Group Therapy at Allura
At Allura, our small group programs offer a safe, supportive space to work through challenges like pain during sex or low desire, guided by therapists with specialized training in sex therapy.
Sexual Pain Group
An 8-week group created with an evidence-based and trauma-informed approach to help you gain control of your body and learn to move towards pleasure.
Mindfulness for Low Desire Group
An 8-week group designed using the latest research in mindfulness to address low desire concerns and help you become more connected to your body.
Why Group Therapy?
Healing around sex and intimacy can feel isolating, but in group therapy, you’ll discover the power of shared experience. Here, you’ll find support, new strategies, and the comfort of knowing you’re not navigating these challenges alone.
Sexual Pain Group
In this group, you’ll find a compassionate space to explore your experience of pain with others who truly understand what you’re going through. Together, we’ll create room for vulnerability, helping you move past sexual pain and feel excited about wanting to be sexual with your partner again.
Led by a Registered Clinical Counsellor or Registered Social Worker
Join below for access to our next workshop
8-week program via Zoom
$90+tax per session
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Pain during sex is not normal, despite it being common.
When sex hurts, you feel avoidant and dismissive of your partner’s sexual advances, worried if it can even happen or if it’ll be too painful. Sometimes you manage to grin and bear through it, but you worry about the next time it will happen. Your partner doesn’t want to hurt you but they miss being intimate with you; you wish they would understand.
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This group was designed for women and AFAB nonbinary folks and we welcome all folks with vaginismus (self-identified or diagnosis) or who experience ongoing sexual pain. We highly encourage participants to have completed or currently be working with a pelvic floor physiotherapist (Referrals available — contact us to learn more).
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Develop an awareness of the fear avoidance cycle you are trapped in so you no longer push your partner away and create space to move towards them.
Understand your body and why it’s responding the way it does. You’ll learn skills to feel in control of your body rather than it being in control of you.
Learn concrete strategies to help your body relax so that you can connect with your partner and have a meaningful and fulfilling sex life.
Learn to communicate your needs clearly with your partner so you can feel like an intimate team that cares about your pleasure.
Mindfulness for Low Desire Group
In this group, you’ll have the opportunity to explore these feelings in a safe space, with people who are experiencing something you can deeply relate to. We’ll help you build confidence in your sexuality, feel more connected to your body and pleasure, deepen intimacy with yourself and your partner — while knowing you wont be alone in the process.
Led by a Registered Clinical Counsellor or Registered Social Worker
Join below for access to our next workshop
8-week program via Zoom
$75+tax per session
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If you struggle with low sexual desire, you’re not alone.
You might feel like there’s something wrong with you. Maybe, you once loved sex and wanted it, and now feel nervous, uneasy, or even panicked at the thought of sex. It may never cross your mind, or when it does, it feels like another chore that has to be done. You may feel like you’re just going through the motions, waiting for it to be over.
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We welcome self-identified women, trans men, non-binary, gender-fluid, and queer folks who are ready to reconnect with themselves and develop a healthier relationship with your desire. If you’re looking to quiet the feeling that something is “wrong” with you (we promise, there isn’t), or wanting to feel more like yourself again, we’re here to help.
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Understand what desire is and feeling more in control of your body.
Experience more confidence in your sexuality and enjoy sex more.
Become less distracted and more connected to pleasure in your body.
Have a deeper and more intimate connection with your sexuality and your partner.
Feel less alone and more supported by a group of folks who are experiencing the same issues as you.
Group Therapy FAQs
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We like to keep our group sizes small, so we limit these sessions to 6-8 people.
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Depending on the certifications and location of the therapist running the group (for example, a BC vs. Ontario clinician), your insurance may or may not cover the sessions. Please look into your specific policy to ensure that you would receive reimbursement if you are wanting to use your benefits.
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Your privacy matters deeply to us. All of our therapists are bound by professional confidentiality, and every participant agrees to shared group guidelines around privacy. In our groups, you’ll often hear the phrase “take what you learn, but leave what you hear” — a gentle reminder to protect the stories and experiences shared in session.
For online groups, we add a few extra layers of care, like asking participants to join from a private space and use headphones to help keep the conversation confidential.
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Most of our groups include simple exercises to help you deepen your learning outside of session. These might include self-reflection prompts, gentle touch practices, or mindfulness-based activities. You’re always encouraged to check in with your own comfort level and approach each exercise in a way that feels right for you — there’s no “one right way” to do the work.
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Our Group Therapy sessions are led by a member of our team who is either a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) or a Registered Social Worker (RSW).