Let’s Talk About Sex: Targeting Sex and Sexuality After Trauma Treatment

3 Category 1 CEUs*

Licensed mental health clinicians only.

A fulfilling sexual life often feels out-of-reach to people who have suffered sexual assault and exploitation. Some are moved to avoid intimacy altogether, while others engage in sexual behavior that doesn’t line up with their personal values and limits. Once PTSD has been sufficiently decreased through evidence-based trauma treatment, many clients are interested in applying their new learning to the development of a new sexuality based on their desires, attractions, and values. In practice, though, few clinicians receive training in sexual health, and it can feel awkward or even “inappropriate” to talk about. In this workshop, we will discuss barriers to targeting sexual health in individual therapy including the gender and sexuality of clinicians, clients, and perpetrators, cultural learning about sex, and issues of consent, limits, and boundaries. Other topics will include a continuum of sexuality from self-touch to sex with one or multiple partners, crafting exposure practices, and incorporating partners in treatment.

Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Develop sexuality-related treatment targets with clients

2. Identify personal obstacles to discussing sex with clients

3. Craft in-vivo exposures related to sex and sexuality

4. Guide clients in developing self-regulation in relation to sexual identity and preferences

Presenter:

Annie McCall, MA, LMHC began training in DBT as a graduate student at New York University in 1999. Since receiving her Masters degree in 2000, she has continued to develop her skills as a DBT practitioner, including acting as a skills trainer and individual therapist on two research studies led by treatment developer Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. at the University of Washington. Annie has worked closely with Melanie Harned, Ph.D. in the development and training of the DBT Prolonged Exposure protocol, including providing individual therapy in the original treatment development study. She co-founded Youth and Family DBT of Seattle, which offered multi-family DBT skills groups and parent coaching workshops from 2007-2016. She currently works as a DBT PE trainer and consultant. She is a certified DBT therapist, and a certified PE therapist and supervisor.

*Continuing Education Information

Rathbone & Associates is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education programs and maintains full responsibility for the programs and their content. These trainings qualify for Category I continuing education units. Please contact your state board for verification of reciprocity with other states and professions. In order to receive a certificate, registrants must attend the entire session.

Rathbone & Associates is a sponsor of continuing education credits for psychologists in Maryland under the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Rathbone & Associates maintains responsibility for the program content.

Host or Publisher Rathbone & Associates