26 Apr Helping Clients Recover Sexual and Relational Health After Sexual Trauma
The word “survivor” has emerged strongly within our cultural lexicon due to more forward-facing, high-profile cases of sexual perpetration, thus establishing a social declaration for sexual healing and empowerment. Sexual abuse, assault, harassment and rape happen to one out of every six women, one out of every thirty-three men, and a disproportionately higher percentage (66% higher) of non-binary and transgender identified people in the United States (rainn.org). The aftermath of these traumas include the burden of belief in addition to survivors’ often solitary journey toward mind/body health. Repairing what has been lost to sexual trauma is necessary, even vital to the process of recovery, but it’s not enough. Surviving is the beginning though certainly not a sufficient or acceptable end.
This course explores what comes next as clients move toward sexual and relational health. Practitioners will learn how to help clients shift from surviving to thriving—from merely existing to fully living—by reimagining what their individual and relational evolutions entail. This seminar not only draws from contemporary research in sex therapy and somatic psychology, offering theories and tools to ground survivors in concepts of safety, security and trust, but it also reaches further into the realm of vitality, freedom, healthy relationships and great sex. Through specific somatic sex therapy protocols and case studies, practitioners will learn to guide clients on a holistic journey toward the rediscovery of desire, both for themselves and in their intimate relationships.
Based on the book Reclaiming Pleasure: A Sex-Positive Guide for Moving Past Sexual Trauma and Living a Passionate Life
This training will provide participants clinical knowledge and tools to:
a). Understand the different types of sexual trauma including abuse, assault, rape and harassment.
b). Understand and gain awareness of the psychophysiology of sexual trauma response.
c). Name and discuss at least three clinical examples of ways to help clients reclaim sexual and relational health.
d). State what is meant by embodiment and empowerment through a trauma-informed somatic sex therapy lens.
e). Describe how concepts of eroticism are linked to integrated sexual and relational health.
Holly Richmond, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Holly Richmond is a Somatic Psychotherapist, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) and Certified Sex Therapist (CST). This unique combination of credentials enables her to focus on clients’ cognitive processes as well as mind-body health. She works with women, men, couples and gender-diverse individuals on relationship and sexuality issues, offering sex therapy and sexual health coaching nationally and internationally. Her treatment specialties include low libido, sexual dysfunction, compulsive sexuality (often called “addiction”), desire discrepancies in couples, recovery from sexual assault and abuse, and alternative/non-traditional sexual expression.
Her book “Reclaiming Pleasure: A Sex-Positive Guide for Moving Past Sexual Trauma and Living a Passionate Life” (New Harbinger, Oct. 2021) is an innovative look at both somatic and psychological factors in survivors’ erotic recovery. Dr. Holly is regularly quoted in publications and media outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Shape, NBC, Wired, Forbes, Oprah, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health. She is a sought-after consultant in the sextech industry and is seen as a pioneer in the clinical exploration of sex and technology, and how they work together as human sexuality evolves in the 21 st century. Each interlinked facet of her work is grounded in a sex-positive perspective: all sex is good sex as long as it is consensual and pleasurable. This non-judgmental position allows her to assist clients in discovering their true needs, desires and personal path to wellness.
This online workshop will give you instant access to 2 sessions of video content, accessible via streaming on our website, as well as downloadable PowerPoint slides (PDF). You can view the course content in your own time, there is no time limit on access.
The duration of this course is 3.5 learning hours.
Please click the green ‘Mark Complete’ button on each module as you progress. A certificate of completion will be generated upon finishing the course and completing a short assessment quiz. If the certificate is not showing, please confirm you have marked all sections as ‘Complete’. Please consult your professional organisation/association to confirm whether you are able to claim any CPD points/hours for this online workshop.
