I’m Tim Norton - Licensed Therapist
I am a licensed sex therapist with an established general therapy practice. I work as an individual sex therapist, couple’s sex therapist, marital therapist, psychosomatic/chronic and somatic pain therapist, and relational therapist.
My expertise is in the area of sexual problems, relational work, sexual dysfunctions, erectile dysfunction, compulsivity, sexual trauma, gender, sexual identity, body image, body positivity, poly and open relationships, kink and BDSM.
I work with a wide variety of clients and sexual orientations.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a focus on mental health from the University of Southern California (USC) and a member of the American Association of Sex Counselors, Educators, and Therapists (AASECT). I am also a member of the Pain Psychology Center where I work in the treatment of eliminating or significantly reducing chronic pain symptoms through targeted psychotherapy.
I am the host of the Hard Conversations Podcast on erectile dysfunction and male sexuality. I spent several years at Psychotherapy Works where I received intensive training in sex therapy and sex addiction treatment. I have completed the Sex Therapy training program at the Center for Healthy Sex and am an active member in the Los Angeles Sexological Association. My licensed therapist offices are located in Silver Lake and Santa Monica, Los Angeles.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
While my specialty is in sex therapy, my foundation is in working with personality disorders and I am trained in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
DBT is an improvement upon cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on teaching clients adaptive skills to increase mindfulness, improve interpersonal relationships, regulate emotions, and cope with life stressors, in addition to looking at a person’s thoughts and behaviors.
A core aspect of DBT is mindfulness, and I find that most people I work with both on sexual issues and chronic pain benefit greatly from an increase in mindfulness. In sessions, I draw my clients' attention to their in-the-moment feelings and messages in their bodies, with the hopes of teaching them how to do so more effectively when out in the world.
Also embedded in DBT is a habit of paying attention to ‘dialectics,’ and by that I mean that there are always two ways of looking at something, as well as a lot of gray area in between. When we lose sight of this fact, we develop inner dialogues, or “narratives” that we repeat over and over in self-destructive ways. While this is a fairly obvious concept at first glance, it often takes outside perspective and feedback from someone to help facilitate change.
Online Sex Therapy Sessions
My offices are in Santa Monica and Silverlake Los Angeles and since the outbreak of COVID-19 my sessions have become 100% online sex therapy sessions.
While online sex therapy sessions are not in my office, there are quite a few advantages. There is no parking or commute time and you can be anywhere for your session with me which saves you time. Although my office waiting room is tranquil, my clients can find waiting with strangers uncomfortable and some clients now enjoy the increased privacy my online sessions offer.
While there is an upside to being in someone’s presence when talking, sometimes it can be easier to reveal something really personal or embarrassing when there’s a layer of vulnerability removed by the screen.
