Membership Report

Tina Schermer Sellers, PhD, LMFT, CST, CSTS

As VP of Membership, one of the joys of my position is being able to see what the different Section Heads (who oversee the members in their respective states) plan and offer as free AASECT Meet & Greet trainings for the folks in their region. For those of you who may not be familiar, AASECT divides its members into regions – The Western Region, the Mid-Continental Region, the Eastern Region, and the International Region. Each Region has a Regional Representative who oversees the Section Heads who volunteer to oversee the members in their state(s). Each Section Head is invited to host at least one Meet & Greet a year. A Meet & Greet is a free one hour AASECT training on a topic worth 1CEU.  

In 2019, there are many Meet & Greet trainings that have taken place and many that are still on the books awaiting their proposed date. It is exciting to see the various topics being covered by the different states through the work of the Section Heads in each region. To give you a bit of an idea, here is some of what has been going on since our last AASECT conference in 2018.

The Western Region has been busy in the various states offering Meet & Greets. The Colorado Section of AASECT and those in and around Denver know they can count on an annual pre-planned workshop Meet & Greet schedule to be released for the coming year by their fearless leader, Neil Cannon, PhD, CST, CSTS.  Neil has been doing this for years, and there is a large gathering of sex therapists and other professionals in the community who have come to depend on this high quality training.  Since June of 2018 here are some of the trainings that have taken place or are scheduled to occur during the rest of 2019:

1. Narrative Conversations: Dismantling the Single Story of Pedophilia with Mauricio Yabar, LCSW, M.Ed., CST
2. Keeping it Clean in 2019: Protecting Your Practice with Kerry M. Broman, LCSW
3. One-Hour SAR: Getting Honest w Our Judgments, Values, and Beliefs with Jenni Skyler, PhD, CST
4. Sex and Cancer: Supporting Your Clients after Diagnosis and Treatment with Saketh Guntupalli, MD
5. Re-Envisioning Sex Therapy: How the Use of Images and Art Can Deepen your Sex Therapy Practice with Nina Hausfeld, MA.
6. Pleasure is the Measure: Expanding Your Client’s Sexual Well-Being with Emily Negoski.  A Full-Day Event w special pricing for all AASECT Members. October 7, 2019 For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pleasure-is-the-measure-expanding-your-clients-sexual-well-being-tickets-52730096137In Utah, Section Head Rich Tripp offered a Meet & Greet titled Assessment and Treatment of Sexual Pain with Jordan Rullo, PhD, ABPP, CST.   

In Washington, Section Head Fiona O’Farrell offered a workshop in Seattle titled Working with Erotically Conflicted Men with Marc Gilmartin, LMHC, CST and will be offering another Meet & Greet this spring titled Safe Words on the Subject – Understanding Alternative Sexual Practices with Sean Orpen, LMFT, CST and Ethan Schwab, PhD, CST.

Heading over to our Mid-Continental States, Kristen Lilla our Omaha Section Head has also been busy this year.  Her Meet & Greets so far have been: 

1. Spirituality and Sexuality with Kellie Willims, CST
2. Working with LGBTQIA+ Individuals with Brian Shaw
3. Teaching Youth About their Bodies in a Fun and Approachable Way with Kristen Lilla

Our Illinois, Section Head Aysa Brodsky has coordinated three Meet and Greets for those in and around Chicago.

1. Sexual Dysfunction: Physical Considerations for Patient Management with Victoria Yeisley, DPT
2. From Reproduction to Contraception: A Sexuality-Informed Approach to Adolescent Sexual Health with Sandi Tenfelde, PhD, RN, APN
3. A Historical Overview of Pleasure with Karen Washington, LMFT

In our Eastern Region, Jane Fleishman who is our Northeast Regional Rep has planned two Meet & Greets for those up in the far northeast:

1. Notes from the field: A PT’s Observation and Treatment of Pelvic Floor Impairments in Women with Patricia Young, PT, MS, DPT
2. Erotic Transference and Countertransference in Sex Therapy  with Joe Winn and Mary Ellen Meltzer

In Washington, DC, our Section Head Gail Guttman organized a rich Meet & Greet titled What Actually Happens in Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Sex Issues with a panel of four pelvic floor PTs: Jennifer Chu, Carrie Pagliano, Miriam Graham, and Patrick Wenning.

And then in the far lower South in Boca Raton, Florida, Sally Valentine has held two Meet & Greets for the folks in that region.  The titles have been:

1. Multiple Presentations of Low Desire in Men with Stanley Althof, PhD
2. Rebooting Your Relations – Knowing the Apps and Avoiding the Freezes with Marilyn Volker, EdD, CST

This gives you some idea of what has been happening through our Section Heads and Regional Reps who seek to support those in the field of sex therapy, counseling and education in their region, while also introducing the field to other professionals in their area. If you would like to present on a topic, or have an idea for a Meet & Greet Presentation, contact your Regional Representative who will put you in contact with the Section Head presiding over your state.  The Eastern Regional Rep is Jane Fleishman at jane@janefleishman.com; Mid-Continental Rep is Renee Burwell at Renee.burwell@gmail.com; Western Representative is Isa Jones at Isa@ScotsdaleSexTherapy.com and our International Rep is Matthew Yau at mksyau@gmail.com.

Also worth noting, if you have ideas for how AASECT can serve you, the organization, and/or the members in your region better, please feel free to pass those ideas along to your Regional Representatives.  I will be collecting those ideas next month as I look ahead to preparing my board report for our June board meeting. We believe strongly that the pulse our members have on what is happening ‘on the ground’ is our source of greatest wisdom and is what will propel our organization forward.

In Your Service –

Tina Schermer Sellers, PhD, LMFT, CST, CSTS