Sex Therapy in Pittsburgh, PA

Are anxious or depressed feelings interfering with work and relationships? Are marital or sexual problems getting you down? If you are ready to transform your life, I can help. For 40+ years, I've successfully used cognitive-dynamic therapy to guide people to practical strategies for solving problems and to explore their deeper conflicts. Life is a dramatic journey and often a caring guide along the way is needed to find your optimal zone. I specialize in anxiety and mood disorders, as well as sexual dysfunctions and sex addictions. I've recently written a book on a spiritual approach to weight loss.

I’m Laurie Gatti, and I founded EMERGE because I truly believe healthy relationships, both with ourselves and with others, are the foundation for a fulfilling, happy life. ​ It’s my mission to help you realize the full potential of each of your relationships so that you can live the happy, healthy and productive life that you deserve! ​ I’m a licensed psychotherapist, ASSECT certified sex therapist, a certified executive coach with an expertise in relationship building.

Should I stay or should I go? A huge question that's weighed on you. It keeps you up at night, stressing you out. Life would be so much easier if your relationship wasn't so hard. You wish you could communicate better; feel understood. But, damn, your shit and their shit get in the way. Not to mention the pressures of career, aging parents, or demanding children. It all gets thrown in the mix, leaving you exhausted, distracted, and disenchanted by the status quo. You want things to change (better sex , intimacy, connection); you're finally ready to take charge of your life in a new and meaningful way. You've come to the right place!

If you abandon the present moment, you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply -Thich Nhat Hahn. It can be important to understand ourselves to be able to navigate this world. We often struggle with our own experiences and internal worlds. I can offer you space and understanding to work through those difficult questions and experiences you are having with a non-judgmental voice. I understand that our lives don't fit that traditional model and they don't have to which includes helping people through sex therapy . I have experience helping people work through their issues to find their authentic self and voice.

Do you have trust issues in your relationship? Afraid to be honest with your partner and tired of trying to be someone you're not? Do you find yourself having regrets about a current or previous relationship? Do you have an inability to be intimate with your partner because of a past trauma or challenge? Do you struggle with your sexual identity or functioning? Contact me and we will talk about what you do, what you think, and how you feel about your challenges and together come up with a strategy for you to MOVE FORWARD! I work remotely by spending time with clients via Zoom.

Your life is complex and unique… The quality of your relationships, work, family, health, and stresses can affect your most true and calm state of being. Let us be your allies! We’d love to peacefully assist you as you navigate the changes and challenges life can bring. Create the life you want — with the support of Calm Pittsburgh. Our therapists employ a variety of eclectic, evidence-based techniques to help our clients navigate feelings, build better behaviors, and relate to thoughts differently. Calm Pittsburgh clinicians embrace a collaborative approach to your care, and may build on, reference, and recommend experienced providers both inside and outside of Calm Pittsburgh in order to best serve your needs.

I am best suited to treat individuals or couples ranging from 20-60 with intimacy, marital, sexuality , relationship issues as well as drug and alcohol issues.

So you've made it- time to find a therapist! It's a powerful, maybe scary time. As a relationship and intimacy therapist, for individuals and relationships (monogamous and not), I invite you to get curious and courageous for yourself and those you care about. And for the life you really want.

I am pleased that you are here. I know it is not easy to take this first step, but I want you to know first and foremost, that I take great care and pride in creating a safe place for my clients to talk about their internal conflicts, interpersonal problems, traumas, and whatever is interfering with living a fuller, richer life. I bring to my clinical practice a great deal of skills coupled with passion to engage in a meaningful therapeutic relationship. I invite clients to increase their self-awareness while aspiring to high levels of wellness: biologically, psychologically, relationally, sexually and spiritually.

At times in our lives, sex and intimacy may not be a top priority. You might have a hard time expressing your desires, or knowing what those desires are in the first place! Does that resonate with you? If you’re in a relationship rut or you’ve simply never learned that sex is for YOUR pleasure, you might be feeling disconnected from your body. The root of these challenges is that sex is a skill, and society doesn’t teach us to hone in on our sexy, sensual side for our own benefit. When we struggle with sex or intimacy, we tend to go on struggling until it becomes overwhelming and we can’t avoid it any longer. Now, it’s time to grow.

Each of us is a complex product of our past and present environments and experiences. Generally, we act or cope in ways that are adaptive or necessary under given circumstances. When our default methods of coping are no longer effective or our circumstances change, we begin experiencing distress in specific realms of our lives. This distress might manifest as anxiety, depression, anger, pain, relationship or sexual difficulties, social isolation, declining performance and/or impairment in daily functioning. As there is an undeniable connection between our psychological and physical wellbeing, I approach treatment in an integrative, collaborative and personality-based manner.

Healing is a lifelong journey, and it is not one you must do alone. You are taking a courageous first step towards realignment with yourself. By untangling the past, we can begin to heal these wounds and reclaim the narrative of our lives. I companion clients navigating trauma, relational distress, gender and sexuality exploration, sexual concerns, and neurodivergence. In and out of the therapy space, I am sex -positive, sex worker friendly, poly-friendly, kink aware & affirming, and Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned.

Three beliefs I hold that influence how I practice are 1) human beings are not problems to be solved 2) therapy is ultimately about relationship 3) the process itself is the solution. We humans are infinitely complex; we're full of opposition and paradox. Our culture pushes quick fixes and immediate answers, but lasting change rarely comes about when we work in this way. I'm interested in helping you come into fuller, richer, more conscious relationship with all of your moving and sometimes disparate parts. Together we will work from the inside out through a deep, relational process.