Sexuality Counseling: A Professional Specialization Comes of Age

Abstract

For individuals and couples experiencing such distress, sexuality counseling, an emerging specialization in professional counseling, may provide relief, understanding, healing, and intimacy. This review attempts to describe the paradigm shifts and key figures in the field, sexuality counseling as a professional specialization, the process of sexuality counseling including assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning, and various roadblocks to intimacy. It concludes with advocacy of the new specialization as a synthesis of trends in sexual health.

Clinical interventions for women with schizophrenia: pregnancy

“…Physicians have found that taking a thorough sexual history serves as a good introduction to a discussion about sex (13) but that only 25% of charts on an internal medicine ward documented any aspect of having taken a sexual history. Recent practice recommendations advise that intimate relationship counseling form a part of all comprehensive programs for schizophrenia (14, 15).…”

Too Taboo?: Preliminary Explorations of Counselor Experiences of Client Sexuality

“…The experience of one's own sexuality can be influenced by a multitude of physical, emotional and social elements (Buehler, 2014). For individuals experiencing mental health strain, the likelihood of experiencing difficulty in their sexual lives is much higher than in the general population (Blalock & Wood, 2015;Southern & Cade, 2011). Mental health counselors, therefore, should be adept at working with clients regarding their sexuality.…”

“…Given the nature of mental health counseling work, counselors are trained to discuss myriad difficult personal issues that clients need to process (Cochran & Cochran, 2015). Despite sexuality being an integral part of an individual's wellness (Buehler, 2014;Southern & Cade, 2011), psychological and biological development, and selfconcept (Kleinplatz, 2012), the taboo nature of discussing sex remains challenging for counselors to broach. If counselors maintain a philosophy of holistic wellness, they must be able to explore a client's sexuality as part of the therapeutic process.…”

“…Mental health counseling practitioners are very likely to work with a client who is experiencing some level of problem in their sexual life that is tied to their emotional functioning (Southern & Cade, 2011). Previous research indicates that a majority of mental health professionals avoid, defer, or ignore their clients' concerns related to sex (Harris & Hays, 2008;Reissing & Giulio, 2010).…”

“…Factors that may hinder counselors from having sex-related conversations with clients include a lack of training or education, their personal values related to sex, and a fear of ethical violation (Reissing & Giulio, 2010;Wiederman & Sansone, 1999). Whatever the reason, when a counselor does not address sexual issues with clients, they are missing a key aspect of the client's whole experience, often with negative consequences for the client (Buehler, 2014;Southern & Cade, 2011).…”