Erectile Dysfunction Specialist in London
Dr Ben Davis
Dr Ben Davis | MRCGP · MRCP · FECSM · RegCOSRT · PhD (Men’s Health)
GP, Men’s Health Physician & Registered Psychosexual Therapist
Central Health London, Devonshire Place, London W1
Most men who come to see me have been dealing with erection difficulties alone for longer than they should have to. There is almost always a way back to sexual confidence and pleasure — and finding it starts with a proper assessment.
I'm Dr Ben Davis — a private men's health GP, physician, and accredited sex therapist based in central London, with over 15 years of clinical experience. To my knowledge, I'm the only clinician in the UK who holds dual medical training as both a GP (MRCGP) and physician (MRCP), specialist fellowship in sexual medicine (FECSM), and registration as a psychosexual and relationship therapist (RegCOSRT) — all with a dedicated focus on men's health.
That means I can assess and treat both the physical and psychological dimensions of erection problems within a single clinical relationship, without referring you elsewhere for half the picture.
A Different Kind of Consultation
Many men tell me their previous attempts to get help were dismissive — a brief appointment, a prescription for tablets, and not much else. Sometimes the clinician felt uncomfortable, didn't know where to start, or simply wanted to move on.
As a sexual medicine doctor and sex and relationship therapist, there is very little you could say that I haven't heard before. Erectile difficulties are common — and they deserve skilled, unhurried, genuinely thoughtful care.
The first thing I do is create a safe, non-judgmental space where you can talk freely. I listen carefully, without embarrassment or assumptions. Most men leave their first appointment relieved that talking things through was far easier than they expected.
If you're looking for private erectile dysfunction treatment in London, I provide a unique service — one that takes the time to understand what's actually going on before jumping to solutions.
Book An Initial Consultation
Dr Ben Davis
Men’s Health GP & Psychosexual Therapist
GMC & COSRT Registered | MRCGP | MRCP | FECSM | RegCOSRT | PhD (Men's Health)
15 Years Clinical Experience
If something isn't working the way it should, it's worth understanding why.
I offer a comprehensive, unhurried first consultation — designed to give you clarity about what's happening and a clear sense of what's most likely to help.
Understanding What’s Causing Your Erection Problems
Erection problems are rarely caused by just one thing. They usually involve contributions from three interacting areas:
Biology: Blood flow, hormones, nerves, cardiovascular health, medications, and metabolic factors.
Psychology: Anxiety, stress, low mood, self-pressure, sexual confidence, and your erotic world.
Relationships: Connection, safety, desire, communication, and the dynamics between you and a partner.
Many men have contributions from more than one area — and sometimes from all three reinforcing each other.
There are some useful indicators. If your erections during masturbation are reliable and you still get morning erections, the cause is more likely psychological. If erections are fine with one partner but not another, relational factors are likely involved. If erection problems have gradually worsened over time regardless of situation or partner, a physical or biological component becomes more probable.
That said, these distinctions aren't always clear-cut — which is why a proper assessment matters more than a quick guess.
Psychological Causes of Erectile Dysfunction
Can anxiety cause erectile dysfunction?
Yes — and it's one of the most common causes I see, particularly in younger men.
Performance anxiety-related ED is at the heart of questions like:
"Why can I get hard alone but not with my partner?"
"How do I stop overthinking during sex?"
"Why do I lose my erection when I put on a condom?"
Sexual pleasure relies on three things:
Mindful presence (being in the moment, in flow, not in your head)
Physical responsiveness (what feels good to your body)
Psychological turn-on (desire, safety, connection, erotic alignment)
Anxiety disrupts all three, but mindful presence is often the key one. When anxiety takes over, you’re pulled out of the moment — and sexual pleasure, including erections, often fades.
This is why sudden erectile dysfunction in your 20s or 30s is often psychological, particularly if erections are reliable during masturbation but difficult with a partner.
The Anxiety Loop – What to Do When Viagra Stops Working
Many men try sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis) bought online. It helps initially — but only partially, or only sometimes.
They then try changing habits, abstaining, or endlessly searching for the right solution. This increases pressure rather than reducing it. The result is a cycle of worry, monitoring, and disappointment that takes men further from sexual ease. Without addressing the loop itself, the problem tends to persist — regardless of medication.
Stress, Low Mood and Depression
Stress and depression are both common contributors to erectile dysfunction. Antidepressants can cause erection problems — but so can untreated depression. Disentangling these requires careful assessment rather than a simple swap of medication.
Porn, Masturbation and Erectile Dysfunction
Whether pornography causes erectile dysfunction is a controversial topic. Men with erectile difficulties may watch more porn or masturbate more — often because these feel less pressured than partnered sex when a difficulty has developed.
Men with a healthy sexual relationship and good sexual self-understanding also masturbate and watch porn. Context matters.
Relationship Causes of Erectile Dysfunction
Sometimes the most important question is: who actually has the problem?
Many men arrive having had the difficulty placed squarely on their shoulders. But erection problems are often relational — maintained by the couple's dynamic, unspoken tensions, communication patterns, or mismatched desire. A man who is fine alone, or was fine in previous relationships, but struggles consistently with one partner, is often dealing with something relational rather than individual.
Losing an erection during sex — or struggling to stay hard with a partner — may have nothing to do with your body, and everything to do with anxiety within the relationship.
Erectile Dysfunction as an Early Warning Sign of Heart Disease
This is one of the most important things I can tell you — and what many online pharmacies and quick-fix clinics don't.
Erection problems can be the earliest sign of underlying cardiovascular disease. In the penile blood vessels, vascular changes often appear years before symptoms develop in the heart — sometimes three to seven years earlier. This means erectile dysfunction in a man in his 50s or 60s may be signalling a cardiovascular risk that is entirely treatable if identified early, but potentially serious if missed.
This is why I assess cardiovascular risk carefully as part of any comprehensive evaluation, which may include:
Accurate blood pressure monitoring (including home devices such as a Hilo band) Height, weight, waist circumference, and BMI Extended blood tests: lipids, LDL, lipoprotein(a), ApoA, ApoB, hsCRP Imaging where appropriate — including CT calcium score or CT coronary angiogram — to assess what's actually happening inside blood vessels, not just estimated risk
If a significant narrowing is identified, it can often be treated with medication or, where appropriate, intervention. The key is finding it.
If you're wondering whether you should see a doctor about erectile dysfunction — the answer is yes. Not because something is wrong with you, but because your body may be signalling something important about your cardiovascular health.
Other Medical and Physical Causes of Erectile Dysfunction
Common Medical Causes:
Diabetes (type 1 and type 2)
Hypertension (high blood pressure). Some blood pressure medications can make things worse, but untreated high blood pressure is damaging to erections in the long term
Smoking and alcohol
Prostate cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy)
Medications — from finasteride for hair loss to antidepressants
Testosterone and hormonal causes
Low testosterone can contribute to erection problems — but accurate diagnosis is more nuanced than a single blood test. A proper hormonal assessment includes total testosterone, SHBG, calculated free testosterone, pituitary hormones, thyroid function, and metabolic markers.
What's often missed in the rush to prescribe testosterone is that treating the underlying metabolic picture — weight, physical activity, sleep, insulin sensitivity — can restore testosterone levels without testosterone therapy. As weight reduces and activity increases, particularly with resistance training, testosterone often rises. Sleep apnoea treatment alone can meaningfully improve both testosterone and erections.
There has not yet been a head-to-head trial comparing GLP-1 medications with testosterone therapy as initial treatment for testosterone deficiency, but weight loss benefits multiple health markers.
Age and Erection Problems
Age shapes the likely cause significantly.
In younger men, ED is common and usually psychological or lifestyle-related — performance anxiety, stress, depression, alcohol, cannabis, or medication side effects.
In men in their 30s and 40s, causes often overlap — psychological and hormonal factors both become relevant.
In men in their 50s and beyond, vascular and metabolic causes become more likely, and cardiovascular assessment becomes particularly important.
In men in their 70s and 80s, penile tissue changes with age, reducing elasticity and blood retention — but even here, there is almost always something that can help.
Erectile dysfunction is rarely permanent. There are almost always ways to improve erections once the underlying causes are properly understood.
Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction — What Actually Works
There is no single right treatment for erection problems. The most effective approach depends on why the problem developed — which is why assessment matters more than the treatment list.
Many men I see have already tried tablets, testosterone, injections, shockwave therapy, or other interventions — often without a clear understanding of why their difficulty started. My approach is different: understand the cause first, then treat it appropriately.
Lifestyle changes: Regular exercise, a Mediterranean-style diet, stopping smoking, moderating alcohol, improving sleep, and managing stress can all make a meaningful difference — particularly where cardiovascular or metabolic health is involved.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy: Specialist physiotherapy targeting pelvic floor muscle function can improve erectile rigidity and control, and is underused in most ED treatment pathways.
PDE5 inhibitors (Viagra, Cialis, and related medications): Sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil. If one hasn't worked well for you, this doesn't mean the drug class isn't right — dose, timing, and choice of medication all matter, and these are worth reviewing properly.
Treating underlying medical conditions: Cardiovascular disease, testosterone deficiency, diabetes, thyroid problems, and raised prolactin levels can all contribute directly to erectile dysfunction. Addressing them can improve both erections and overall health.
Penile pumps: Vacuum erection devices draw blood into the penis and support erections. Some men find these effective alone or alongside other treatments.
Intraurethral alprostadil: Medications such as MUSE or Vitaros, placed into the urethra to stimulate an erection — an option when tablets haven't been effective.
Penile injections: Injections such as Invicorp or Caverject, administered directly into the penis. These can be highly effective for men where tablets haven't worked.
Low-intensity shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT): Uses sound waves to stimulate blood vessel growth. For men with mild to moderate ED related to vascular disease, this can be effective. A course typically involves 6 to 12 sessions, with effects lasting up to two years.
Penile implants: A surgical option, usually considered when other treatments have not been effective.
Psychosexual therapy: Addresses anxiety, confidence, sexual trauma, and difficulties with desire and arousal. Approaches may include sex therapy or trauma-focused therapies such as EMDR. As an accredited psychosexual therapist, I provide this directly — within the same clinical relationship, rather than as a separate referral.
Couples and relationship therapy: Where relationship dynamics, communication, or mismatched desire are contributing to erection difficulties, couples work can be an important part of the picture.
Should I See a GP, a Urologist, a Sexologist, or a Sex Therapist?
It can be genuinely confusing knowing where to start.
Urologists are the right specialist for structural problems, prostate disease, and surgical conditions. If you have prostate cancer, significant urinary symptoms, or need surgery, a urologist is where you should be.
Erection problems, however, are usually not purely structural. They involve cardiovascular, hormonal, psychological, and relational factors — often simultaneously. For an initial assessment, it helps to see someone who can look at the whole picture.
Sex therapists can be very helpful where anxiety, confidence, or relationship dynamics are central — but without medical input, underlying health issues and cardiovascular risks can be missed entirely.
Many GPs have limited training in sexual medicine. I regularly see men whose erection problems in their 50s were treated intermittently with Viagra, only for them to have significant, preventable cardiac events in their 60s or 70s.
If you're looking for an erectile dysfunction specialist in London who can bring all of these strands together — medical, hormonal, psychological, and relational — that remains relatively uncommon. I offer exactly this: specialist men's health medicine combined with psychosexual therapy in London, with the one doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
No. You can book directly without a GP referral. If you're registered with an NHS GP, it can be helpful to let them know you're seeking a private opinion, but it isn't required.
-
The first consultation is a structured assessment — usually 60 minutes. We'll cover your symptoms, medical history, lifestyle, and any psychological or relational factors that seem relevant. I'll explain my thinking as we go, and by the end you'll have a clear picture of what I think is going on and what the options are.
-
I assess testosterone carefully and in full clinical context. I don't prescribe based on blood results alone — symptoms, history, and overall health picture all matter. Where testosterone therapy is appropriate, I prescribe it. Where it isn't, I'll explain why and explore what else might be driving your symptoms.
-
A sex therapist is typically a psychotherapist with additional training in sexual difficulties — their work focuses on the psychological, relational, and behavioural dimensions of sexual problems. A sexual medicine doctor is a medically qualified physician who specialises in the physical and hormonal causes of sexual dysfunction.
Many men with erection problems need input from both perspectives — but very few clinicians are trained in both. As a GP, physician, and registered psychosexual therapist, I hold both qualifications. This means I can assess and treat physical causes (cardiovascular risk, testosterone deficiency, medication effects) and psychological causes (anxiety, performance pressure, relationship dynamics) within the same consultation, without splitting your care across two separate practitioners. -
For many men, yes — particularly when the underlying cause is identified and treated properly. ED caused by performance anxiety often resolves fully once the anxiety cycle is broken. ED caused by hormonal imbalance, medication side effects, or lifestyle factors can improve significantly when those factors are addressed. Even where a physical cause is permanent, there are almost always effective treatments that restore satisfying sexual function.
The word "cure" can be misleading — the goal isn't always to restore things to exactly how they were, but to reach a place where sex is enjoyable, confident, and reliable again. For most men, that is entirely achievable.
-
Yes — and in my experience, it often is, at least in part. Erectile dysfunction, low libido, and performance anxiety frequently have both physical and psychological dimensions. My dual training means I can address both within the same clinical relationship, rather than referring you elsewhere for the psychological component.
-
Yes. Where investigations are needed — including blood tests, ultrasound, MRI, or CT scanning — I arrange these directly. Where onward referral is appropriate, I coordinate this and remain involved in your care throughout, so nothing falls through the gaps.
-
I'm based in the medical district in Marylebone, central London. Many consultations — particularly follow-ups and ongoing therapy — can be conducted remotely via video. Initial assessments are usually best in person where possible.
-
An initial hour long comprehensive consultation is £400. Follow ups cost between £125 and £235 depending on what is needed and the time taken.
A full fee schedule is available on the Fees page. If you're unsure whether a particular service is right for you, feel free to get in touch before booking.
What a Full Assessment Involves
Most men arrive a bit anxious — unsure what will happen, worried about being judged, or uncertain whether they'll be able to talk openly. Almost universally, they leave relieved.
The first consultation is usually 60 minutes. We cover your symptoms, medical and family history, relevant risk factors, current and past sexual experience, relationships, and lifestyle. I approach this from medical, biological, psychological, relational, and where relevant cultural perspectives.
A physical examination is sometimes appropriate — particularly for erection problems — but is always optional.
If you've had recent blood tests, you can send them ahead. If not, I'll usually arrange blood tests, which often but not always need to be taken before 11am.
Where further investigation is helpful, I may suggest:
Night-time erection monitoring (ADAM sensor)
Home blood pressure monitoring (Hilo band)
Sleep apnoea assessment (WatchPAT)
Cardiac investigations — ECG, echocardiogram, CT calcium score, or CT coronary angiogram
Ultrasound, MRI, or other imaging where indicated
Nothing is compulsory. I explain the reasoning behind any suggestion, and I don't recommend anything I don't believe is evidence-based and genuinely likely to help.
I see patients at Central Health London, 23 Devonshire Place, in the heart of London's medical district — with remote consultations available particularly for follow-ups.
Book An Initial Consultation
Dr Ben Davis
Men’s Health GP & Psychosexual Therapist
GMC & COSRT Registered | MRCGP | MRCP | FECSM | RegCOSRT | PhD (Men's Health)
15 Years Clinical Experience
If something isn't working the way it should, it's worth understanding why.
I offer a comprehensive, unhurried first consultation — designed to give you clarity about what's happening and a clear sense of what's most likely to help.
Who Tends to Benefit Most From Seeing Me?
1. Men in midlife who haven’t engaged much with healthcare
If you're in your 50s or 60s, don't particularly like going to the doctor, but recognise it's time to take your health seriously — this is a good place to start. I often find things that matter, and that have been missed.
2. Gay, bisexual and queer men
If you're looking for someone who genuinely understands gay and queer sex — not someone who needs things explained, and not someone who'll be uncomfortable — you can speak freely here.
3. Men who want a thoughtful, whole-person assessment
If you've tried tablets, testosterone, injections, or shockwave therapy without a clear plan, or if you've had a purely medical or purely therapy-based approach that hasn't helped, a proper integrated assessment often makes the difference.
That said, I work with men across the full spectrum — from their 20s to their 90s, across all orientations and relationship statuses.
If you want someone who'll work out what's actually going on rather than hand you a prescription and send you on your way, you're in the right place.
What I Hope You Gain From Working With Me
By the end of a few consultations, my aim is that:
You're enjoying sex again — with a realistic, positive vision for your sexual life and a deeper understanding of your own sexuality and pleasure.
You have a clear picture of your physical health and a practical plan to protect it — whether that means addressing cardiovascular risk, treating an underlying condition, or simply knowing things are fine.
You feel taken seriously, properly understood, and no longer alone with something you've been carrying quietly for too long.
How Long Does Treatment Take?
If the issue is primarily medical, improvement can be relatively quick — sometimes within two or three appointments once a clear plan is in place.
If the difficulty is primarily psychological or relational, meaningful change often occurs within around six sessions, particularly when an anxiety loop has developed and you're willing to engage with the process.
Where a relationship is involved, I may recommend one or two sessions with your partner as part of the work.
For many men, erectile dysfunction can be resolved — particularly when underlying causes are addressed rather than symptoms alone.
Watch Dr Ben talk about Erectile Dysfunction, with Jon Dean
Book An Inital Consultation
Dr Ben Davis
Men’s Health GP & Psychosexual Therapist
GMC & COSRT Registered | MRCGP | MRCP | FECSM | RegCOSRT | PhD (Men's Health)
15 Years Clinical Experience
If something isn't working the way it should, it's worth understanding why.
I offer a comprehensive, unhurried first consultation — designed to give you clarity about what's happening and a clear sense of what's most likely to help.