— Elena Bahar, LMFT, CST 

    Licensed Maine Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) #MF8399 

    AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist (CST)

Finding a therapist who understands sexuality, trauma, and relationship dynamics at a deep level can feel overwhelming. In Maine—where privacy and community overlap—many people also worry about visibility or recognition.

At Mindful Desire, I provide online sex therapy for individuals and couples across Maine, from Portland to rural communities, offering AASECT-certified care in a private, confidential setting.

My work integrates sex therapy, trauma-informed care, and relational frameworks to help you move through shame, reconnect with your body, and build more satisfying intimacy and relationships.

Sex therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy focused on sexual health, intimacy, desire, and relational connection.

It explores the intersection of:

• the body and nervous system 
• emotional history and trauma 
• relationship patterns and communication 
• lived experience, identity, and the social contexts that shape sexuality 

Sexual experiences do not happen in isolation—they are influenced by culture, identity, relationships, and the meanings we’ve been taught about our bodies and desire.

 Sex therapy at Mindful Desire is:

• Evidence-Informed
  I draw from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT), and Polyvagal Theory to understand how your nervous system impacts intimacy, desire, and connection.

• Trauma-Informed & Ethical
  As an AASECT-certified clinician and LMFT, I adhere to strict professional and ethical standards. Sex therapy is talk-based and somatic-focused only—there is never any physical contact.

• Collaborative & Practical
  We work at your pace to understand what’s getting in the way of intimacy—whether that’s trauma history, social conditioning, sexual pain, desire mismatch, anxiety, or communication breakdown—and build tools to support change.

At Mindful Desire, sexual well-being is understood as inseparable from identity, relationships, and lived experience.

Race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, culture, and history all shape how we experience safety, pleasure, and connection.

Sex therapy here goes beyond symptom “fixing.” It explores how biology, relationships, and systems of power shape sexual experience.

We work with how:

• Trauma and nervous system responses affect intimacy 
• Cultural narratives (including purity culture, heteronormativity, racism, ableism) shape desire and shame 
• Relational patterns influence safety and connection 

This work is collaborative, somatic, and grounded in both clinical evidence and lived experience.

I provide affirming, specialized care for:

• LGBTQIA+ and queer individuals 

• Consensual non-monogamy (ENM), polyamory, and open relationships 

• Kink and BDSM-informed exploration 

• Neurodivergent individuals (ADHD, Autism, sensory differences) 

• People healing from purity culture or sexual shame