Ellington

Rose Kasrai, a licensed marriage and family therapist as well as a sex therapist, is tired of the shame around sex and hopes to normalize conversations about sex with her business, Sex Wellness Therapy.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Kasrai completed her undergraduate degree at Southern Methodist University in 2008 and received her master’s in marriage and family therapy from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2010. She then received her certificate in sexual health education and therapy from the University of Michigan in 2013. She opened her own business, Sex Wellness Therapy, in Ridgeland in 2019.

“I’ve really always enjoyed sex. I just wanted to encourage people to have healthy sex lives and to love their bodies. And ever since I was a kid, it’s weird, but it’s just who I was. And I realized before I could do sex therapy, I had to really work on couple stuff, so that’s why I got my degree in marriage and family therapy first,” Kasrai says.

Kasrai decided to open her own business last year. Kasrai’s father has cancer, and while she was visiting him in the hospital, she saw one of her past teachers doing supervision for sex therapy. At that moment, she knew that it was time to start Sex Wellness Therapy.

“I’ve always wanted to be a sex therapist. It’s always been my dream,” Kasrai says.

Sex therapy is different than just regular therapy, because Kasrai asks a lot of sexual history-based questions covering topics such as where patients learned about sex, what their sexual experiences were like, whether they have had any trauma related to sex, how they have had sex. From there, Kasrai creates a treatment plan based on working from the aspect of sexual disfunction or a better sex life.

“There’s so much shame around sex, and there’s not any education on what to do if you have a problem or how to do it right. Our only teachers are porn and then friends—which friends sometimes know what to do, but not always. I just want to take away that shame. It’s not okay. Everybody should be able to enjoy themselves and love themselves,” Kasrai says.

Kasrai wants people to learn that they can give themselves satisfaction and pleasure that doesn’t necessarily have to be sexually based. Those things can stem from loving their bodies and enjoying being in their skin.

“My favorite part about being a sex therapist is toward the end of treatment, just the joy that people have. They’re smiling and laughing and you can just see their body postures change,” Kasrai says.

“A lot of people are ashamed to come in. I get people saying, ‘Hey, I’m important in the community. How confidential is this?’ and then they never reply back. There’s a lot of shame in coming to see a sex therapist, so that’s the hardest part. And I wish I could just say, ‘Hey, it’s okay. Come on in,’” Kasrai says.

In her free time, Kasrai loves to read books, continue her education and travel.

Kasrai is hosting an event online via Zoom, ED: A Man's Guide to Sexual Satisfaction, on April 16. The event will be free. Learn more on her website or Facebook.