Nicola Pinder

With 24 years specific sexual health experience, I’m passionate about the work I do. I’ve done this for a long time and pride myself on my straightforward, approachable manner. My aim is to help you gain an understanding of what’s troubling you, support you to make change and help you to be able to communicate more effectively about it where appropriate. Once you have what you need, that’s great- off you go.

As a sex therapist accredited by COSRT and the UKCP, I work with a wide range of sexual issues, concerns and problems. I work with both individuals and couples aiming to facilitate a better understanding of the sexual difficulties that may be experienced, helping decrease the distress which these issues can cause within intimate relationships whilst alleviating the sexual difficulty itself.

With many years experience solely within this field, I draw upon a range of approaches to best suit a particular individual’s needs; on a short or long term basis as necessary. I devise individual treatment programmes for people to work through to make positive changes in their lives.
I have worked in a sexual health clinic within the NHS, I offered advice and information to people with concerns around infections and intimate relationship difficulties, I was also a visiting lecturer for Plymouth University; teaching trainee midwives about sexual health and I taught GPs, pharmacists and other professionals about Sexually Transmitted Infections on a training course offered by The British Association for Sexual Health & HIV (BASHH).

Alongside my full time NHS role, I trained with the London College of Clinical Hypnosis from 1999 to 2001, up to and including their Post Graduate Diploma level training. In 2005, to further my professional qualifications and interests, I then went on to train with Relate specifically as a Psychosexual Therapist. I have undertaken specialist training with The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity (ATSAC) to work effectively with compulsive sexual behaviours. I have also trained in EMDR Therapy at Worcester University, a course accredited by EMDR Europe as part of an MSc in EMDR Therapy that I completed in 2018.

I am currently undertaking a PhD at the Salomons Institute of Applied Psychology at Canterbury University, exploring ways of enhancing the practice of sex therapy, so clients can achieve better outcomes.

I am accredited with the UKCP, COSRT and EMDR Europe and hold further memberships with the BACP and ATSAC. I am also on COSRT’s listings as a registered supervisor.