ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how sensate focus, designed in 1970 by Masters and Johnson, has endured for decades as the principal intervention in psychosexual therapy for couples. Although originally intended to resolve sexual difficulties by focusing on the body and sensuality, sensate focus mobilises many anxieties and defences in clients, which need to be understood and worked through using couple psychotherapeutic skills. However, a bifurcation in psychological approaches persists in the profession, splitting mind, body and relationship in training, research, literature and practice. The author describes her own story, first of becoming a psychosexual therapist, then working towards a psychoanalytic understanding of sexual relationships and establishing an integrated practice for couples with sexual problems. Finally, it is suggested that working with sexuality challenges the profession as well as the clients it serves.
