Sex Therapy in Oakland
Honest, grounded conversations about sex, intimacy, and desire.
Weekly 50, 75, or 90-minute sessions · Secure video sessions · Serving Oakland residents and clients across California
Honest, grounded sex therapy for Oakland residents.
Oakland is many cities at once — Rockridge professionals, Temescal creatives, Grand Lake families, downtown founders. The shared thread is intensity and ambition, and the way those shape what we bring home. Oakland's pace asks a lot of its residents, and the relationships and inner lives that get squeezed by that pace are exactly where this work matters most.
Online therapy works particularly well for Oakland's tech and creative workers — sessions before or after the bridge commute, between school pickups, or during a calmer hour at home. No driving to an office on top of a workday that already drained you.
About Sex Therapy
Sex therapy for individuals and couples navigating desire, intimacy, sexual identity, and the topics that are often hardest to talk about. My approach is non-judgmental, sex-positive, and inclusive of all relationship structures, identities, and orientations. We talk about what's actually going on — and we work toward what you actually want.
Sex therapy asks for privacy and unhurried honesty, which is hard to find when Oakland's creative and community circles overlap the way they do — from home, there's no shared waiting room, and many people find these conversations open up more easily in their own space than in an unfamiliar office.
What to expect
- An initial intake session to understand your goals and history
- Weekly sessions of your chosen length — 50, 75, or 90 minutes
- Open, honest conversation in a non-judgmental space
- Inclusive of all identities, orientations, and relationship structures (kink, poly, mono, LGBTQ, trans, all welcome)
- A pace that follows your comfort — there's no rush
Common reasons people come in
- —Differences in desire between partners
- —Sexual disconnection or loss of intimacy
- —Pain, dysfunction, or physical concerns affecting sex
- —Sexual identity, orientation, or coming-out work
- —Kink, ENM, and non-traditional relationship structures
- —Recovering from sexual trauma or shame
Weekly 50, 75, or 90-minute sessions
- All sessions held online via secure HIPAA-compliant video
- Cancellation policy: 24 hours
- Currently accepting new Oakland clients
Why online sessions are a good fit for Oakland
Oakland days rarely leave clean margins. Maybe you're crossing the Bay Bridge or riding BART from MacArthur or Rockridge into San Francisco, then coming home already spent. Maybe you work at Kaiser or a downtown nonprofit, or you're stitching together freelance and family in Temescal, Fruitvale, or the Laurel. Between the commute, East Bay housing costs that keep everyone working hard, and evenings that fill up fast, driving somewhere else for a weekly appointment is often the reason therapy never starts. Online sessions remove that layer. You meet from your apartment near Lake Merritt, your home office in Montclair, or wherever you have a door that closes — no parking hunt on Grand Avenue, no rushing back across town. And if your world is a tight-knit one, there's no waiting room to run into anyone from it. I'm licensed throughout California and work with Oakland residents over secure, HIPAA-compliant video.
- No travel time across Rockridge, Temescal, Grand Lake
- Sessions fit into work-from-home schedules
- Privacy and discretion — sessions from your own home
- Available evenings and select weekend hours
A relational, depth-oriented therapist serving California.
I'm Fanshen Thompson, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in California. I work with couples, individuals, and partnerships navigating intimacy, identity, and the slower work of becoming.
I am a certified Gottman trained couples therapist and draw from Emotionally Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, attachment theory, and somatic practices. But more than any single modality, I bring myself: a real human who has done — and continues to do — this work.
My practice is online and serves clients across California. The work is honest, grounded, and paced to what you can actually carry.
Frequently asked questions
How do online sessions work?
We meet over a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform. You'll receive a link before each session and join from a private space at home — no app downloads or special equipment beyond a device with a camera and a stable internet connection.
Do I need a special app or platform?
No. The video platform runs in your browser. I'll send a link a few minutes before our session — you click, and we begin.
Is this covered by insurance?
I'm an out-of-network provider. I can provide a superbill you can submit to your insurance for potential out-of-network reimbursement. I'd encourage you to call your insurance and ask about your out-of-network mental health benefits.
How long does it take to see results?
Most people begin to feel something shift within the first several weeks — a little more clarity, a little less alone in it. Real, lasting change is a longer arc, often months of consistent weekly work. I'll be honest with you about what I see along the way.
What is your cancellation policy?
My cancellation policy is 24 hours. Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice are charged in full.
Can you see clients in Oakland?
Yes. I see clients in Oakland and across California via secure video sessions. There's no need to come to an office — sessions happen from wherever you're comfortable in Oakland.
Ready to start? Let's talk.
Book a free 20-minute consultation. We'll talk about what's going on and whether working together feels right. No pressure, no commitment.