New Course Trains Therapists to Address Intimacy Issues
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
The Panimah Center has launched a new professional course to train therapists in addressing marital intimacy issues, a topic often challenging for professionals. The 30-session program equips therapists with diagnostic and treatment tools for various sexual and relational difficulties. It includes practical application, case studies, and a module for working with religious communities. Registration for the upcoming cohort, with separate tracks for men and women starting in late November 2026, is closing soon.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- A new course by the Panimah Center trains therapists to handle difficult marital intimacy issues.
- The training provides tools for diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of sexual and relational problems.
- Dr. Muli Grossman highlights that intimacy issues often stem from complex underlying factors.
- The course includes specialized modules for therapists working with religious and ultra-Orthodox clients.
- Separate tracks for men and women will begin in late November 2026, with registration closing soon.
A new professional course developed by the Panimah Center aims to equip therapists with the necessary tools to address difficulties in marital intimacy, a subject often found challenging even for experienced professionals. The course is designed for individuals in therapy, counseling, and guidance roles who seek to expand their professional toolkit and gain structured knowledge for working with individuals and couples facing issues such as desire discrepancies, emotional distance, pain, functional difficulties, anxiety, or past traumas.
The training focuses on practical application, teaching participants how to initiate proper inquiry, differentiate between emotional, marital, or physical causes, conduct sensitive conversations without assigning blame, and determine when existing therapy is sufficient or when additional professional help is needed. The curriculum includes techniques for questioning, diagnosis, and assessment, alongside structured treatment methods for common and complex situations. A practical component and case discussions are integrated to ensure the knowledge is not purely theoretical.
Dr. Muli Grossman, a psychotherapist specializing in marital intimacy, notes that issues in this area rarely appear in isolation. They can manifest as part of a broader marital crisis, anxiety, emotional overload, or self-esteem damage. He emphasizes that a discrepancy in desire, for instance, doesn't necessarily indicate a problem with one partner but can stem from various underlying factors like stress, exhaustion, or past experiences, requiring different therapeutic approaches. Therefore, diagnosis and assessment are central to the course.
The 30-session course covers physical and emotional foundations, pain and functional difficulties, desire gaps, performance anxiety, and the impact of psychological and physical states. It also addresses the therapist's own professional boundaries, ethical considerations, and personal biases. A specialized module is included for therapists working with the religious and ultra-Orthodox communities, addressing the intersection of intimacy issues with Halakha, values, and family concepts.
The course is open to therapists, counselors, and guides seeking to enhance their practice. It offers separate tracks for men and women, with the women's track starting on November 25, 2026, and the men's on November 26, 2026. Registration for the upcoming cohort is closing soon.