March 5-6, 2010. Understanding and Treating Sexual Addictions. 1-Hour Program. Annual Treating The Addictions Conference: Harvard Medical School.  Boston, MA.

Program Hosted by Harvard Medical School: This 3-hour workshop was designed to introduce participants to various models of problematic sexual behavior, e.g., the addiction, impulsive / compulsive, and social control and medicalization perspectives. Participants were introduced to the controversy surrounding this phenomenon, as well as the research related to etiology, normophilic and paraphilic presentation, and co-morbidity. Participants were invited to explore how their own values, and attitudes, could result in the over-diagnosis, and under-diagnosis, of sexually compulsive behavior.  Participants were provided with an original assessment framework, developed by this reporter, to begin thinking about problematic and non-problematic sexual behavior from multiple perspectives.

April 29, 2010. Everything you ever wanted to know about sex – but were never taught: 2 Hour Program.  Middlesex Community College: School of Nursing. Lowell, MA.

This program was designed to assist student nurses, and teaching faculty, to recognize sexuality as a core, and often ignored, component of health assessment in primary practice, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities. Specific areas of instruction included challenging discomfort, and assumptions, that interfere with taking a sexual history.  Models such as, PLISSIT and BETTER, were presented to assist participants in discussing sexuality with their patients.  The importance of viewing sexual dysfunction as an indicator of over health and physiological compromise, e.g., cardio-vascular, neurological, and other disease processes, was emphasized. The impact of spinal cord injury, breast, cervical, and prostate cancers, surgery, and other disease entities, on ones perception of self and   sexual health, was discussed throughout the presentation.  Course addressed the importance of understanding sexuality across the lifespan, addressing the sexual, and psychosocial, needs of LGBTI populations, and working respectfully with sexually diverse practices.

June 30, 2010. Understanding and Treating Sexual Compulsivity. 3-Hour Program Boston College School of Social Work Continuing Education Workshop, Boston, MA.

This workshop was designed to introduce participants to various models of problematic sexual behavior, e.g., the addiction, impulsive / compulsive, and social control and medicalization perspectives. Participants were introduced to the controversy surrounding this phenomenon, as well as the research related to etiology, normophilic and paraphilic presentation, and co-morbidity. Participants were invited to explore how their own values, and attitudes, could result in the over-diagnosis, and under-diagnosis, of sexually compulsive behavior.  Participants were provided with an original assessment framework, developed by this reporter, to begin thinking about problematic and non-problematic sexual behavior from multiple perspectives.

September 22, 2010. How, when, and why to take a Sexual History.

Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.  4:00pm-6:45PM

Clinical social workers are taught a variety of assessment and intervention strategies to assist individuals, couples, and families seeking professional services. However, barring assessment for sexual abuse, social workers are taught virtually nothing about the “how, why, and when” of speaking with their clients about sexual concerns and practices. This workshop will invite participants to explore personal, and institutional barriers that inhibit the discussion of the clients’ sexual issues. Clinicians will be provided with several models for organizing a respectful conversation about the various domains of sexual experience, and be provided with a biopsychosocial justification for why it is imperative to talk about sexual histories, behaviors, and practices, with their clients. Clinicians will also be invited to develop skills at discussing sexuality and sexual behaviors regarding adolescents, adults, and geriatric populations across the spectrums of sexuality, gender, and orientation. Every effort will be made to ensure that this workshop is inviting, informative, and a safe place to learn about this often ignored aspect of clinical practice.

October 19, 26, November 2, 2010. Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Sexual Compulsivity: Effective Assessment & Treatment

Joseph Winn, MSW, LICSW co-presentation with Gina Ogden, PhD, LMFT            

6 hour course: Sexual compulsivity is a controversial and hotly debated topic that is frequently referred to as addiction, impulsive / compulsive sexual behavior, hypersexuality, and paraphilias—all of which may resist the best efforts of skilled clinicians. In this 3-session training, we identify terms, outline major clinical models, and provide step-by-step suggestions for effective assessment and treatment of a wide range of personal problems and relational impasses associated with sexual compulsivity.  We explore differential diagnoses, systemic issues, medical conditions, and pharmacological agents that may actually trigger sexual compulsivity.  We also explore emotional and spiritual implications for clients, along with our own attitudes about what constitutes “normative” sexual behavior.  Part of each session is interactive, with encouragement for participants to offer cases for creative group supervision. 

October 19: Sexual Compulsivity: What Is it and How Can We Help Our Clients?

Masturbation, affairs, cybersex, BDSM, polyamory, coercion, prostitution, use of sex toys and pornography—which of these qualify as sexually compulsive behavior, and why? How do stereotypes related to gender roles and sexual orientation impact the perception of sexually compulsive behavior? What are the findings of brain research? In this opening session, we investigate these and other issues, arrive at operational definitions, and sift through the growing glut of information that may lead even seasoned clinicians to feel confused about helpful approaches to diagnosis and treatment.

October 26: Models of Treating Sexual Compulsivity, from 12-Step Groups to Medicalization

An introduction to the major approaches to sexual compulsivity: the Addiction model, the Impulsive / Compulsive Sexual Behavior model, and the Social Control / Medicalization models—all of which present a continuum of treatment modalities. We examine each of these models along with their practical applications to specific cases brought by participants.

November 2: Practice: Assessing and Treating Difficult Cases

The nuts and bolts of biopsychosocial evaluation, risk assessment, history-taking to determine motives and consequences, and strategies for motivating clients and their partners to pursue positive change. We investigate clinical nuances of treatment, including when to intervene, when to back off, and when to refer. We consider boundary issues such as transference and countertransference and their effects on both clients and clinicians.

November 13, 2009. Clinical Practice with Gender Variant Populations. 6-Hour Program.  The Psychological Centers, Inc. Providence, RI.

This workshop was designed to assist participants in developing basic clinical skills in understanding and working respectfully, and effectively, with gender variant individuals, their significant others, and family systems. Participants were introduced to cross cultural perspectives on gender formation and identity, intersex conditions, cross-dressing behaviors, and MtF and FtM transexuality, in children, adolescents and adults. Medical and psychosocial intervention strategies of intervention were discussed as well as socioeconomic realities that interfere with accessing appropriate mental health and medical care. Issues related to violence, sex work, and social stigma, were explored, as was the role of internalized transphobia and substance abuse among gender variant populations. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care will be reviewed and current controversies surrounding the DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder was discussed.

September/October 2006. Clinical Practice with Multi-Stressed Families. 14-Hour Program.  Health and Education Services. Lowell, MA. and Salem, MA.

This multi week workshop, co-developed with James Mahfuz MSW, LICSW, was designed to instruct clinicians on the use of various family system models of assessment, treatment formulation, and intervention, with high risk, multi-stressed families. Specialty topics included substance abuse and domestic violence issues, severe and persistent mental illness, and issues related to the needs of GLBT children and parents. Other topics included collaborative relationship building with collaterals and working interdepartmentally with various state agencies.

February 2000 / January 2001. Simmons School of Social Work. 14-Hour Program. Simmons College School of Social Work. Boston, MA.

Developed and taught course 425-01 Family Centered Clinical Social Work. Taught second year graduate students family systems therapy and intervention techniques. Specific topics include domestic violence, substance abuse and collateral relationship building. Course also addressed working with family structures of varying class, culture and sexual orientations.

September 2000. Simmons School of Social Work.  14-Hour Program. Simmons College School of Social Work. Boston, MA.

Developed and taught course 479-01 Community and Home Based Work with Families. Focused on working in home-based settings and developing collaborative approaches to engage collateral providers. Topics included domestic violence, substance abuse, chronic mental illness, and engaging the family as a resource in the change process.