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Dr. Carolin Klein

@drcarolinklein

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Registered Psychologist | Sex Therapist
𝑫𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 @westcoastsextherapy
Challenging ideas about sex to make sex less challenging.

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by @drcarolinklein

In this week’s episode of Life is Beauty Full podcast, we talk to sex therapist Dr. Carolin Klein about the what women get wrong about desire, how to boost intimacy and much more. Link to read the full article or watch the podcast in bio. by @drcarolinklein

So excited about our interview for an upcoming Life is Beauty Full podcast episode with the amazing sex therapist and psychologist Dr. Carolin Klein. So much great advice from how to navigate intimacy during life changes to reigniting intimacy to how to talk to your kids about sex and more! You won’t want to miss it. Coming out soon! #You can listen or watch all of the Life of Beauty Full episodes at link in bio or anywhere you watch podcasts. YouTube, Apple, Spotify. podcast!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2rKR3gT8qMLZYXiNnbtooE?si=7cd4a8a2f5bb40b8&nd=1&dlsi=86326679b5874041

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-5-simple-science-backed-habits-to-reduce-stress/id1818889476?i=1000726998950

Amazon: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/2a9eb985-4b77-46f5-a736-aecc4a03d667/episodes/7ffbc7bb-3f3d-4e2b-8346-d78a5d7fb98f/evalina-beauty’s-life-is-beauty-full-episode-5-simple-science-backed-habits-to-reduce-stress-boost-energy-add-more-joy-to-your-life

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ngvxanLeKI by @drcarolinklein

It’s going to be an incredible event! If you’re in the Vernon area, I hope you will join us.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vine-vibes-20-an-evening-of-midlife-connection-conversation-tickets-1462219029479 by @drcarolinklein

Are you or someone you know living with Lichen Sclerosus (LS)? Feeling lost or confused about
your diagnosis? The Wholistic Healing Replay Summit, brought to you by
@lichensclerosussupportnetwork is here to help!

Join us online from Sept 4-6, 2025, for
expert-led sessions on the latest treatments, research, and self-care strategies.

Empower yourself with knowledge and take control of your LS journey. Learn more and register here:
lssupportnetwork.org/whs or DM them “WHS” for a clickable link.

#LichenSclerosus #LSSN
#VulvarHealth #ChronicIllness #HealthEducation #PatientEmpowerment by @drcarolinklein

Save the date and join me!

The Wholistic Healing Summit, put on by the Lichen Sclerosus Support Network, is just over a month away, running from May 12th-16th 2025.

And I’m excited to have been invited to once again present, this time on the topic of Lichen Sclerosus and your Sexual Mental Health: Embracing Intimacy and Well-being.

The Wholistic Healing Summit is an amazing week of presentations by professionals who understand lichen sclerosus and other sexual/genital pain conditions, and who want to help patients and their loved ones overcome the pain and all the ways it impacts sexuality, mental and physical well-being, and relationships.

So if you or someone you know has been struggling with sexual/genital pain, don’t miss this fantastic week of expert-led presentations!

To find out more and to register, go to https://lssupportnetwork.org/holistic-healing-summit-page/ by @drcarolinklein

We are now less than 1 week away from a 4-hour workshop for clinicians I’ll be giving on understanding and treating sexual/genital pain!

Sexual pain is incredibly common. Sadly, proper training for clinicians (including physicians and gynaecologists) is not! So most patients go years and many providers before getting a proper diagnosis, and then even longer for proper treatment. In the meantime, they suffer in silence, feeling betrayed by their bodies, fearing horrible pain during sex, and missing intimacy with their partners.

If you’re a sex therapist, counselor, psychologist, or other mental health professional interested in learning more about sexual/genital pain and evidence-based strategies to help clients overcome pain and reintegrate sexuality into their lives, go to the following link for more info and registration:

https://modernsextherapyinstitutes.com/product/understanding-and-treating-sexual-genital-pain-4-ce-hours/

Sponsored by Modern Sex Therapy Institutes. by @drcarolinklein

We live in a society that encourages women to be “sexy” and “desirable” but not to be “sexual” or have desires of their own. Women who speak openly about sex risk being deemed inappropriate. As a result, most women are never given the permission or the skills to learn the art of great sexual communication. Instead, sex becomes about rubbing body parts rather than revealing oneself to another. And yet it is the latter that leads to true intimacy: the ability to be completely real, honest, and open about one’s desires, fears, boundaries, and curiosities.

Join me on Thursday, February 27th at Diane’s Lingerie on Granville Street as I challenge the shame that surrounds women and sexuality and talk about the art of great “oral sex” – in this case meaning great communication! Because connection and arousal are fueled less by what’s happening between the legs and much more by what’s happening between the ears.

The conversation will include practical tips, followed by an open Q&A where common concerns, issues, challenges, and joys of open, uninhibited sexual communication will be unabashedly discussed in a warm, welcoming, safe space.

TICKETS: $20 on Eventbrite.

Light refreshments will be served. Arrive early to shop and receive 20% off your purchase.

To get your ticket, go to https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-art-of-great-sexual-communication-tickets-1245538823149 by @drcarolinklein

Remember: sex shouldn’t be painful. If you experience unwanted rawness, stinging, burning, stabbing, or other unpleasant genital sensations when you have sex, please talk to a knowledgeable healthcare provider to obtain a proper assessment, diagnosis, and treatment plan.

And if you’re a healthcare provider wanting to better understand and treat sexual/genital pain, I’m excited to be giving another 4-hour workshop for clinicians on this topic in the new year through Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI). This workshop will cover evidence-based strategies to help clients overcome their pain and reintegrate sexuality into their lives.

When: Saturday, April 5th, 2025
Time: 2pm-6pm EST
Live via webinar, or available after this date as a recording.
4 CE Hours

For more info and registration, go to
https://modernsextherapyinstitutes.com/product/understanding-and-treating-sexual-genital-pain-4-ce-hours/ by @drcarolinklein

As a sex therapist, I see a huge correlation between the way partners kiss each other on a daily basis (not just how they kiss once they’re starting to have sex), and the frequency and passion with which they are sexual.

That’s because kissing is one of the most intimate ways we humans interact.

People like to think that it’s genital contact that makes something intimate. However, genital contact, alone, does not get our brains into a sexual mindset. Just think how non-sexual pap smears; prostate or testicular exams; and tampon insertions are.

And while people can lay there like a dead fish and have genital contact even when bored, tired, or pissed off, it is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE to passionately kiss someone under those same circumstances.

That’s because it is HUGELY intimate to passionately kiss. It immediately sends signals to our brain that our partners are not just our co-parents; mortgage-mates; and Netflix-chums. And it sends signals that are important for sexual arousal and desire.

So think about how you currently kiss your partner as you say good-morning; leave for work; greet each other as you come back home; and say good-night. If it’s more like kissing your aunt than the apple of your eye, then here’s your cue to change that! It doesn’t have to be a long and slobbery make-out session but it does need to feel intimate and intentional.

Remember: kissing is a contact sport, so if you want it to feel intimate, have as many points of contact between your and your partner’s body as you can.

And if you are kissing your partner like you would kiss your aunt, then don’t be surprised if your sex life isn’t all that! by @drcarolinklein

Because of poor sex education, a lot of my clients have a lot of illusions about sex! For example:

1. If she’s wet, it means she wants it; or
2. If he isn’t hard, he isn’t horny.

Our genitals are NOT a reliable indicator of how mentally turned on we are. For many women, if their brains interpret something sexual going on – WHETHER THEY FIND IT HOT OR NOT – their genitals start to lubricate to protect the tissue from damage should any friction/penetration occur. This is a super adaptive response meant to protect tissue – NOT give information on how turned on the person is.

Similarly, I hear people complain that their partner must not be very turned on because they aren’t “that wet” or “that hard”. The thing is many factors affect what’s happening in our genitals: our age; stress; hormones, medications; medical conditions; distractions; and so on.

3. If you don’t want sex, it means you don’t want me.

When it comes to sex, many people take their partner’s lack of desire personally. Whereas if their partner doesn’t want to go for a walk, they don’t automatically assume the person doesn’t want to be with them. There are MANY reasons people aren’t in the mood for sex, and only 1 of those is that they aren’t turned on by their partners. That’s, by FAR, the least common reason. So don’t automatically assume it’s about you. Most things aren’t!

4. If they sell it in a store, it must be safe on the skin.

Sadly, in most countries lubes and sex toys are unregulated, meaning manufacturers can put WHATEVER they want in them. And sadly, many of these things are harmful to our skin and bodies. In fact, some of the worst offenders are those sold in your local drug and grocery stores!

5. Hot bodies have hot sex.

Many people hold the belief that if their body only looked like ____, then they would have better sex. After working with thousands of clients, I can assure you how you look has NOTHING to do with your potential for hot sex. As I said in my last post, good sex doesn’t require your body to look a certain way; it requires you to view yourself a certain way.

Slide 2 image credit: artist Olga Beliaeva by @drcarolinklein

For a lot of my clients, the issue isn’t that they aren’t having sex. It’s that they are having BAD sex.

And most often, the reason they are having bad sex is that that they are focusing on all the wrong things: what their bodies look like (or they at least perceive their bodies to look like); what their bodies are doing (are they wet enough or hard enough?); whether they and their partners are close to orgasm; whether they are doing and saying all the “right” things they think will turn their partners on.

The problem is that good sex isn’t about the act.
It’s about the energy you bring to the act.

So if you’re focused on things that, despite the best of intentions, create pressure, anxiety, embarrassment, shame, or sadness, no wonder the sex won’t be all that.

Remember: if you are struggling to have good sex, and your focus is on all the ineffective things, sex therapists are here to help.

And our goal isn’t to get people to have more sex.
It’s to help people have great sex! by @drcarolinklein