Therapy for Male Sexual Dysfunction based in St Petersburg, Florida
Karli Kucko, LPC, CST
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Karli Kucko offers trauma-informed erectile dysfunction therapy for men and people with penises navigating erection, orgasm, and confidence concerns.
You might find yourself asking:
“Why do I lose my erection during sex, but not when I’m alone?”
“Why can I orgasm when I’m by myself, but not with my partner?”
“What’s happening to me, and can it get better?”
If you’re experiencing erection difficulties, orgasm struggles, or anxiety about sexual performance, you’re not alone, and nothing about this makes you broken. These concerns are common, and they often have less to do with your body’s ability and more to do with stress, emotional pressure, or relational tension.
Therapy provides a safe, shame-free space to explore what’s happening beneath the surface. Together, we’ll look at the emotional and psychological factors that may be affecting arousal and confidence, so you can reconnect with your body, your pleasure, and your sense of self-trust.
Therapy for Men and People With Penises Navigating Erectile Issues, Orgasm Challenges, and Performance Anxiety
Erectile dysfunction therapy focuses on helping clients understand the emotional, psychological, and relational influences on arousal and performance. It offers a supportive space to explore stress, communication, and self-image areas that often affect erection or desire. This approach helps men and people with penises build confidence, reconnect with pleasure, and experience intimacy with greater ease.
What Is Erectile Dysfunction Therapy?
Erectile dysfunction is often viewed as a purely medical condition, but for many men and people with penises, the experience goes far deeper than physiology. While medical factors can play a role, emotional stress, relationship tension, and performance pressure are often at the core of what’s happening.
Karli approaches erectile dysfunction therapy through both a psychological and relational lens. This means exploring how your body responds to pressure, fear of failure, or disconnection from your partner. It’s not about performance; it’s about understanding how stress and emotions shape the body’s ability to relax, feel safe, and stay present during intimacy.
By uncovering the emotional patterns behind physical responses, therapy helps clients regain confidence in their body’s natural rhythm. Together, you’ll learn to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with yourself so that sexual experiences feel authentic, connected, and free from anxiety.
Understanding Erectile Dysfunction Beyond the Physical
The Role of Anxiety, Stress, and Connection
For many clients, erectile dysfunction isn’t about physical inability; it’s about emotional overwhelm. When anxiety, performance pressure, or fear of disappointing a partner takes over, the body’s natural arousal system can shut down. This is not failure; it’s the nervous system protecting itself.
Karli helps clients understand this mind–body connection and how stress responses interfere with intimacy. Through therapy, you’ll explore how expectations, self-criticism, or unresolved emotional tension can create a feedback loop that heightens anxiety each time intimacy is attempted.
Together, you’ll learn practical tools to calm the nervous system, reduce performance pressure, and restore a sense of safety in your body. For many men and people with penises, this includes learning to shift from “performing” to connecting, focusing on emotional closeness and pleasure rather than achievement.
When arousal becomes an expression of connection instead of a test of ability, confidence often returns naturally. Therapy supports that shift by helping you build self-trust, communicate openly, and experience intimacy as something grounding rather than stressful.
How Therapy Helps
Sexual concerns can feel profoundly isolating, especially when they’re surrounded by shame, fear, or self-doubt. Karli’s work with men and people with penises is collaborative, nonjudgmental, and rooted in the belief that pleasure, connection, and intimacy are worth reclaiming.
Together, you’ll work to:
Explore the emotional and relational roots of performance anxiety, arousal disconnect, or changes in libido.
Talk openly about shame, expectations, and the pressures that can interfere with desire.
Rebuild confidence and trust in your body and in your ability to connect with a partner.
Develop tools and insights that support lasting intimacy and authentic sexual connection.
Whether you’re single, partnered, or unsure how to start this conversation, therapy offers a space where you can be honest, curious, and supported without pressure or judgment.
Erectile dysfunction therapy begins with understanding that your body’s responses are protective, not broken, when you’ve experienced pressure, judgment, or past sexual stress; your nervous system can interpret intimacy as unsafe.
Karli helps clients slow down, breathe, and re-establish safety with their bodies. After developing a therapeutic rapport, sessions may include grounding exercises, mindfulness-based awareness, or gentle exploration of triggers that affect arousal. These techniques are never rushed or forced; they’re designed to help you feel at ease, rebuild trust with your body, and approach intimacy with curiosity rather than fear.
Reconnecting With Your Body Through Safety and Awareness
This improves scannability and sets expectations.
1. Free Consultation
A 15-minute video conversation to share what’s bringing you in and ask questions about Karli’s approach, no pressure to decide.
2. Build Safety & Comfort
Early sessions focus on trust, validation, and gentle education about arousal, stress, and regulation.
3. Explore Root Causes
Together, you’ll look at emotional, relational, and cultural factors that may be shaping performance or arousal.
4. Practice New Skills
Communication tools, body awareness, and anxiety-reduction strategies to support authentic intimacy.
5. Ongoing Support
Continue as long as it’s helpful; pacing and goals are collaborative and consent-led.
Ready to Begin?
If you’re curious about whether erectile dysfunction therapy could help, Karli offers a free 15-minute video consultation. It’s a simple, no-pressure way to discuss your goals, learn about her approach, and take the first step toward feeling more confident and connected.
The Process: What to Expect
Many clients enter therapy focused on physical outcomes, but the process often reveals deeper emotional layers. Stress, grief, shame, or early beliefs about masculinity can quietly shape how you experience desire and arousal.
Through an eclectic, evidence-based approach informed by trauma training and attachment theory, Karli helps clients recognize and release these patterns. Together, you’ll work toward emotional clarity, self-compassion, and connection, creating a foundation for confidence to grow naturally. Erectile dysfunction therapy becomes less about “fixing” performance and more about healing the relationship between mind, body, and intimacy.
Healing the Emotional Roots of Erectile Concerns
Karli’s work goes beyond quick fixes or medical solutions. Her erectile dysfunction therapy focuses on the emotional, psychological, and relational factors that influence arousal and confidence.
Using an evidence-based and trauma-informed approach, Karli blends techniques from the Gottman Method, EMDR, and AASECT-certified sex therapy to help clients explore performance concerns without shame.
Each session is collaborative, gentle, and paced at your comfort level. The goal is not just improving function, but rebuilding self-trust, communication, and connection so intimacy feels authentic, not pressured.
What Makes Karli’s Approach Different
Recovery from erectile challenges isn’t a single breakthrough; it’s a gradual return to confidence through awareness, communication, and emotional safety.
In therapy, you’ll learn how to talk openly about your experiences, set boundaries, and share needs with a partner. This process helps dissolve the pressure to perform and encourages a mutual, responsive, and fulfilling intimacy.
Karli’s role is to guide you in building self-trust and connections that last beyond therapy sessions so sexual expression becomes something enjoyable, integrated, and entirely your own.
Building Lasting Confidence and Connection
Erectile dysfunction therapy supports anyone experiencing changes in arousal, confidence, or connection during intimacy. Karli works with men and people with penises navigating:
Difficulty getting or maintaining erections.
Performance anxiety or fear of disappointing a partner.
Low desire or emotional disconnection during sex.
Stress, shame, or pressure around sexual expression.
Impact of trauma, relationship strain, or rigid beliefs about masculinity.
Therapy offers a private, nonjudgmental space to talk openly and learn practical ways to restore ease, presence, and self-trust.
Is This Therapy Right for You?
1. Will we talk about sex directly?
Yes, but always at your pace and within your comfort zone. Your boundaries and readiness guide every discussion. You’re in control of what you choose to share, and sessions always center on safety and respect.
2. Will I have to talk about my past?
Only if and when it feels helpful. Some clients want to understand how early messages about masculinity, sex, or self-worth are influencing them today. Others prefer to focus on tools for the present. Both approaches are welcome therapy that adapts to your goals.
3. Should I do individual or couples therapy for erectile concerns?
Both options can be beneficial. Some clients begin individually to focus on confidence and self-understanding, while others invite their partners into sessions to strengthen communication and intimacy. Karli can help you decide which approach feels most supportive, and the format can evolve as therapy progresses.
Feeling ready to regain confidence and comfort in your sexual connection? Schedule your free 15-minute video consultation with Karli K Counseling to get started.
4. How long does erectile dysfunction therapy take to help?
Timelines vary. Some clients notice reduced anxiety or improved presence within a few sessions; others benefit from more extended support. The focus is on sustainable change, not quick fixes.
5. Can my partner join sessions?
Yes. Many clients start individually and later invite their partner to improve communication and connection. We’ll choose the format that supports your goals.
Every client’s path to healing looks different, but all start with the same foundation: compassion, curiosity, and connection. Erectile dysfunction therapy isn’t about perfection or performance; it’s about rediscovering ease and presence in your own body, and creating intimacy that feels mutual and fulfilling.