DC · Licensed and practising
Sex therapy in Washington, D.C.
AASECT-certified sex therapy for individuals and couples anywhere in Washington, D.C..
Our practice was founded by Vanessa Cushing, LPC, NCC, MS, an AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist trained at Johns Hopkins. DC clients are matched with a clinician authorized to provide care in the District; Vanessa's personal licenses cover Virginia and Florida.
Cushing Counseling offers sex therapy in Washington, DC, in person and online, for adults individually and as couples. Choose the format that fits your life; our intake coordinator will confirm the eligible clinician and current opening before you book.
The District is the densest professional market of the four, and the one where confidentiality anxiety runs highest. Clients are frequently in politics, law, journalism, the federal agencies or the military, and a meaningful number will not attend a therapy office in the city where colleagues might see them in the waiting room. Video is not a compromise for them — it is the reason they finally started.
What is treated
The presenting problem is usually one of a fairly small number of things, even though it rarely feels that way from the inside:
- Erectile difficulty, including the kind that started as a one-off and became a pattern
- Early or delayed ejaculation
- Low desire, and desire that has changed after children, medication or a medical event
- Desire discrepancy — one partner wanting sex far more or far less often than the other
- Pain with penetration, including cases where the medical workup came back normal
- Difficulty reaching orgasm
- Performance anxiety and the avoidance cycle it sets up
- Sexual difficulty following trauma, betrayal or infidelity
- Sex and intimacy for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, including non-monogamous relationships
- Sexual shame carried out of religious or family messaging
How sessions work in Washington, D.C.
Online care is available to clients physically located in the District at session time with a clinician authorized to treat them there. Tell intake if you travel or if partners will join from different states so eligibility can be checked before the appointment.
In-person appointments are available at our L Street NW office. Dr. Elizabeth Wolfe's individual and couples appointments are by secure video only. Her confirmed PSYPACT authorization covers telepsychology in the District; it does not mean she sees clients in person at this office.
Sex therapy is talk therapy. There is no physical examination, no touching, no undressing and no observation of sexual activity, ever — by anyone, in any legitimate sex therapy practice. The work happens in conversation and in structured exercises you do privately at home.
Our Washington, DC office
1660 L St NW Suite 308, Washington, DC 20036. Near Farragut North and Dupont Circle; appointments are arranged in advance.
Call (703) 544-7081 or email vanessa@cushingcounseling.com for clinician matching and in-person availability.
DC-eligible clinicians and session fees
The right match depends on your concerns, individual or couples care, location and appointment format. These are the published rates for DC-eligible clinicians, not a promise that each clinician works in person at this office.
Dr. Elizabeth Wolfe, PsyD
Clinical Psychologist · Certified Sex Therapist. Accepting new clients. Adults, individually and as couples. Online only. As a psychologist she is PSYPACT-authorized, so clients located in any of the 43 PSYPACT jurisdictions can be seen — confirmed for your state on the consultation call.
- $315 per individual session
- $400 per couples session
Meet Elizabeth Wolfe · Book a free consultation
Radiance Sanneman, MS, LCPC, NCC, CCMHC
IFS Specialist & Trauma Therapist. Accepting new clients. Adults only, individual and group therapy — not couples work.
- $210 per 45-minute session
Meet Radiance Sanneman · Book a free consultation
For in-person appointments, intake confirms the eligible clinician, opening and fee before booking. Dr. Wolfe sees individuals and couples online only; Radiance works with adults individually, not couples. We are out-of-network. Ask about a superbill and check your benefits; reimbursement is not guaranteed.
Where in Washington, D.C.
Sessions reach every part of Washington, D.C.. These pages cover the metros clients most often search from:
- Sex therapist in Dupont Circle — downtown D.C. and the near Northwest
- Sex therapist in Capitol Hill — Capitol Hill and eastern D.C.
- Sex therapist in Georgetown — Georgetown and upper Northwest
Why certification matters here
In every one of these states, any licensed therapist may advertise themselves as specialising in sex therapy. There is no legal restriction on the phrase. AASECT certification is the only widely recognised marker that a clinician completed supervised training specific to sexual health rather than adding an interest to a profile.
That distinction is worth understanding before you choose anyone — including us. The comparison guide lays out what the certification requires and when it genuinely matters.
- AASECT-certified vs. non-certified sex therapist — what the credential requires, and when it changes the outcome
- Vanessa Cushing's credentials in full — licences, training and where each one is verifiable
Common questions
Can I see a sex therapist in person in Washington, DC?
Yes. We see clients in person and online. Our District office is at 1660 L St NW Suite 308, Washington, DC 20036. Intake confirms the clinician, opening and fee for in-person appointments. Dr. Elizabeth Wolfe's appointments are by secure video only; her confirmed PSYPACT authorization permits online care in the District, not in-person practice at this office.
Which clinician will I work with in DC?
We match you by your concern, whether you want individual or couples care, your physical location and your preferred appointment format. Dr. Elizabeth Wolfe offers individual and couples sex therapy by secure video. Radiance Sanneman works with adults individually, including trauma and sexual concerns, not couples. Intake confirms in-person assignments rather than assuming every team member works at every office. Vanessa Cushing founded the practice; her personal licenses cover Virginia and Florida, not DC.
Do I have to live in Washington, D.C. to be seen?
You have to be physically located in Washington, D.C. at the time of the session. That is how therapy licensure works everywhere in the United States — the licence follows the client's location, not their mailing address. If you live in Washington, D.C. but travel, we will talk about which sessions can go ahead and which need rescheduling.
Is online sex therapy as effective as sitting in a room?
For this particular work, video holds up well. Sex therapy is talk-based and homework-based — there is never any physical examination or contact of any kind — so almost nothing is lost by doing it over a secure connection. What is gained is significant: no waiting room, no commute, and the exercises get practised in the bedroom where they belong rather than described in an office.
What does it cost, and does insurance cover it?
Published fees for DC-eligible clinicians: Elizabeth Wolfe: $315 per individual session; $400 per couples session. Radiance Sanneman: $210 per 45-minute session. Intake confirms the clinician and fee for in-person care. We are out-of-network; ask about a superbill and check your own plan's benefits. Reimbursement, especially for couples therapy, is not guaranteed. The consultation is free.
What actually happens in the first session?
Mostly listening. The first session maps out what is happening, how long it has been happening, what has already been tried, and what you want to be different — including a straightforward sexual history, asked matter-of-factly. You leave with an initial read on what is driving the problem and a plan for what comes next.
Do you see individuals, or only couples?
Both. Plenty of sexual concerns are best worked on alone — performance anxiety, shame carried from earlier experiences, a mismatch you have not yet raised with your partner. Others need both people in the room. If you are not sure which applies, that is a normal thing to arrive undecided about.
Read next
- What sex therapy actually is
- AASECT-certified vs. non-certified
- Individual vs. couples sex therapy
- Does insurance cover sex therapy?
Looking for a sex therapist near me? Here’s how to find the right fit, in person or online.
Other states served
Our team serves these other jurisdictions. If you are not in Washington, D.C., start here instead:
The consultation is fifteen minutes, free, and genuinely a conversation rather than a sales call — including the part where we tell you if what you are describing is not something sex therapy is the right answer for.