Tuesday March 28 8:00-9:00 pm EST

When I first started addressing sexuality with my clients, I didn’t really know where to begin. I felt like I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. And I was starting to feel guilty that I felt more uncertain when working with people who differed from me for example by sexual orientation, race, religion, and sexual preferences.  I felt I couldn't fully address the needs of the people who had entrusted me with their care. And despite being a pretty open-minded person, I realized that my own personal biases and beliefs were also getting in the way of effectively bringing up these conversations with my patients or therapeutic use of self. I was frustrated because I feel like this topic was barely touched when I was in OT school - and the online resources for OTs at the time weren’t much better. Maybe you’ve felt the same frustration.  I spent a ton of time diving into what research I could find and found that most of it was from outside our profession and not necessarily the most relevant to my practice.

Instead, what if there was a way to become more confident and knowledgeable about sexuality that was easy? Something that was curated and specific to OTs that didn’t require a ton of legwork from an already frazzled therapist.

That’s what I’ve created for you with this course. I realized that one of the first things I needed to do before bringing up sexuality with my OT clients was to understand myself and address my own learned biases.

In this guided self-reflection, we’ll discuss how our own sexuality values, beliefs, attitudes, and biases can impact our work with clients - and what we can do to improve them.

WHAT ARE LEARNERS SAYING?

“The depth, thoroughness, and intentionality of the course content was evident throughout all the content- from the background and overview of the course to the guided reflection. It was a safe space to reflect on my own sexual identity and its relationship to my practice.” - Mark, OT

“I was incredibly happy with the workshop/reflection. You do a wonderful job of facilitating deep reflection. Additionally, your knowledge in the area is exceptional. I was really happy with the outcome. The time flew but you were able to direct us and adapt so we got through all the material on time. It is fantastic to reflect on how I can better my teaching and research in the area of intimacy.” - Sam, OT Professor

“I needed to hear how other OTs process and would approach information surrounding sex and intimacy” - Khadijah, OT  

 “Discussion with other OTs helped me realize that what is normal for me, may not be normal for someone else” - Yvette, OT 

“Open self-reflection in a sex positive platform is imperative for all OT professionals - we don't do enough of this in general” - Cynthia, OTA

Learning Objectives:

• Identify three personal sexuality beliefs which could influence the therapeutic relationship with their occupational therapy clients       

• Identify three commonly held beliefs or values for different cultures related to sexuality     

• Report an increase in comfort with addressing sexual activity and intimate social participation with their clients 

Instructor:

• Kathryn Ellis, OTR/L, OTD

This course is priced at $50. For this, you’ll receive an hour of structured content at a much lower rate than our private consultations. You’ll also have access to our community of like-minded therapists to engage in these discussions with. And yes, you can earn CEUs for this! 

Engage in self-reflection to build self-awareness of one's self as a sexual being and reconcile bias to facilitate the therapeutic relationships.  Self-reflection is an evidence-based crucial aspect of any sexuality training for healthcare providers.

Kathryn creates a comfortable virtual environment to reflect and share on what can sometimes be difficult to talk about.  Learners will be provided with a self-reflection handout to reflect on prior to class.   

Contact Hours:

The Institute for Sex, Intimacy & Occupational Therapy is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. PD activity approval ID# 0000001470. This Distance Learning - Independent activity is offered at 1 CEUs, introductory level, OT Service Delivery and Professional Issues. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA. 

Target Audience:

• Occupational therapy students, professors, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants 

Education Level:

• Introductory and intermediate

Certificate of completion:

• Participants MUST be present for the entire 1 hour event AND complete (1) the post-course assessment of learning, and (2) customer service survey in order to receive a certificate of completion.

AOTA Classification Codes:

• 1 – Domain of OT
• 2 – Occupational Therapy Process

The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA or indicate AOTA approval of a certification or other professional recognition.

Please contact Kathryn at [email protected] with special needs or learning requests prior to purchasing.

Cancelation policy:

• All sales are final, please shop mindfully