Speaking of Sex with Suzanne Iasenza: 4-Part Series

This is the first of the Speaking of Sex series.

Sex therapy has been a focus for Dr. Iasenza for many years. Her approach helps therapists guide clients facing intimacy challenges by identifying and rewriting conscious and unconscious negative sexual narratives. As a result, clients can reclaim intimacy in their erotic lives.

Dr. Iasenza integrates psychodynamic systems and cognitive behavioural sex therapy techniques to identify relationships between personal, social, cultural and familial sexual narratives.

In this webinar on sex therapy, you will explore how to expand restrictive models of sexual response and how to conduct a relational sexual history. You will also learn how to help clients expand their sexual repertoire.

Case material will illustrate how to integrate this approach to sexual therapy into general couple psychotherapy.

This is part of the Speaking of Sex series.

LGBTQ+ has become one of today’s most popular acronyms. The latest Gallup Poll finds that 5.6% of Americans overall—including one in six Gen Z people—identify as LGBT. Furthermore, 4% of adults are in open relationships engaging in consensual non-monogamy. And nearly half of adults are involved in some form of ‘kinky’ sex (BDSM) with many more fantasizing about it. In addition, 1% of the population identifies as ‘asexual’.

The typical graduate school experience may touch upon lesbian and gay people, but other ‘non-normative’ populations are rarely discussed. Nor are they framed in pathologizing terms.

In this workshop, we assume that sex/gender/relationship diversity is normal. You will learn about all types of LGBTQ+ clients and how their sexuality and relationship styles differ from heteronormative standards. We will discuss how these different populations came to be viewed as part of the LGBTQ+ community and what they have in common.

After this webinar, you will understand how to approach LGBTQ+ clients respectfully, how to help them, how to find resources, and when to refer to someone with more expertise. You will leave with expanded knowledge about populations that grad school didn’t prepare you for!

This is part of the Speaking of Sex series.

Sexual fantasies can provide clinicians with a window into the workings of the mind. In this webinar, we’ll use a psychoanalytical theoretical model developed by Joseph Weiss, M.D. and the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group. We’ll use this model to explore various ways sexual fantasies are constructed by minds that are singularly committed to safety.

Sexual excitement is inhibited by certain pathogenic beliefs connected to feelings of guilt, shame, and helplessness. Sexual fantasies enable us to disconfirm these beliefs and, as a result, safely allow sexual arousal to emerge.

Therapists can use the details of a patient’s sexual fantasies to infer a great deal about their core pathogenic beliefs. Together, we will delve into and analyze a range of sexual fantasies from ordinary to bizarre. These include sadomasochistic scenarios, exhibitionistic fantasies, and group sex fantasies.

Sexuality is so intricately linked to all other aspects of a person’s life that its separation from the treatment of a person’s psychological distress or relationship issues defies logic. The exclusion of sexuality often reflects discomfort or inexperience on the part of the therapist rather than an informed clinical decision. Indeed, the designation of “sex therapy” as a specialty may have discouraged therapists from incorporating inquiry and interventions regarding sexuality into their treatment practice. And while, in the past, patients and clients may have felt reluctant to talk about sex or explore their sexual issues in general therapy, this is no longer the case. 

The interventions that form the core of sex therapy are in fact those that are integral to all forms of successful psychotherapy. Building upon a strong therapeutic alliance, therapists help clients confront their anxieties and fears, challenge their avoidance behaviors, and build healthier relationships. What is unique about sex therapy is that both the treatment goals and methods are sexual. 

Using clinical case material involving both individuals and couples, participants will learn how to inquire about sexuality throughout the therapeutic process. While information about patients’ sexuality does not equate with a need for intervention, participants will learn if, when, how, and most importantly, why to incorporate sexuality into the goals and process of ongoing psychotherapy.