overcoming Genophobia or recovering from related mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.
During this consultation we will discuss your particular phobia and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.
The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.
Other Sexual Problems
Applied Psychology Solutions
If you’d like to learn how to overcome Genophobia but dislike the idea of having “therapy”, then why not learn how to change the way you make sense of your experiences with the CORE Programme.
If you believe that your problems are the result of what has happened to you and not because there is something wrong with you, then this is the solution you’ve been looking for.
Not Ready to Commit to Therapy Quite Yet?
Then why not see if you can solve your genophobia problems using our comprehensive, Online Self-Help CBT course.
Written especially for people who prefer not to engage with a therapist before doing everything they can to overcome their problems.
Mirroring our in-house course of CBT, it contains everything that you need to know to tackle mental health challenges for only £149.
Counselling Locations
We offer counselling for Genophobia problems for people living in:
- Wombourne
- Wolverhampton
- West Midlands
- Shropshire
- South Staffordshire
- Telford
- Shrewsbury
You can also access our services around the World using online therapy with Paul.