Shari Cohn x109

MSSW, LCSW, SC, CSAT
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Certified Sex Addiction Therapist

  • Pornography, internet sex or affairs controlling your life? Afraid you or your loved one is a sex addict? As a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, sex therapist and psychotherapist providing counseling and sex therapy to the Madison Wisconsin area for over twenty years, people tell me that before therapy with me they had never told anyone the extent of their pain from sexual addiction, abuse, assault or other sexual problems.  Shame, embarrassment and hopelessness fed isolation and depression.  Clients tell me my compassion, respect and sound clinical strategies build safety and hope as we work together as a recovery team.
  • Everyone deserves support and assistance.  Sex addicts and their partners, abuse/assault survivors and their spouses, people with sexual problems and their loved ones, and individuals not currently in relationships.  I provide experienced effective growth and recovery services for individuals and couples struggling with sexual and not specifically sexual problems including depression, anxiety, life challenges, traumas, Adult Children of Alcoholics and other addictions including sex addiction.

What population of clients do you provide services for?

  • I see adults, young adults, and seniors.

What are your areas of specialization?

  • In addition to general psychotherapy, I provide individual, couples and group psychotherapy, sex therapy including sexual dysfunctions, sexual enhancement, sexual orientation, marriage and relational counseling, therapy for people who have been abused or assaulted, trauma resolution, therapy for sexual issues after abuse and trauma, EMDR.
  • I am certified as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist providing assessment and treatment for sexual addiction and compulsivity including services for internet sex addiction and cybersex addiction.  I provide therapy services for sex addicts and partners and spouses of sex addicts as well as young adult and adult children of sex addicts.

What are your professional credentials?
Licenses and Certifications

  • Wisconsin Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) # 2984-123
  • Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT)
  • Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Level 2 Certification.  EMDR is an information processing therapy shown by research to be an effective treatment to ameliorate symptoms of acute and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Sex Addiction Assessment and Treatment Training

  • Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) Certification credentialed through the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP)
  • I trained with Dr. Patrick Carnes, the pioneer in the field of sex addiction treatment and research.  Dr Carnes is the internationally known and respected sex addiction therapist, researcher and author of Out Of The Shadows, the seminal book on sex addiction, and many other books on sex addiction.  In the CSAT training program I learned and showed proficiency in Dr. Carnes’ research based task-centered approach to treat sexual addiction.
  • I participate in ongoing sex addiction treatment training as a requirement to maintain my CSAT certification.

Professional Affiliations

  • American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)
  • Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH)
  • National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
  • International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP)

Education

  • MSSW–Master of Science in Social Work received at University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work–1985 including a graduate internship in sex therapy
  • BA–Bachelor of Arts in Human Behavior and Institutions at University of Chicago–1977
  • 1977-1983–Graduate level coursework and clinical training in psychotherapy and mental health at Northeastern Illinois University, Forest Hospital Postgraduate Center and Illinois School of Professional Psychology
  • 1983-current– Ongoing participation in conferences, coursework and clinical training on psychotherapy, sex therapy and sexual addiction assessment and treatment

What is your approach to therapy?

  • My goal in therapy is to provide professional, compassionate assistance to clients who are struggling with challenges in their life.  I am not judgmental.  I am respectful and I have clear boundaries.  These basic beliefs are integral to the work I do especially with clients who have experienced abuse and boundary violations.
  • I believe that the foundation of effective psychotherapy is a good collaborative relationship between the therapist and the client.  I work hard to make this happen.  I continually ask for feedback from clients about how helpful I am being in assisting them to reach their goals.  I listen to feedback from clients and ask them to listen to my perspective.  We work together as a team to support them in reclaiming sexuality and reclaiming their life.
  • Compassion and understanding alone are not enough to help people to identify their patterns of coping that are no longer working for them or to stop doing behaviors that are dangerous for them or others or to learn new skills.  This is where I use the professional training and clinical skills I have developed in almost thirty years as a mental health professional.
  • I assess the clients’ needs and work with them to use the tools that will be most helpful to identify and reach their goals.  I provide effective strategies to deal with the problems clients are facing–ranging from cognitive behavioral strategies to deal with depression and anxiety to specific sex therapy strategies to help with sexual dysfunction to clear performable tasks to address sexual addiction and compulsivity.  Among the other psychotherapeutic approaches, I use insight oriented psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, transactional analysis, interpersonal reconstructive therapy, relaxation techniques, art therapy, gestalt therapy, bibliotherapy and EMDR.

Please visit my website at www.ShariCohn.com to learn more about the psychotherapy, sex therapy and sex addiction treatment services I provide including answers to questions, a reading list and internet resources.

You can download printable copies of: