Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients

Reviews / Votes

"This is a game-changing book for sex therapists and other practitioners working across gender, sex, and relationship diversity. It provides a clear framework for working affirmatively with erotically marginalized clients, illustrated by a powerful range of case contributions which highlight the impact of intersecting oppressions and the diversity of client experiences. Principles are helpfully divided into sections focusing on foundations, practice, and systems, which help the reader to explore how they might work ethically and with integrity, for example by naming systemic oppressions, by challenging binary thinking, by emphasizing clients' own narratives, and by practising active allyship within wider communities. An essential addition to any practitioner's reading list. Highly recommended."

Meg-John Barker, PhD, author of Queer: A Graphic History, Life Isn't Binary, Mindfulness in Sex and Relationship Therapy, and the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy resource on gender, sexual, and relationship diversity.

"This is a clinically sophisticated yet highly accessible text. This book explores, in an engaging and in-depth manner, the experiences of and therapeutic principles for working with erotically marginalized clients. A unique and indispensable component of the text is the use of powerful and detailed clinical vignettes, which not only describe clients but also illuminate the therapists' own process. Practical advice is provided throughout the book-yet this advice is far from a set of simplified steps of 'what to do.' Rather, the authors engage the reader in the gritty realness of working as real people with real clients, and their advice is informed by and reflects that realness, in all its messy and complex glory. The contributors are diverse in their intersectional identities and personal and professional experiences, and the style and content of the chapters mirror that diversity. The result is an eclectic collection of perspectives and content, whereby a reader does not necessarily have to read the entire book in order or in its entirety to effectively use and benefit from it. Careful explanation of key terms, and the inclusion of user-friendly clinical resources and forms, are also key features of the book. In sum, this is a rich and interesting resource that clinicians and other professionals will surely find of great interest."

Abbie Goldberg, PhD, professor of psychology and Director, Women's & Gender Studies Program, Clark University

"As a psychotherapist and trainer, I am beyond excited that this book is now a resource for our communities. The information is clear, thoughtfully laid out, and fills a much-needed gap in the field. Case examples beautifully demonstrate the nine principles that clinicians can use to better serve erotically marginalized clients, and this is done very skilfully and grounded in an intersectional, social justice framework. I recommend it to anyone who works with clients on topics related to gender and sexuality. Well done!"

Sand Chang, PhD, licenced psychologist and author of A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care

"Most sex therapy books focus on treatment of all the 'normal' clients, leaving a chapter or two, almost as an afterthought, near the end of for those 'other' folk. This book is for the generalist and specialist, for every sex therapist who seeks to include and empower all clients, especially those marginalized in conventional sex therapy. The case vignettes are richly illustrative of inclusive practices at work. This book is remarkable if only for the courage of the editors and authors, all of whom introduce us to their personal identities and professional worlds."

Peggy J. Kleinplatz, PhD, professor, Faculty of Medicine and director of Sex and Couples Therapy Training, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada "This is a game-changing book for sex therapists and other practitioners working across gender, sex, and relationship diversity. It provides a clear framework for working affirmatively with erotically marginalized clients, illustrated by a powerful range of case contributions which highlight the impact of intersecting oppressions and the diversity of client experiences. Principles are helpfully divided into sections focusing on foundations, practice, and systems, which help the reader to explore how they might work ethically and with integrity, for example by naming systemic oppressions, by challenging binary thinking, by emphasizing clients' own narratives, and by practising active allyship within wider communities. An essential addition to any practitioner's reading list. Highly recommended."

Meg-John Barker, PhD, author of Queer: A Graphic History, Life Isn't Binary, Mindfulness in Sex and Relationship Therapy, and the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy resource on gender, sexual, and relationship diversity.

"This is a clinically sophisticated yet highly accessible text. This book explores, in an engaging and in-depth manner, the experiences of and therapeutic principles for working with erotically marginalized clients. A unique and indispensable component of the text is the use of powerful and detailed clinical vignettes, which not only describe clients but also illuminate the therapists' own process. Practical advice is provided throughout the book-yet this advice is far from a set of simplified steps of 'what to do.' Rather, the authors engage the reader in the gritty realness of working as real people with real clients, and their advice is informed by and reflects that realness, in all its messy and complex glory. The contributors are diverse in their intersectional identities and personal and professional experiences, and the style and content of the chapters mirror that diversity. The result is an eclectic collection of perspectives and content, whereby a reader does not necessarily have to read the entire book in order or in its entirety to effectively use and benefit from it. Careful explanation of key terms, and the inclusion of user-friendly clinical resources and forms, are also key features of the book. In sum, this is a rich and interesting resource that clinicians and other professionals will surely find of great interest."

Abbie Goldberg, PhD, professor of psychology and Director, Women's & Gender Studies Program, Clark University

"As a psychotherapist and trainer, I am beyond excited that this book is now a resource for our communities. The information is clear, thoughtfully laid out, and fills a much-needed gap in the field. Case examples beautifully demonstrate the nine principles that clinicians can use to better serve erotically marginalized clients, and this is done very skilfully and grounded in an intersectional, social justice framework. I recommend it to anyone who works with clients on topics related to gender and sexuality. Well done!"

Sand Chang, PhD, licenced psychologist and author of A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care

"Most sex therapy books focus on treatment of all the 'normal' clients, leaving a chapter or two, almost as an afterthought, near the end of for those 'other' folk. This book is for the generalist and specialist, for every sex therapist who seeks to include and empower all clients, especially those marginalized in conventional sex therapy. The case vignettes are richly illustrative of inclusive practices at work. This book is remarkable if only for the courage of the editors and authors, all of whom introduce us to their personal identities and professional worlds."

Peggy J. Kleinplatz, PhD, professor, Faculty of Medicine and director of Sex and Couples Therapy Training, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada