The days when couples stewed over their sexual matters in the privacy of their bedrooms are largely long behind us. Sexologists – more commonly known as sex therapists – help couples achieve satisfaction in their love life. Whether it’s coping with psychological issues about intimacy or addressing physiological problems, sex therapists help couples deal with a once taboo issue with professionalism and clarity.

Average Salary

As with any professional position, a sex therapist’s earnings depend upon his abilities, so sexologists who bring more mojo to their practices may earn higher salaries than those with lesser skills. Because of this, average salaries reported for sexologists are inconsistent. Low estimates range from $40,000 annually as of February 2011, according to KayCircle, to $45,000, according to Simply Hired. High-end estimates, provided by Indeed.com, list the average salary for a sex therapist as $63,000.

Salaries Around the Country

Sex therapists around the country don’t report salaries as high as those estimates for the national average. Sex therapists in New York earn one of the highest average salaries, Salary Expert’s salary survey reported, at $39,366 as of February 2011. Therapists in Chicago earn $36,480. Sexologists in Houston earned the survey's lowest average annual salary, $24,559, and those in Orlando, Fla., earned $25,037 each year.

Sex Therapist Training

Sex therapists have to rely on more than secondhand tales of conquest when they advise their patients. Sex therapists must become certified as therapists, with a master’s degre,e before taking specialized sex therapy training. Specialized training covers reproductive physiology, a history of sexual research, and psychological impacts on sexual acts. Some states require additional licensure to practice as a sex therapist in addition to traditional therapist licensing.

Comparison to Therapist Earnings

Despite their additional training, sexologists don’t earn much more than a traditional therapist or counselor. The median income for family and marriage counselors was $44,590 as of May 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. The 50 percent of all marriage counselors in the nation with earnings closest to the median salary earn between $34,840 and $56,320. Many of the estimates for a sexologist’s annual earnings are squarely in the middle of this range.