Clinicians can, rightfully so, feel cautions to challenge what clients admit as cultural messages. For example, "I grew up in a Catholic home and still view sex as 'dirty' and 'sinful,' and I’m having a hard time enjoying it,” or “My culture values young women, and women over 40 aren’t considered attractive anymore…

After the June 2022 Supreme Court decision “Dobb’s v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization” Alyson Stover, AOTA President, and Micheal Urban, the RA Speaker, requested a Post-Dobbs Task Force to identify the impact of the ruling on OT clients and OT practitioners. The task force, chaired by Emily Rothman and Rakhi Srivastava, identified areas within OTs scope of practice that are directly impacted by the Dobbs decision and generated a plan to address these areas and maximize OTs impact on those affected by the decision.

The history of how society has molded perceptions of women is a multifaceted narrative that has endured for centuries, influenced by cultural, regional, and media representations. Women have often found themselves defined by preconceived notions imposed upon them by others, commonly men. Within this context, different groups of women have experienced a spectrum of stereotypes, ranging from asexualization to sexualization, hypersexualization, and fetishization.

Occupational therapy professionals will work with clients who may hire sex workers or who would benefit from working with a sex worker.

Here are 5 things OTs need to know to be prepared to address sex work with clients and to advocate for destigmatizing sex work:

Before you read on, here's a self-assessment to stoke self reflection.

Take a look at Victoria's Secret's website and Rihanna’s SavagexFenty website. Ask yourself: “if my sex and intimacy occupational therapy practice was either Victoria’s Secret or SavagexFenty, which one would it be?”

I speak often about the importance of self-reflection and processing of our sexual values, beliefs, attitudes, and biases to ensure they aren’t influential in our clinical decision making. As painful or uncomfortable as it might be, I encourage all OT professionals, if you haven’t already, to really sit with the personal thoughts and feelings that come up in self-reflection about what this means for you as a sexual person