Piyush Patel, PhD

Most people wait too long to start therapy. You don’t have to.

If you’re feeling disconnected from yourself, your partner, or the life you’ve worked hard to build, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to figure it out on your own. I offer a compassionate, nonjudgmental space where you can explore what’s holding you back and create the change you’ve been craving.

Philosophy
Therapy with Piyush is a space where you can set down the weight you’ve been carrying and finally exhale. Clients often say they feel heard, not judged, and that they wish they had reached out sooner. Whether you’re feeling stuck in old patterns, navigating intimacy challenges, or simply wanting to understand yourself more deeply, Piyush offers a warm, collaborative space where you can heal, grow, and reconnect with the parts of yourself you’ve been protecting for too long.

Drawing from a psychodynamic perspective, Piyush helps you uncover how past experiences and relationships continue to shape your present and how to break free from those patterns. With couples, he integrates IMAGO Relationship Therapy to transform conflict into understanding, empathy, and a stronger partnership. His style is grounded, compassionate, and focused on lasting growth, not just quick fixes.

Piyush works with people from all walks of life and is especially passionate about supporting couples, LGBTQIA+ clients, kink-affirming clients, and entrepreneurs whose driven, high-achieving identities sometimes hide deeper emotional needs. As one of only a few Ph.D. sex therapists in Oklahoma, he brings specialized expertise to sexual concerns, from out-of-control sexual behaviors to reconnecting intimacy in relationships.

Education and Credentials
Piyush earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology through the International Institute of Clinical Sexology and is currently completing his Master’s in Counseling Psychology at Southern Nazarene University. He holds sex therapy certifications from Modern Sex Therapy Institute, the Sex Therapy Training Institute, and the Therapist Certification Association. He is a Certified Kink Conscious Therapist, EMDR-trained, and pursuing certification in transgender care. His ongoing training reflects his commitment to culturally competent, trauma-informed, and sex-positive care.

Piyush has completed over 175 additional continuing education credits in focused areas including sex therapy, financial therapy, and EMDR. He has also completed advanced training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, and Harvard University.

Professional Experience and Areas of Practice
Before becoming a therapist, Piyush spent decades as a nationally recognized entrepreneur and educator, founding and leading successful businesses while mentoring other leaders. This real-world experience enables him to connect easily with entrepreneurs and executives, particularly those who balance business success with personal fulfillment.

In therapy, Piyush works with individuals and couples navigating relationship distress, sexual concerns, grief, anxiety, and identity development. He also has a special passion for helping clients heal the “inner child” so they can live without the weight of past wounds holding them back. He welcomes diverse expressions of gender, sexuality, and relationship structures, and centers each client’s dignity and autonomy. Piyush also volunteers at Calm Waters, facilitating support groups for grief and suicide loss.

Take the first step toward the change you’ve been putting off.

Your future self will thank you. Book your first appointment and start the work today.

To contact Piyush, please call 405-913-6128 or email ppatel455@mail.snu.edu.