Sex Therapy Training: An Introduction
Becoming a Sex Therapist is as exciting as it is challenging. The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) certifies new therapists each year from all over the globe with innovative and inspiring ideas and perspectives. The training is rigorous, but the result is certification that is recognized and respected in both the therapy and medical fields alike.
AASECT Certification Program
The South Shore Sexual Health Center, LLC, (SSSHC) provides all of the Core Knowledge Courses and Skills Training CEU's needed to become an American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) certified Sex Therapist.
Core Knowledge Courses take place two or three Tuesdays per month, from 5:30 to 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time. The 60 credits of Skills Training Intensives occur in two separate weeklong sessions in a given year. Several single day Skills Training workshops are offered each year as well. All of the training is offered live through the virtual platform, Zoom.
We also offer group or individual supervision and the required SAR (Sexual Attitude Reassessment). Both the supervision and the SAR are not included in the cost of the program.
All of these elements combine to potentially streamline the process of certification to 18 months. Although a significant commitment, the program is designed to minimize interference with typical working hours. We have also constructed a core faculty of certified Sex Therapists and guest speakers to bring in different perspectives and voices from the field. Cultural, sexual, and disability diversity in teachers and students will be sought, and will be a core value of the training. Upon completion of the program, students will not only gain eligibility for AASECT certification, but also a strong sense of who they are as qualified and competent sex therapists.
Tuition for the year program is $5,500 and reflects a discount compared to purchasing courses individually. Courses are offered individually at $120 per class.
An initial interview is recommended, and can be scheduled by calling 781-214-0811.
What do I need to accomplish to become certified?
1. Core Knowledge: 90 CEU’s approved by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) which is the certifying body in North America.
2. Skills Training Intensives: 60 AASECT approved CEU’s in the clinical and relational aspects of Sex Therapy. Learn more
3. Sexual Attitude Reassessment or SAR: This consists of 18 hours over two days of large group activity that includes didactic and experiential discourse. Learn more
4. Clinical Work: Three hundred hours of AASECT supervised clinical practice with patients/clients who present with sexual concerns.
5. Supervision: 50 hours of direct supervision of the 300 hours of sex therapy casework.
Why Become a Sex Therapist?
There is a great demand for Sex Therapists in contemporary society. In Massachusetts, for example, a state with 6,548,000 citizens, there are less than 40 Sex Therapists. AASECT recognizes this problem, and has begun to encourage more regional training and supervision.
Why Train with SSSHC?
The South Shore Sexual Health Center, LLC (SSSHC) has two resident and certified Sex Therapists and Supervisors of Sex Therapy, and has constructed a program to make becoming a Sex Therapist a little easier. We have organized a specific series of trainings that will offer all of the components for certification. Nationally recognized guest speakers will augment this training. It will be possible in one year to obtain both the 90 Core Knowledge credits and the 60 Sex Therapy Training credits, as well as a SAR and clinical supervision. The upcoming schedule of course offerings is outlined here.
What are Skills Training Intensives?
How do we apply core knowledge? How do we do sex therapy? Skills Training Intensives take the ideas and concepts from the core knowledge courses and applies them in a practical way through direct observation, demonstration, and role play. Participants will be applying different models, theories, and methods of sex-related psychotherapy to both their own clinical sex therapy cases, and to case examples produced by the training staff. There will be an emphasis on ethical decision making, and an understanding of the varied cultural underpinnings in the work of a Sex Therapist.
Theories and methods of approach to both medical interventions, and sex and intimacy problems, will be learned through practice with sex therapy cases that encompass skills in diagnosis and assessment. Each Skills Training Intensive consists of one week-long (30 hour) program, and each year, two Skills Training Intensives will be offered. Completing these two weeks will fulfill AASECT requirements for practical application of theory, and prepare therapists to be confident and effective Sex Therapists.
