April 24, 2026: Skills Training - The Ethical Use of Self in Sex Therapy

In this training, participants will move beyond knowledge acquisition and into practical and experiential learning around the ethical utilization of the Self in sex therapy clinical practice. Specifically, participants will explore self of therapist work around two subjects essential to the pursuit of ethical practice: erotic transference/countertransference and the anxiety of the therapist.

Join us via Zoom to participate in this training. Participants must attend in full to be eligible to receive CE credit for the course. This course is only available to attend live, and will not be recorded for later viewing.

Participants who are enrolled in South Shore Sexual Health Center’s Sex Therapy Training Program should email info@ssshealthcenter.com to register for this course.

Training schedule (All listed times are Eastern Standard Time):

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Erotic Transference and Countertransference in Sex Therapy and Sex Therapy Supervisory Practice

Presented by: Joseph Winn, LICSW, CST-S

Erotic transference and countertransference is often overlooked in the training of psychotherapists and clinical supervisors. However, these phenomena are very common in sex therapy and sex therapy supervision, and psychotherapy practice in general, and are often associated with unrecognized relational needs and desires, as well as disavowed relational injuries. This skill building class will provide participants with a frame for conceptualizing the process of identifying, assessing, and working effectively with the phenomena of erotic transference and countertransference within a respectful, boundaried, and ethical framework. Specific attention will be paid to differentiating between erotic transference, erotic countertransference, and character pathology associated with stalking behaviors and predation. We will also discuss the fear of being perceived as unprofessional when discovering erotic transferences in clinical practice or disclosing erotic countertransference within supervisory process.

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM: 15 minute break

10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Erotic Transference and Countertransference, continued

12:15 PM - 12:45 PM: Lunch

12:45 PM - 2:15 PM: A Guide for Sex Therapists: Navigating Your Own Anxiety Alongside Your Anxious Clients

Presented by Rachel Castleberry, LMHC, RDT/BCT, CST

Do you often find that you are tripping over your words while talking to clients? Hoping that you do not offend someone by not saying something therapeutically or skilled enough? Perhaps you worry about not having ALL of the information because you have not read all of the books recommended by the SSSHC Sex Therapy Training Program, or that ChatGPT would have had a more articulate response to a client's provocative question (if only you could have surreptitiously typed it while listening attentively). Or maybe your stomach twists, you hold your breath or brace yourself when a client brings up a specific topic- one of dread related to your own social circumstances. If you find yourself nodding or chuckling under your breath to any of these prompts, then this skills training is for you. 

The goal of this skills training session is to engage with Aponte and Kissil's Person of The Therapist Training Model not to remove the therapist's anxiety during session, but to understand how anxiety is part of being human and how being human is useful in the work with clients. The training will seek to take the inventory of the therapist's social and inner emotional experience of anxiety so that the work can be enriched through honest conversations that promote the release of shame and consequent defensive structures that come from worrying about not knowing or feeling good enough.  

2:15 PM - 2:30 PM: 15 minute break

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM:

Navigating Your Own Anxiety, continued

This 6 CE credit course meets the criteria for the following Sex Therapy Training Content Areas:

• 1 CE credits in Criteria Letter A (Theory and methods of sex-related psychotherapy, including several different models)

• 1 CE credit in Criteria Letter E (Principles of consultation, collaboration, and referral)

• 4 CE credits in Criteria Letter F (Ethical decision-making and best practice)

This program meets the requirements for the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) and is approved for 6 total CE credits. These CE credits may be applied toward AASECT Certification and renewal of certification. South Shore Sexual Health Center, LLC, Provider #15-784-S. Completion of this program does not ensure or guarantee AASECT Certification. For further information please contact ce@aasect.org.