AASECT Certified Educator Spotlight - Christine DesLauriers, RNC, CSE
AASECT Certified Educator, Christine DesLauriers, RNC, CSE, answers a few questions for the Certified Educator Spotlight:
1. Can you give me a quick rundown of what keeps you busiest these days?
My days are kept busy working full-time and trying to be the best mom I can be to my two kids. I can only do this with the help of my incredibly supportive husband who I always try to keep on my priority list.
2. Why was it important to you to become AASECT Certified?
To gain credibility through an organized pathway of education and supervision. I continue to meet many AASECT therapist, counselors and educators that helped mentor and give me a great network to advise from.
3. How do you think being AASECT Certified will benefit your work?
I’m hoping to start laying down the ground work for my own business. In addition to all my main areas of interest, obtaining my AASECT certification required me to dive into areas I might not have done on my own. This has given me awareness and a basic understanding and knowledge to ensure patients never reach a dead end. One of the things I’ve strived so hard to do in our military hospital is to educate providers that sexual health and intimacy concerns should always be addressed or referred to qualified sexual health services.
4. What are your main areas of interest within the field? What would you consider your special niche?
Helping our Wounded Warriors and their families has always been my passion. The challenges our military have due to multiple deployments and injuries influence their self-esteem and ability to have satisfying sexual health and intimacy. Empowerment through education and support can allow our Wounded Warriors to start accepting their new body images and working towards reconnecting or establishing new relationships.
5. What has been the most exciting project you've worked on, and why?
My most exciting project has been creating a sexual health curriculum at Walter Reed’s Uniformed Health Services. This will be my third-year presenting. This is exciting because for the past three years all our military physicians receive this curriculum. This awareness impresses upon them the importance of our patient’s sexual health and how it influences both their physical and mental well-being.
6. What is the most challenging issue you face in your career, and why?
At this point my most frustrating battle has been to establish a full-time position as a sexual educator in our military institution. After 5 years of working with our Sexual Health and Intimacy group (SHI) we have not been successful in making this a reality. I have decided to start offering educational services to both providers and patients privately and I’m currently working on making that a reality. My main goal is to ensure our military’s sexual health and intimacy concerns don’t become forgotten.
7. What do you wish you knew when you were starting out in this field that you know now?
How hard you must fight and how challenging it is to overcome the stigma of what comes with being able to discuss sexual health and intimacy.
8. Is there anything additional you would like to share with AASECT members?
To never give up! I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “we can’t at this time” or “we wish we could help”. I refuse to give up and believe in the value of advocating for our military patients and their sexual health and intimacy.
