NC Certified Sex Therapist | Licensed Marriage Counselor

“Sexless marriages can be resurrected
to have excitement and desire.”

Laurie Watson is an AASECT certified sex therapist and has been a licensed couple’s counselor for two decades. In clinical therapy, she has helped thousands of couples recover sexual passion and make love again in joyful, intimate, creative and exciting ways, sometimes even after years of sexless marriage. Due to her many years of counseling experience, Laurie remains incredibly hopeful that committed love and monogamous sex can fulfill a couple, heal deep wounds from childhood, restore each spouse to a sense of hope, and offer stability from which to face the world together.

Author of Wanting Sex Again, Laurie’s book illustrates the challenges of the sexual relationship in long term committed relationship starting with the honeymoon through the child-rearing years and later life. Both practical and psychological solutions tackle tough sexual problems: lack of orgasm, frequency discrepancies, difficulties with enjoying oral sex, power struggles, stresses of child-rearing on the bedroom, the madonna-whore split, depression, family of origin problems and losses, poor seduction, communication, molestation from childhood, sexual pain problems (vaginismus and vestibulitis), menopause, and weight and body image. Questions throughout the book guide the reader to examine their own sexual relationship. Read Wanting Sex Again to build an erotic core that is resilient to the media’s pressure, aging and even life’s ordinary stressors so that sex continues to renew and sustain you and your relationship.

Blogger for Psychology Today in Married and Still Doing It, she writes for people who want to have hot sex with one person – their spouse. In pithy articles, Laurie continues to educate readers about how it is not committed relationship that mutes desire but our own defense against the vulnerability of loss once we have married. She encourages women to own their sexual passion and their imperfect but exhilarating bodies and men to understand the physiology and psychology behind female sexuality. Writing to heal the gender gap, she validates the pathway of sexual touch as a deeply important and sometimes sole way that people get and feel connected.

As a media personality and speaker, Laurie continues to enchant audiences with her authentic, relaxed manner when talking about a sensitive subject that makes most people uncomfortable. Her quick wit and laughter set people at ease. Suddenly feeling safe about this important subject, questions pour in from listeners. Her girlfriend-next-door attitude is fun while her expertise delivers important information about sexuality and relationships.

Conference speaker and educator, Laurie has taught about sexual function and dysfunction at the medical schools of Duke and UNC Chapel Hill as well as physician education courses on sexual recovery after breast cancer and female sexuality. As a guest lecturer in psychology classes, students regularly give her feedback that not only did she deliver an interesting, important lecture but she taught them something about themselves. College student audiences always offer feedback about how much they have learned from LaurieA favorite of women’s groups, Laurie’s teaching relieves many women that they are normal and th0ugh different than their partner, entitled to have sex in ways that bring arousal and fulfillment. An Episcopalian, she teaches about marriage and sexuality at church events and leads retreat on marital intimacy.

Clinical Director of Awakenings – Center for Intimacy and Sexuality, Laurie supervises LPC interns and consults for other clinicians regarding the sexual dilemmas of their patients. Her theoretical background is psychodynamic – meaning that the family of origin is the blueprint for relational (and sexual) functioning and the unconscious has an agenda that often sabotages our best efforts at change. Therapy uncovers these agendas and reveals the intense shadow attraction that we have for our partners enabling more freedom in our responses. Laurie uses a simple metaphor about pursuers and distancers to help people examine their clinging and avoiding behaviors and how these interrupt intimacy and good sex. Changing in small ways can often restore chemistry and connection bringing great happiness to a couple.

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