Dr. David Schwartz: Orchard Counseling

05/15/2026

A new report from It’s On Us found that young men often come to college underprepared for s*xual assault prevention programming they receive there, with fewer than one in three learning about s*x for the first time through formal education.

04/29/2026

09/24/2025

I struggle with executive function, and I miss out on lots of opportunities and efficiencies. But perseverence pays off. After nearly 20 years of practice, I'm now AASECT Certified.

09/06/2025

I'm reminded of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb." Human beings and human brains are not designed for peace and comfort. We are wired for struggle. I wish we weren't. But finding meaning in the stuggle, not the win, is the stuff of life.

06/24/2025

When someone you love is going through a difficult time...
You don’t have to be their therapist.
You don’t have to have the perfect response.
You just have to stay regulated, be real, and let them lead.
Follow for more guidance on relationships, intimacy and dating

06/16/2025

Many people believe that s*xual chemistry should be spontaneous and wordless—but real intimacy thrives on communication. Talking about s*x can feel awkward, even scary, especially if you've learned that your needs or boundaries aren’t welcome. But honest, kind conversations about s*x can actually deepen desire and connection. They build safety, clarity, and trust—essential ingredients for pleasure. In s*x therapy, you’ll find a space to explore how to talk about your desires, limits, and experiences. With practice, those conversations can become less loaded and more empowering—for you and your relationships.

06/13/2025

It’s easy to misread our s*xual feelings—or the absence of them—as signs that something is wrong. But desire is complex, shaped by biology, relationships, history, and context. You might feel desire but not want to act on it. You might not feel desire at all and still be perfectly whole. There's no "right" way to experience s*xuality, and it doesn't have to look like anyone else's. S*x therapy provides a nonjudgmental space to sort through these questions with curiosity instead of shame. With the right support, you can better understand yourself and build a more satisfying, authentic relationship with your s*xuality.

If you'd like a compassionate space to untangle confusion and reconnect with yourself, call me today.

06/10/2025

Feelings of shame are always a threat. The message is, "If people see who you really are, they'll abandon you." As a result, we avoid, deflect, shut down, deny, and get defensive. We temporarily escape judgment, but we don't deal with whatever problem is making us feel bad in the first place. So we stay stuck, and we keep hurting.
When we learn to quiet that critical voice and approach ourselves with curiosity, we can see how our mistakes and mis-steps made sense in context, and we can be compassionate with ourselves and our choices, even when they don't look so good in retrospect. When new information is no longer *automatically* a criticism, it's also no longer a threat of abandonment. Then, finally, we can be open to learning new ways to engage with the world and each other. Then, finally, we can embrace ourselves, we can embrace change, and we grow.
If this sounds like a challenge you've been struggling with, call me. I can help.
www.orchardcounseling.com/therapy

06/05/2025

05/21/2025

We're not helpless. But we're also not as much in control as we like to think. We can't make the world unfold the way we want it to, but with patience, attention, and the ability to listen to our hearts and guts, we can learn to where to lean in and where to lean out. We learn when to push, and when to let it be. We learn to read the water, to keep our balance, to do what we can, with what we have, where we are, and to let the rest go. We learn to surf the waves that the world sends us.