SEXperience - Experiences Around SEX with Dr. Sakshi Tickoo

Confidence and pleasure are empowering tools that every healthcare professional must provide their clients with. We spoke to Dr. Sakshi Tickoo who is an Occupational Therapist and Personal Counselor. She has helped create a  sex-positive space for everyone to embrace their whole being and be respectful of everyone else's choice(s). Here is what she told us about her experience with her clients.

The Most Common Issue?

I currently cater to a diverse population of ages 3 years to 90 years. Some common diagnoses I address in practice are ADHD, Autism, Vaginismus, Erectile Dysfunction, Premature Ejaculation, etc that have a direct impact on a persons’ sexuality and expression. The younger population is clueless about their bodies, its function and why their bodies keep changing as the parents  are not provided with adequate resources. Adult clients, on the other hand, seek help to maintain their sexual and emotional health which is impacted due to underlying conditions.

 Why do they struggle with it?

There is a constant feature that I see across all ages which is shame and fear. Shame and fear of not being good enough, their orientations and expressions, their desires, kinks, fetishes, their inability to experience an orgasm, their expectation of looking a certain way. Irrespective of the cause, the effect of shame and fear manifests across humankind in the same way which is far more debilitating than a physical or physiological concern or limitation as it takes away the freedom and confidence of experiencing sensuality and creating healthy sexuality.

Redemption for the problem

As an Occupational Therapist, the majority of my work and approach focuses on what the clients need v/s want to thrive in their daily lives. Occupations are the core of any person's daily living. Any condition that hampers the person's emotional, physical, mental, physiological state directly has an impact in the way a person shows up to all of these occupations of daily life.

And the first step to achieve this is always honest communication and authentic consent. I assume that the onus is always on me to address this area with my clients and seek their permission before I go too far and make them uncomfortable. Both these factors have helped me incredibly in creating a safe, trustworthy space with my clients which is of utmost importance when they invite me into their lives.

My job as an occupational therapist and counselor is to equip them with tools, modifications, strength & conditioning, adaptations and more for them to return to their occupations in the best possible way despite the concerns and limitations.