PYI 5180 – Human Sexuality & Sex Therapy
Discuss and Address Sexuality Issues With Discretion and Confidence.
Format: Online
Duration: 16 weeks (Fall)
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Must be admitted to the Antioch Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program
By this point in the program, you’ve likely identified many of your personal biases on your journey to become an effective and ethical clinical mental health professional. The intimacy surrounding your attitudes towards sexuality, however, sometimes makes this topicmore challenging to focus on with clients. Your sexual attitudes and values are heavily influenced by the society, time period, and family in which you were raised and now live. When you take the time to break down how human sexuality and your feelings toward the subject are interrelated with social, cultural, and historical trends, this can help you to talk about sexuality more comfortably and enhance your ability to support and work with your clients more effectively.
Course Description
This course covers many different aspects of sexuality including: biological, developmental, medical, cultural, historical, and interpersonal. Students will be encouraged to use the knowledge gained in order to better understand their own feelings and attitudes related to sexuality and how those attitudes and feelings influence their beliefs about and therapeutic work with individuals, couples, and families. No previous training in sex therapy is required. Students will be invited to examine their own attitudinal framework regarding these ideas; but disclosing intimate details about one’s own sexuality is not required.
What Kind of Work Will I Complete?
Achieving a comfort level in talking about sexuality is critical to treating clients who need your help in this sensitive area. This course will help you prepare to do this with greater ease and confidence.
Sample Project: Sexual History Paper
This project provides you with direct experience in discussing personal sexual matters with another person, both as a client and as a counselor. Each student will select a partner who they are NOT close with (no spouses, family members or close friends) to conduct a sexual history interview based on the format provided in class. Each student is required to write a critique and reaction paper about the interview process —to reflect the depth of discussion during the interview, and your personal processing of the experience afterward.
Sample Course Topics
Throughout the course your studies will focus on a core set of topics that coincide with the course’s learning objectives. Sample topics are:
- Why Study Sexuality?
- History of Sexuality Counseling
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Sexual Orientation
- Sexual Behavior
- Sexual Dysfunction
What You’ll Learn
This course aims to improve your understanding and comfort level in discussing sexual history and behavior to help you effectively counsel clients. In it you’ll explore:
- An overview of sexuality: it’s history, functions, terminology, and practices
- Values, biases, and cultural issues around sexuality and practices
- Commonly occurring sexual disorders and dysfunctions
- The different types of sexuality
- Trends in sexual behavior and attitudes toward sexuality
- The variety of human sexual responses, interests, practices, and expressions
- The anatomy and physiology of human genitalia related to sexual expression
- Treatment approaches commonly used in treating sexual dysfunctions
- Research the findings and limitations in the area of sexuality counseling
- Sexuality counseling techniques within a broader therapeutic context
Special Topic Presentation
You will expand your knowledge base of sexual issues as each student creates a presentation surrounding the details of a different sexual issue from a pre-approved list. You’ll present an overall summary of your topic and facilitate a discussion to demonstrate a thorough understanding of key concepts and how these may apply to work with clients
For more information about this course, or other courses in the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch Online, please call (855) 792-1049 or request more information.