Sex Guru Vanessa Marin Wants Couples to Experience True Passion and Have More Fun in the Bedroom

The Short Version: Licensed Sex Therapist and Psychotherapist Vanessa Marin’s job doesn’t feel like work. That’s because she treasures her clients and honors their needs, reminding them that there’s no need to feel shame and that every issue they face is fixable. Couples who see Vanessa can experience the kind of transformation that leads to more regular orgasms, answers to complicated sex-related questions, rejuvenated marriages, and more. For 15 years, she has cherished her experiences with clients and lived her passion for helping others.

Sex Therapist Vanessa Marin still remembers the day her parents decided to talk with her about the birds and the bees.

Although both of her parents were excellent communicators, she remembers the topic of sex being excruciatingly uncomfortable. That conversation left a lasting impression that continues to drive the work she does with clients today.

Sex Therapist Vanessa Marin wants clients to understand that all of their issues are fixable.

“I remember my parents having ‘the talk’ with me as a kid. The one, and only, time they tried to talk to me about sex, they just asked me if I had any questions and didn’t even say the word,” she said. “I had a lot of questions that I wanted to ask, but I remember feeling a sense of shame. I felt like they were embarrassed about it, so I should probably be embarrassed about it, too. But I remember having that curiosity and wanting to have those conversations.”

Today, Vanessa is a licensed sex therapist and psychotherapist with a focus on Marriage and Family Therapy and all things related to sexual health. She has a bachelor’s degree in human sexuality from Brown University, and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

She wants clients to feel comfortable opening up, and her personal experiences often reinforce her authenticity as a sex therapist. She is open with clients about her own journey and experiences she has had that may be similar to theirs.

“I’m upfront about the fact that I have my own challenges, too. This is my job, but I have hang-ups around sex, things that make me embarrassed, and stuff I hesitate to do,” she said. “I experience all of this as well, so seeing my clients progress is such a joy for me. Helping people realize that these are issues we all struggle with, and it’s totally normal.”

Vanessa doesn’t want clients to wait until regular business hours when they have a pressing sexual desire or concern. That’s why she offers an innovative and effective suite of online sex therapy programs to allow her clients to start right away from the comfort of home. For couples who want to reignite the spark and have more fun in the bedroom, she offers The Passion Project — a 12-week online course supporting couples with mismatched sex drives.

“The Passion Project helps you focus on what matters: Working together with your partner to have high-quality sex that’s worthy of your desire,” she said. “When you have sex that feels intimate, connecting, playful, and pleasurable to both of you, and you feel seen, respected and desired by your partner, the differences in your sex drives melt away.”

When Richelle R.’s fiancé approached her about The Passion Project, her initial response was not positive. She worried that their relationship was in jeopardy, but once she gave the program a chance, she found it gave her a better understanding of their differences in drives and how they could work together to create more pleasure in their relationship.

Vanessa’s online sex therapy programs help clients resolve issues on their own schedules.

“For anyone who is willing to work on their relationship, whether it be because things have gotten really bad, or whether it is precautionary, I highly recommend giving the program a shot,” Richelle said in an online testimonial. “You never know what you may find out about each other, or yourself.”

Vanessa offers two comprehensive online finishing schools, one designed to teach people how to orgasm alone and another how to orgasm with a partner. These courses and lessons are designed to provide clients with a path forward no matter what issues they have with intimacy. One attendee credited the course with freeing her to have orgasms after years of stress.

“I had my first orgasm days after starting Finishing School. I can’t believe I wasted years – yeaaaaars! – of my life stressing out about my lack of orgasm, only to realize how simple it was once I had the proper information and instructions,” Annette R. said in an online testimonial. “I feel so much joy and relief.”

Couples have come to rely on Vanessa to help them bring excitement back into their sex lives. Her blog provides essential advice for couples who think they’re too busy for sex, those who are afraid to be more adventurous in the bedroom, and couples who simply need to experience each other’s touch more often. Her blog appeals to a diverse audience — modern couples, females, and males who appreciate straight talk when it comes to intimate matters.

“The thing about working with sex is that most people can feel intimidated and fear that their sexual problems can’t be addressed,” she said. “One of the most important things I convey is that everything is fixable. Yes, it might feel a little embarrassing to talk about, or say out loud for the first time, but everything is fixable.”

“It’s exciting for me to see clients experiencing progress, especially because some of them have been struggling with issues for years — or even decades. Seeing them recognize patterns and say, ‘Wow, I can feel progress and change after all this time of feeling hopeless,’ are significant moments for me.” — Vanessa Marin, Sex Therapist

Vanessa is honored to walk her clients through breakthroughs as they overcome challenges and experience true satisfaction.

“It’s exciting for me to see clients experiencing progress, especially because some of them have been struggling with issues for years — or even decades,” she said. “Seeing them recognize patterns and say, ‘Wow, I can feel progress and change after all this time of feeling hopeless,’ are significant moments for me.”

Vanessa insights have been featured in more than 1,000 press appearances, including articles in The New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, CNN, Buzzfeed, GQ, and Self, among many others.

When it comes to coaching, Vanessa strives to provide personalized feedback and advice centered around helping clients create the sex lives they want.

“I enjoy working with busy, modern couples dealing with everyday challenges like most of us,” she said. “Issues like how to make time for sex and how to have the energy for it when you’re exhausted and being pulled in millions of different directions.”

Vanessa said she helps people recognize that, even with all they’ve got going on in their lives, they still have the energy to create the space and time to be intimate with the people they love most.

Vanessa offers clients a range of consultation options, including by phone, and via email.

She said email consultation sex therapy works best for those looking for fast, personal, and affordable solutions. Vanessa provides clear answers to questions, or offers advice on a situation clients face. As soon as you sign up for a session, you receive an email confirmation with an intake form. She promises to provide written, detailed answers to your questions — along with suggested exercises — within 48 hours.

For clients who prefer live sessions, Vanessa works with people via phone or video chat. Her initial consultation sessions are designed to jump-start sex lives and give clients a great deal of value in a short amount of time. Clients can book appointments through her website.

“I want to make sex therapy as easy and as unintimidating as possible, so I offer my coaching services over video chat — or the phone if you’re shy,” she said. “You can enjoy the comfort and privacy of your own home, and won’t have to worry about traveling to my office.”

Vanessa is expanding her coaching services to include fun coaching-based challenges that get couples excited about practicing what they’ve learned in sex therapy. They’re also an excellent way for her to hold couples accountable.

“Right now I’m working on a Summer Sex Challenge for couples looking to spice things up in the bedroom. Everyone has heard the advice that you should spice things up, but people stumble when they think about what they can try and how to initiate it,” she said. “The challenges help get rid of the awkwardness and uncertainty. When you sign up for the month, you will get an email every day with two different ideas. There’s a sensual challenge that’s touch- and foreplay-based and a sexual challenge, which is explicitly about sex. It’s up to the couple to decide which one they want to do that day.”

Vanessa created the challenges to help couples widen their comfort zones and try new things. She said none of the ideas are too “wild, overwhelming, or crazy.” So far, she’s been getting great responses from couples and plans to create more challenges like this in the future with different themes.

Vanessa is also excited about designing a pre-marital sex therapy course for engaged couples.

“This course will help couples ensure that they’re set up to have a marriage full of happy and healthy sex,” she said. “Sex has the potential to be one of the most pleasurable, intimate, empowering, and joyful experiences we get to have as human beings. That’s really what my work boils down to, helping people realize that sex is a normal, natural, integral part of our lives and that it’s OK to have these meaningful conversations about it.”