Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D.
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
John McNeill
Second Advisor
Terri M. Davis
Third Advisor
Hale Martin
Fourth Advisor
Diane Guerra
Keywords
Sex, Therapy, Gender differences, Supervision, Training, Sexual double standard
Abstract
Sex topics should be welcome in the therapy room. Sexual identity, practices, concerns and questions should not be considered a "taboo" subject in the therapy room, yet clients remain reluctant to bring up such topics with their therapists. In order to ensure that clients feel free to bring into the room such themes that are a large part of their life, clinicians need to be trained and competent in sex topics. The following literature review examines the history of femininity and masculinity and what "facts" have continued to permeate into our profession, the history of sex expectations, language about sex topics, and the difference between men and women and the sexual double standard for the purpose of highlighting the many nuances involved in sex topics. Following is a recommended brief curriculum for a continuing education course for psychologists around sex topics in the therapy room. Recommendations for requirements in the state of Colorado for psychologist supervisors are also provided.
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Extent
31 pgs
Recommended Citation
Gallagher, Courtney, "Sex Topics in Therapy: A Literature Review and Proposal for Continuing Education" (2019). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 350.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/350