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The Vital Role of OTs in Addressing Sex & Intimacy after SCI: Part Two of a Three Part Series

 

Welcome to the second part of our three-part series on addressing sexuality and intimacy after spinal cord injury (SCI). Today, we’ll delve deeper into the crucial role that Occupational Therapists (OTs) play in supporting individuals with SCI in this aspect of their lives. With their expertise and unique perspective, OTs can provide invaluable guidance and interventions to empower SCI patients and promote a positive and fulfilling sexual experience. The OT can be the shining light of comfort and advocacy! OTs are perfectly situated to lead these efforts in a clinical setting both for their patients and for the interdisciplinary team. Let's continue our exploration of the strategies and approaches that OTs employ in this domain.

Education and Understanding:

One of the primary responsibilities of OTs is to educate SCI patients about the impact of their injury on sexual health. By providing comprehensive education, OTs help individuals understand the changes in their...

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Sex & Intimacy After a Spinal Cord Injury: Part One of a Three Part Series

As Sexuality and Intimacy Trailblazers, we know that sexuality and intimacy are important parts of our lives, bringing us joy and enhancing our overall well-being. However, when someone experiences a spinal cord injury (SCI), these aspects can be profoundly affected. Today, we'll discuss when to address these topics, the impacts of SCI on sexual health, specific complications that can arise, and the role of occupational therapy in supporting individuals on this journey.

When to Address Sex and Intimacy:

So, the big question is: when should we start talking about sex and intimacy with SCI patients? 

The answer? at every point in their occupational therapy (OT) engagement! 

It's not about when exactly, but more about what to focus on depending on where the individual is in their injury timeline. In the inpatient setting, when people have recently experienced acute trauma, they may benefit from SCI sexuality education. On the other hand, those receiving outpatient care have...

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Talking Cultural Curiosity with University of Pittsburgh COTAD

The University of Pittsburgh COTAD (Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity) Chapter conducted a training on "Culturally Inclusive ADLs" that, with their permission, I had to pass along to my crew! Their personal mission is to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the Pittsburgh OT community and empower students to be more comprehensive and effective clinicians. How awesome is that!?

 

This was an illuminating training presented by COTAD and three speakers who discussed activity analysis related to their grooming, dressing, spiritual, and other meaningful occupations.  While they provided insights into their own routines and rituals, all of the speakers centered the importance of asking culturally curious questions, for example "what products do you use?" or "can you walk me through your morning self-care routine?" Our clients all have routines and rituals, which can be culturally influenced or meaningful, but still are unique...

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Simplifying Documentation and Billing for Sex and Intimacy Goals

Documentation and billing are often the perceived showstoppers for doing sex and intimacy interventions.  Let me tell you, I get a ton of questions about this, so you are not alone if you’re wondering,

“how the heck do I bill for, ‘Ronnie will mount Sammie during sex with mod I”?

So here is a quick and dirty blog post about documentation and billing to match the actual simplicity of this task.   

 

Goals:

First off, I don’t write goals like the one above. (Although straight to the point, it doesn't quite meet the expectations of a S.M.A.R.T. goal ;) )

But, here are some examples of goals I do write, which specifically have to do with sex and intimacy.  Please note, they are generalized so you'll want to modify them to the clinic you work in and the assessments you typically use:

  1. Client will engage in sexual activity with a decrease (insert pain scale) in self-reported pain. 
  2. Client will engage in...
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Six Steps for Starting a Sex and Intimacy Clinic!

The process of going from your typical 9-5 occupational therapy job to building a sex and intimacy clinic where you work or having your own private practice does not happen over night. But, tiny steps accumulate into big changes! As you embark on the journey you might hit resistance but don’t get discouraged. Just because no one is doing it does not mean you shouldn’t. Identifying a gap in care is exactly why you should fight to fill it. If we can provide the solution, that’s fabulous!

Read on for my top 6 tips for starting a sex and intimacy clinic or private practice!

 

1. Build your competency

How would you build your competency for any other topic?  You'd seek out training and CEUs.  When I first started there wasn't much out there (like none) so I dedicated my efforts to developing CEUs specifically for OTs based on research, my own experience, and the training I took to become an AASECT certified sex counselor.   You can take what...

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