The presentation on paraphilia and non-paraphilia was very informative and cleared up a lot of questions that I had about the topic. It was interesting to hear about the difference between a paraphilia and a paraphilic disorder, in which the disorder creates distress or impairment to the person or others. A paraphilia does not necessarily require clinical intervention unless it is destructive. I also thought that the distinction between pedophilia and child molesters was interesting, regarding the fact that people with a pedophilic disorder aren't necessarily child molesters and vice versa. The various types of pedophilic disorders was also very informative because I didn't realize that the disorder could be categorized by interests of different ages. I think the distinction between the various types of transvestic disorders/behaviors are especially helpful in resisting the tendency to stereotype or group people together. I like how the wiki clearly defines gender dysphoria, drag queens, crossdressers, transgenders, transsexuals and autogynephilia because there is a clear difference among all types. I think the treatment approach to some of the disorders in which clinicians recognize that abnormal sexual interests are not to be judged or looked down upon, but to look for alternative ways of sexual pleasure that will not cause harm to others or themselves that still resonate with their interests. Overall, the presentation was very well organized and put together and their wiki was interesting to looking at and read.

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"Sexual Healing" Reflection

SO...random fun fact about the Sexual Healing show: It's from the same creators of Taxi Cab Confessions

Anyway, I had a skewed perception of Dr. Berman due to Tiffani's remark about a RUDE comment made at a conference. I believe it was her sister who said that all women should have C-sections so that they keep their vaginas tight and pretty, but I can't help but wonder if the two sisters share the same ideas. After about ten minutes into the show, I began to respect her more. I think it takes a certain personality type and tone in order to effectively work with couples about their sex life. She stressed the importance of sexual communication and reciprocity, but also managed to keep things light and fun so that the idea of sex didn't seem so scientific.

Dr. Berman was able to gauge how comfortable the couples were in talking about sexual acts, and the likelihood of whether or not they would carry them out in the bedroom. She assigned homework to all couples, but focused on what would best help them due to the various factors that were involved in the problem.  For example, for the couple in which the male wasn't comfortable looking at his wife's genitals, she asked that he look at her as a whole, and then when comfortable he'd make his way down to her genitals.

After reading about the "3 window approach" from our chapter on FOD in our textbooks, I was able to recognize that Dr. Berman used aspects of this approach to ask some of the women about their experiences with orgasm and assess where the source of the problem was coming from. As a refresher, this approach goes something like this:

1. Current situation- relevant factors, expectations of orgasm

2. Vulnerability of the individual- examination of sexual history 

and feelings about body image and genitals

3. Health- mental and physical factors, medication side effects

I could see her assessing the current situation of the couple in which the female had a lack of interest in sex and her husband was willing to do whatever he could do get her interested again. It seemed that there were issues in their communication about sex and she had some control issues that needed to be sorted out. She assessed the vulnerability of the female who had lost a lot of weight, and who revealed that she has had negative sexual experiences that have affected her ideas about sex with her partner. With this knowledge, Dr. Berman was able to predict types of treatment that were most suitable to each couple.

Overall, I think this episode was very informative about sexual counseling. There were many similarities in the way Dr. Berman assessed each couple, however she incorporated unique interventions that resonated with the issues for every situation. I'd definitely be interested in watching more of episodes of this show.

Hello all!

Welcome to my blog. I'm a first year student in the Couple and Family Therapy program. I'm excited to experience this class with all of you! We've already had some fun and educational classes, and I can't wait to see what we can share and learn together.  I think the beauty in talking about sex is that it can be discussed with humor to help make light of uncomfortable situations, but it can also be very educational, serious and intimate. Growing up, I had a lot of questions about sex but I wasn't sure what was appropriate to ask or how. Luckily, with our culture increasing its openness toward the subject of sex, I have become less embarrassed to seek out answers. I am fairly open about sexual discussion and I think there is a lot to learn about the connection between sex and relationships.  I anticipate that this class will help me in working with couples as a clinician. Looking forward to getting to know you all on a more personal level ;)