It is estimated that 6.3 million people are being commercially sexually exploited globally at any given time based on the most recent 2021 report by the International Labour Organization and the Walk Free Foundation. Over 25% of these people are under the age of 18 and nearly 80% are women or girls….

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…

Jess was such an exciting Teach Me Sex guest and we want to send a huge thank you to them for sharing about themselves so we can continue learn more about the various ways people have sex and express themselves sexually!

Welcome to the second part of our three-part series on addressing sexuality and intimacy after spinal cord injury (SCI). Today, we’ll delve deeper into the crucial role that Occupational Therapists (OTs) play in supporting individuals with SCI in this aspect of their lives. With their expertise and unique perspective, OTs can provide invaluable guidance and interventions to empower SCI patients and promote a positive and fulfilling sexual experience. The OT can be the shining light of comfort and advocacy! OTs are perfectly situated to lead these efforts in a clinical setting both for their patients and for the interdisciplinary team. Let's continue our exploration of the strategies and approaches that OTs employ in this domain.

"Sexuality and intimacy contain so much more than the act of sexual activity. Beyond the physical mechanics of “sexual activity,” sexual and intimate occupations encompass a broad range of personally meaningful activities for building intimate partnerships, developing a sense of self, actualizing desire, and experiencing pleasure.” - Ellis & Ungco, 2023.

TLDR: Love the quote, ready to order? Read More to order the textbook.

The topic of dating and romance can be quite difficult to initiate with parents of adolescent clients, especially those with autism. However, as an occupational therapist (OT), you can help parents create a safe, calm, and judgment-free space for their teens to freely express their desires.

Working with clients on their sexual routines is one of my top 5 ways I fall in love with OT again and again - every time. It reminds me how perfectly situated Occupational Therapy Professionals are to discuss sexuality in our clinical practice. We understand the impact of routines and specifically how occupations are sequenced together to facilitate participation, satisfaction, quality of life, and in some cases a great roll in the hay!

I recently attended a webinar by Dr. Farris on Sexuality and Intimacy After Brain Injury with the Brain Injury Association of America. It was a great presentation that shed light on some important points that we as OTs should be making sure to address and incorporate into our practice.

What’s an OT to do when Valentine’s Day is approaching, the clinic is covered in hearts and cupids, you're wearing red or pink on every portion of your body, yet your client shows up and says, “I’m dreading Valentine’s Day.”

You dig a little deeper.

They say, “I’m dreading Valentine’s Day, because I know my partner will want to have sex with me and I have no desire for it.”

Ok, ok, ok, before you freeze up eyes wide open, here’s what you talk about:

I had the pleasure of speaking with Sormeh, a fellow OT and recent OTD graduate. Sormeh's identities include queer, first generational woman of color, and hard fem. She has been active in the queer community for just over a decade and was previously active in the polyamory community.

One question I often get asked is, how should I address sexuality and intimacy with teens and young adults? And I get it... it sounds like it can be an uncomfortable conversation to have! But, I'm here to tell you it doesn't need to feel that scary. There are a handful of topics that fall within our scope of practice and relate to sexuality and intimacy.

I have often thought about the lack of discussion around pleasure and conversely the prioritization of discussing sexual risk and pathology in sexual dialogues – to include academic dialogues, professional dialogues, and even familial or personal dialogues.

Trigger warning: discussion of traumatic experiences.

Trauma-informed care (TIC) practices are becoming more well-known and more widely-implemented in clinical practice. But what does this look like? And how can we as OTs provide TIC while addressing sexuality? In collaboration with OTD Student Hannah Zaininger, I recently did a deep dive into Trauma Informed Care approaches when addressing sexuality and intimacy.

This blog is guest co-written with Kala Plasterer. Kala will share a bit about herself below, but I’m delighted to bring in a mother, OT, and someone passionate about sex after baby to write about this topic. Kala and I have been working together for a while as she is a virtual assistant to The Institute. It was a no brainer to have her write about sex after baby!

If you have a brain, you have a bias. Confronting our own biases is uncomfortable, but it is our ethical responsibility as occupational therapy professionals. Considering how paramount reconciling our biases are to enhancing the therapeutic relationship and treatment efficacy, and reducing patient harm and health disparities…

If you've been following along then you know this is the last post of my three part series: The Selfies, Sexplay and Sexual Communication. This post we're talking about Sexual Communication. Whether it's with a casual partner, one with relationship potential, or long time partner helping our clients learn how to establish sexual communication in their relationship is an important part of addressing sexuality and intimacy.

As promised, I'm continuing my three part series of important topics to cover when addressing sexuality and intimacy, which brings us to Sexplay. As a part of Sexplay, I'm going to talk about dirty talk, pleasure, and sensate focus. All of these can be helpful for our clients (and let's be real - US!) to understand as potential activity demands. Below are some strategies and exercises you can share with your clients!

When it comes to helping clients with sexuality and intimacy there are several topics I find important and helpful to address: the selfies, sexplay and sexual communication. Being able to acknowledge and validate their wants and needs to their partner can be uncomfortable for our clients, especially if it's a foreign practice.

Cue, The Selfies.

Like many client populations, service members can struggle with sexuality and intimacy secondary to physical, emotional, and/or mental injury/illness. Trauma such as amputation, spinal cord injury, and PTSD (to name a few) can lead to trouble with self-esteem, genitourinary dysfunction, pain, loss of desire, testosterone deficiency, body image challenges, and more.

I often get asked by OTs how I create a private space to bring up the topic of sex. But, let’s be honest. It’s just not realistic. We’d be waiting for a long time before the opportunity of a private moment presented itself, especially in an acute care setting. Between the client's family and friends, nurses, doctors, and hospital staff you can almost guarantee there’s always someone in the room. Or think about a busy pediatric outpatient clinic with all of the families and children in the gym. Think there's always going to be privacy to ask about sexual development and concerns and questions parents may have?