Frequently Asked Questions

Working With Tim Norton Therapy

About the Work

  • Rather than addressing “symptoms,” Tim maps the full architecture of your sexual system, how nervous-system patterns, emotional memory, relational dynamics, and context shape arousal and desire.

     

    The result is a precise, individualized, science-informed path toward change.

  • Sessions are conversational, exploratory, and grounded in neuroscience and emotional attunement.

    They may include:

     

    • Mapping nervous-system patterns

    • Understanding relational or contextual triggers

    • Guided somatic awareness

    • Sexual-function psychoeducation

    • Real-time emotional regulation work

    • Relational mapping (with or without your partner)

     

    This is not mechanical instruction.

    It is expert, compassionate guidance in understanding and reshaping your internal erotic system.

  • Most clients begin feeling shifts within weeks.

    Lasting change typically develops over several months and depends on:

     

    • The complexity of the issue

    • Relational factors

    • Medical contributors

    • Emotional readiness

    • Nervous-system load

    After the diagnostic phase, Tim works with clients on goal for individualized timeline.

  • Tim works with:

    • Arousal challenges

    • Desire discrepancies

    • Performance anxiety

    • Orgasmic difficulties

    • Erectile changes

    • Pain-related sexual issues

    • Pelvic floor–related disruptions

    • Sexual trauma and its relational impact

    • Emotional disconnection

    • Betrayal, avoidance, or shutdown

    • Complex couple dynamics

    • Modern relational challenges (porn, stress, novelty loss, attachment strain)

  • Shame and akwardness is welcome along with any other feeling and is normal, and deeply human.

    Tim works in ways that accept and challenge shame through gentle relational attunement.

    Most clients say they feel more relaxed within the first session than they expected was possible.

  • If you want clarity, depth, discretion, emotional intelligence, and neuroscience-informed understanding of your sexual self and relationships, this work is designed for you.

  • Many survivors choose Tim precisely because the environment is warm, slow, boundaried, and deeply attuned.

     

    You set the pace.

    Safety, choice, and emotional authority are always centered.

    Some clients find that working with a male therapist becomes a meaningful part of their healing.

  • Yes.

    Tim works with all genders, orientations, identity pathways, and relationship structures.

  • Yes. Tim works with polyamorous partners, open relationships, kink-involved dynamics, and other non-traditional relational structures. The focus is never on imposing a model, but on helping each person, and each partnership within the system feel grounded, safe, and emotionally understood.

    The work prioritizes clarity, consent, emotional safety, and ethical relating for every partner involved.

    Tim helps clients navigate:

    • Differing attachment needs

    • Emotional regulation between partners

    • Boundaries and agreements that support nervous-system safety

    • Sexual communication across multiple relational bonds

    • Repairing misattunements without blame or collapse

    • Building structures that protect all partners from emotional overload or asymmetry

    This is not about “fixing” the relationship structure, it is about making sure each person in that structure can thrive, stay connected to their own values, and participate in relationships that feel ethical, supportive, and emotionally coherent.

Ethics + Confidentialy

  • No.

    Sessions are talk-based, psychology-based, and neuroscience-based.

     

    There is no sexual contact of any kind, ever.

    Clear ethical boundaries are central to the safety and effectiveness of this work.

  • Confidentiality is foundational.

    Tim works with individuals for whom privacy is essential. people whose personal, relational, or professional lives require absolute discretion.

    For elevated discretion, Tim offers:

    • Secure phone sessions from a protected line

    • Optional camera-off first sessions

    • Telehealth from a private location of your choosing

    • Minimal required paperwork

    • No automated reminders, promotional emails

    Because confidentiality relies on clinical oversight and secure environments, Tim cannot accept client requests for therapy in third-party locations client homes, offices, or private clubs as privacy cannot be verified. 

  • No.

    Tim’s approach is titrated  meaning your pace sets the work.

    You will never be pushed into emotional territory your nervous system cannot handle.

  • Tim is highly trained in trauma-informed and nervous-system-based approaches.

    Sessions move slowly, collaboratively, and at the pace of the client.

    If activation arises, it is handled with grounding, containment, and skill not force.

    You will never be pushed beyond what your system can tolerate.

  • Yes.

    Tim offers secure phone sessions and camera-off telehealth options for clients who require exceptional discretion.

    This level of anonymity is especially helpful for clients in public-facing roles or those who prefer to build trust gradually. Whether video, phone, or in-person, confidentiality is woven into every part of the therapeutic process.

    Required paperwork must still be completed before beginning therapy, even for anonymous or camera-off sessions. This ensures ethical compliance and maintains your legal protections as a client.

  • Tim is a licensed psychotherapist governed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) and bound to the strictest standards of professional ethics, confidentiality, and clinical conduct. His work adheres to:

    • California state law regulating psychotherapy

    Including mandated confidentiality, informed consent, record-keeping, and the narrow, legally defined exceptions to privacy.

    • The professional ethical codes of his license

    This includes strict prohibitions against dual relationships, exploitation, boundary violations, and any form of sexual contact or inappropriate conduct with clients.

    • Evidence-based, trauma-informed clinical standards

    Work is paced according to your readiness, with safety, consent, and emotional regulation at the center of every session.

    • Clear, transparent boundaries

    No sexual touching, no physical contact beyond standard clinical norms, no therapy provided in unverifiable or public locations, and no engagement that blurs roles or compromises the therapeutic frame.

    • Confidentiality as a core ethical commitment

    Your information is never shared without explicit permission, except in the rare circumstances mandated by law (serious risk of harm, abuse of minors/vulnerable adults, or court order).

    The therapeutic space is designed to be safe, private, grounded, and predictable a container where you can explore complex experiences with full trust in the ethical integrity of the work.

Clinical Approach

  • Many clients arrive unsure.

     

    Curiosity is enough.

    The first session clarifies your goals, the architecture of your sexual system, and the path forward — giving you grounded confidence in the process.

  • Yes.

    Pelvic pain, tension patterns, and chronic sexual pain conditions are an area of strong clinical focus.

    Tim works at the intersection of:

    • Neuroscience and neuromodulation

    • Pain psychology

    • Pelvic floor physiology

    • Somatic and relational processing

    He collaborates closely with pelvic floor physical therapists, medical specialists, and integrative providers to ensure that nothing is missed — biologically, psychologically, or relationally.

    Clients often come after years of fragmented care. What they find here is a unified, precise understanding of why pain persists and how the nervous system, emotional memory, and relational context all shape pelvic pain.

    The work is gentle, paced, and grounded in safety and nervous-system regulation, so healing is possible without overwhelm.

  • Tim practices within an integrated, interdisciplinary model. When medical collaboration is appropriate, he works directly with urologists, pelvic floor physical therapists, endocrinologists, pain specialists, and primary-care physicians to ensure every dimension of your sexual functioning is understood physiological, neurological, psychological, and relational.

    This coordination is thoughtful, discreet, and always guided by your consent.

    The goal is coherence: a unified understanding of your system so that no contributing factor is missed and every intervention supports the larger therapeutic direction.

Relational + Couples Support

  •  

    Yes.

    Many individuals work with Tim and continue couples therapy with separate therapist.

    Tim may collaborate with client’s consent with couples therapist.

  • Yes.

    Tim provides three-to-four-hour immersive sessions in Los Angeles for couples needing accelerated clarity or stabilization.

  • You can still do this work individually.

    Shifting one person’s nervous system, relational patterns, and sexual response often transforms the dynamic between you even without your partner being in the room.

Practicalities + Logistics

  • You don’t need to prepare anything. Come as you are. Curiosity, awkwardness, hope, hesitation, openness, and even uncertainty are all welcomed and parts of the process. Many clients arrive unsure of what to say or where to begin. That is completely normal.

    If you’d like to reflect ahead of time, you might consider:

    • What would meaningful change look like for you?

      Not a final destination, just a sense of what you hope might shift in your body, your relationships, your confidence, or your experience of sexuality.

    • What feels most important for Tim to understand about you?

      This can include emotional history, relational patterns, medical factors, or the way your nervous system tends to respond under pressure.

    • What brings you in now?

      Often there is a moment, a realization, or a change that signals it’s time to seek support.

    For those who like journal prompts or structure, you are welcome to use the reflection questions in the Journal Prompts section of the site but this is optional.

    After Tim gathers your history and begins mapping your sexual, relational, and nervous-system patterns, the work unfolds at a pace that feels safe and grounded for you.

    Your only job for the first session is simple:

    Show up Let the conversation begin.

  • No.

    Tim is out-of-network and does not bill insurance.

    Clients may request a yearly superbill for reimbursement if their insurer allows.

  • Yes.

    You may choose in-person or secure online sessions,, depending on preference and location.

  • Sessions require 24-hour notice to cancel or reschedule; otherwise the full fee applies.

  • The work is built to fit into a full life.

     

    Most practices are brief, targeted, and intentionally manageable — and the more you engage with them, the more quickly your system shifts.

    You won’t be overwhelmed.

    You will be invited into small, meaningful moments that create real change.

  • For clients who travel eastward frequently, morning online sessions in Los Angeles (Pacific Time) often work well, providing a consistent weekly anchor before the day accelerates. Evening sessions PT can also accommodate clients living or traveling in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.

    Flexibility is built into the process, but consistency matters. Together, you will establish a rhythm that supports progress while honoring the reality of your schedule.