Clinic
The mission of the Sexual and Gender Health Clinic at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health is to develop, provide and promote evidence-based best clinical care. Our clinic promotes the sexual and gender health of individuals, couples, and families of all backgrounds by providing assessment and treatment. We provide services across the lifespan, with specific services for children, adolescents, and adults. We have helped thousands of people with sexual and gender health issues. Our faculty and professional staff represent a variety of disciplines including:
• Psychology
• Family Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Marriage and Family Therapy
• Sexual Health
• Gender Care
• Social Work
You DO NOT need a referral to make an appointment at the Sexual and Gender Health Clinic. If you're interested in becoming a patient, please call us at 612-625-1500.
Our Specialty Areas
Some people have difficulty controlling their sexual behavior, to the point where normally healthy, enjoyable, and pleasurable behaviors become recurrent, intense, and out of control, causing personal distress and/or interference with relationships or work. Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB), also known as “sex addiction,” affects people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Treatment for CSB includes:
• Evaluation of the client’s specific concerns and needs, including the impact of the CSB on the client’s intimate or family relationships
• Screening and treatment for depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns
• Coordination with medical providers to treat problems with a physical component
• Weekly group therapy
• Developing a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan
• Individual, couple, family, and group therapy as needed
• Developing a positive and healthy sexual functioning and relationships
• Developing a maintenance plan approach following treatment
• Support for partners of people in treatment for CSB
• At this time we do not provide services for sexual offending concerns, psychosexual evaluation, or court-mandated treatment
Child & Adolescent Gender Services
All children and adolescents develop differently, and it’s common for some children, adolescents, and their families to need professional help understanding various gender issues. Intervention begins with assessment of a child/adolescent in conjunction with their caregiver(s). Our providers then work collaboratively with the child/adolescent and caregivers to develop customized treatment plans that may include:
• Individual, family, and/or group therapy and psychoeducation
• Communication and consultation with psychiatric providers and general mental health providers (when applicable)
• Medical care including: individualized information sessions on puberty suppression and hormone therapy; gender affirming medication interventions including puberty suppression, men- strual suppression, and hormone therapy
• Care coordination to help clients navigate the healthcare system and access resources
Caregiver(s) often experience a range of emotions and have many questions when learning about their child’s gender. We provide education and therapeutic support for caregivers. For caregivers of adolescents, we invite them to participate in group therapy with their adolescent. This gives
the opportunity to meet other caregivers in similar situations.
Our guidelines for puberty suppression, hormone therapy, and surgery are based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care Version 8.
Adult Gender Services
We offer several services that adults and their families may find particularly helpful, including:
• Individual, family, and/or group therapy and psychoeducation
• Therapeutic sessions to explore and discuss relationships and sexual health (pleasure-oriented positive sexuality)
• Psychiatric referral
• Individualized information sessions on gender affirming hormone therapy options
• Gender affirming medical care including menstrual suppression and individualized hormone therapy, including low dose options
• Stabilization of common medical conditions, with referral to specialty and primary care as needed
• Gender affirming preventive care counseling
• Referral letters for medical interventions such as surgery
• Care coordination to help clients navigate the healthcare system and access resources
Therapeutic & Peer Support Groups
We have multiple therapeutic groups for transgender and gender diverse adults that meet twice a month. One example is our young adult group, which offers a place where transgender, non-binary, two spirit, genderfluid, and gender- exploring individuals ages 18-22 can get therapeutic and peer support. It meets twice per month, and examples of common topics include:
• Exploring embodiment goals and navigating medical interventions
• Coming out to friends and family
• Navigating social transition
• Sexuality, dating, and friendships
Another example of the unique groups that we offer is specifically for our older adults, called the elders group. Group therapy provides an opportunity to learn from the experiences of other group members, build social support, and make progress on therapeutic goals.
Difficulty maintaining healthy sexual and romantic relationships is common, but relationship skills can be learned and improved, leading to more fulfilling and intimate relationships. Our clinic’s relationship and sexual therapy program allows individuals and couples to explore their concerns, and provides a space for them to grow as sexual beings and partners. Our providers focus on supporting key areas of sexual health including:
• Sexual knowledge and understanding (sexual literacy)
• Sexual adaptation and resiliency
• Relational intimacy
• Pleasure-oriented positive sexuality
Our clinic also offers interdisciplinary care with medical providers to treat concerns with a physical component, as well as group
therapy options. Common concerns discussed in group therapy include:
• Low desire/interest in sex
• Problems with orgasm
• Sexual pain
• Sexual aversion
• Conflict about differences in sexual desire/preferences
• Relationship problems contributing to sexuality concerns
Treatment Options
Our Medical Services
Sexual Health Medical Services
Sexual health involves understanding one's own body, a partner's body, and all of the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects involved with intimacy. Sexual concerns may involve one or more of these factors, and our sexual medicine services can help identify and address many of these issues. Common sexual health concerns that we address include:
- Significant change(s) in sexual function which cause a problem for the individual. Sexual health problems can include:
- Loss of interest in or around sex
- Decreased arousal during sex
- Difficulties with erections
- Problems with early or delayed ejaculation
- Difficulties with orgasm
- Pain with sexual activity; genital pain
- Persistent physical genital arousal, without sexual activity
- Lifelong difficulties with sexual function, which are now causing a problem for you
- Menopausal symptoms which may or may not affect sexual function directly
- Desire a second opinion on a sexual concern or intervention
- Concerns about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections
- Concerns about sexual function and chronic disease, medications, aging, or other health issues
Some of the ways in which the MHealth Fairview Sexual and Gender Health Clinic treats the above conditions:
- Oral contraceptives and contraceptive counseling
- Peri- and postmenopausal hormone replacement
- Hormone therapy for male hypogonadism (“low testosterone”)
- Non-invasive treatments for erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation
- Non-invasive treatments for sexual/genital pain
- Multidisciplinary treatment for libido, arousal and orgasmic disorders
- Referral to on-site sex therapy
- Referral to Pelvic physical therapy for pain and sexual function issues
- Referral to Urology for invasive therapies (eg, penile injections) or invasive testing, if indicated
- Referral to Ob/gyn for invasive testing (biopsies) or surgical procedures, if indicated
- Referral to pain clinic for pudendal nerve block or Botox injections, if indicated
Gender Health Medical Services
Gender Health Medical Services
Medical aspects of a gender transition are specific to the individual. We partner with patients to develop an individualized approach to the medical aspects of transition that safely and effectively enables people to physically experience their gender across the lifespan. A person may not want or need a medical intervention in order to fully experience or express their gender. We collaborate with patients to ensure that their health needs are supported. Our guidelines for puberty suppression, hormone therapy and surgery are based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care.
- Initial evaluation and ongoing management of hormone therapy for adults
- Initial evaluation and ongoing management of hormone therapy for adolescents
- Puberty suppression for children and adolescents participating in the MHealth Fairview Sexual and Gender Health Clinic's Gender Creative Children and Adolescents (gCHAD) program
- Consultation on menstrual suppression options for trans youth
- Counseling on fertility preservation options
- Contraception counseling and oral conception
- Second opinion on hormone therapy
- Consultation on starting or managing hormone therapy, with recommendations for the referring provider
- Consultations on preventive and primary care, including chronic medical conditions, with recommendations for the patient and referring provider
Our clinic promotes the sexual and gender health of individuals, couples, and families of all backgrounds by providing assessment and treatment. We provide services across the lifespan, with specific services for children, adolescents, and adults. We have helped thousands of people with sexual and gender health issues.
We offer individual therapy in the areas of:
- Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB)
- Relationship & sex therapy
- Gender health for children, adolescents, and adults
ISGH offers a variety of therapy groups patients (and their families) can participate in. Group therapy provides an opportunity to learn from the experiences of other group members, build social support, and make progress on therapeutic goals. Therapy groups at ISGH include:
- Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) group
- Relationship & sex therapy group
- Concerns commonly discussed in relationship & sex therapy group include:
- Low desire/interest in sex
- Problems with orgasm
- Sexual pain
- Sexual aversion
- Conflict about differences in sexual desire/preferences
- Relationship problems contributing to sexuality concerns
- Concerns commonly discussed in relationship & sex therapy group include:
- Gender health groups
- Examples of gender health therapy groups include:
- Group therapy for caregivers of children/adolescents experiencing gender concerns
- Trans and gender diverse young adult group (ages 18-22)
- Elders Group for trans and gender diverse older adults
- Examples of gender health therapy groups include:
What to Expect
Intake
To best meet your needs as a new patient, our intake coordinator will conduct an individualized assessment.
First appointment
During your first appointment, you will meet with a therapist for 50 minutes for a diagnostic assessment. The assessment will outline a recommendation for future appointments.
Payment
- Payment is due at the time of service. We accept cash, check, money order, Visa, Master Card, American Express, and Discover.
- We accept most major health plans and will file your claim for you.
- Your benefits for mental health services may vary from your medical benefits, and benefits vary by insurance company. Contact your insurance carrier to find out about your mental health benefits.
- After your insurance company has processed its portion of the bill, you will be responsible for the remaining balance which may include out-of-network charges.
- Learn more about payment options
Insurance
We accept most major insurance plans, and we encourage you to contact your insurance provider to determine if you have benefits for these services. Contact us (612-625-1500) if you have questions about fees or insurance. Our billing office staff can assist you with figuring out your benefits. We can give you a general idea of fees, but we can only estimate fees until services have been provided.
Cancellation
To cancel an appointment, call during business hours at least 2 full business days prior to your scheduled visit.
Appointments
612-625-1500
Business Hours
M–F 8:00 AM–4:30 PM
Clinic Address
1300 South 2nd Street
Suite 180
Minneapolis, MN 55454