The purpose of this course is to equip counselling and psychotherapy professionals with sufficient knowledge and skills to be able to confidently address common sexual concerns in therapy. At the end of the program, participants will be able to effectively bring up, identify, and discuss common sexual concerns with their clients, de-escalate the conflict and pressure sexual discord puts on client's relationships, and either offer treatment or refer to a physician when necessary.
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to equip counselling and psychotherapy professionals with sufficient knowledge and skills to be able to confidently address common sexual concerns in therapy.
At the end of the program the participants will be able to effectively bring up, identify, and discuss common sexual concerns with their clients, de-escalate the conflict and pressure sexual discord puts on client's relationships and either offer a treatment or refer to a physician when necessary.
Why talk about sex in therapy?
- because nobody else will - cultural and societal restraints
- because your clients want you to
- to add a very marketable 'string' to your practice
Do you need to be a specialist to talk about sex in therapy?
Only 5 to 10 per cent of our clients who bring up sexual concerns may need to talk to a specialist; most concerns can be addressed in competent sex-positive therapy. All you need is willingness to open and maintain a conversation about sex and a vocabulary to go with it.
What you will learn in the course
- How to talk about sexual pleasure and arousal and where to start
- Messages that form our relationship with our sexual desire: from our families, our cultures, our society, our belief system/religion
- Sex 'education' from porn—place it where it belongs
- Changing our relationship with labels we put on barriers to pleasure
- Building sufficient vocabulary to talk about pleasure and arousal
'Not tonight, dear'—addressing discrepancy in sexual desire—the most common presentation in every sex therapist's practice.
- It's hard to have good sex in a bad relationship ('who loads the dishwasher?)
- "I don't feel like sex, what is wrong with me?": de-pathologising any level of sexual desire
- Consider the effects of trauma on sexual arousal
- 'Wifely duty': holding the tension between 'my sexual needs are not met' and 'my body is my autonomy' in the context of monogamy
Vaginal penetration and its discontents:
Common issues experienced by female-bodied humans across lifespan, such as vaginismus, childbirth, menopause, effect of trauma on sexual arousal.
Ejaculation and its discontents:
Common sexual issues experienced by male-bodies humans, such as premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction (failure to gain or maintain erection) and 'performance anxiety.'
This course will use male/female pronouns (he/she) as well as the more inclusive pronoun "them" whenever possible to cover the broadest possible demographic. The focus is on neither heterosexual/cisgender nor sexually/gender diverse populations, but rather on psychosexual issues experienced by a broad spectrum of people, to larger or smaller extent.
If you would like training focused on LGBTQIA+ we strongly recommend pridetraining.org.au by ACON.
Presenter: Anya Grichina
Anya Grichina MSciMed (HIV, STI & Sexual Health), USyd; BCoun, ACAP. Anya is a counsellor and an educator. She splits her time between her private practice in Surry Hills, Sydney, and teaching counselling at the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC).
She specialises in relationship and sexual health counselling, working with couples and individuals. She also works with clients with intellectual disabilities, using adjusted psychotherapy modalities and positive behaviour support plans.
Anya is acclaimed as an engaging and inspiring presenter whose seminars often change the way her students look at and feel about counselling and psychotherapy practice.
This course counts towards 9 hours of Category A CPD (Continuing Professional Development).
You must attend 75% of the course to receive a CPD certificate.
Ticket Prices
Members: $260 (incl. GST)
Non-Members: $320 (incl. GST)
What to Expect After You Register
Once registered, your personal Zoom link will be dispatched directly to you via email from Zoom within 1 hour of registration and 1 hour prior to the event. Please keep an eye on your inbox for an email from Zoom ([email protected]). All future correspondence pertaining to this event, including event recordings, will be communicated through the PACFA email address ([email protected]). To ensure a seamless experience, we recommend adding both email addresses to your safe sender list to prevent missed communications.
Alternatively, you can find the Zoom link if you log into your account under the "My events" tab.
Event Cancellations
Customers seeking to cancel their registration more than 5 working days (for courses) and 48 hours (for webinars) prior to the event date may request a credit to be applied to their account. Cancellations must be made in writing to [email protected]. Cancellations made with less notice than this are non-refundable or exchangeable. Credits are valid for up to a year from the purchase date. This policy is at PACFA's discretion and may change.