Sexuality

Through the years that I’ve maintained my counseling practice, my interests have included human sexuality and all of its various dimensions. Many people have written to me seeking advice and support around issues and questions about their sexuality. I promise to give my compassionate assistance  for whatever you wish to discuss frankly and honestly with me.

In my experience, I have learned that every person has a unique ‘sexual signature’: The way you experience and express sexuality is seldom the same as anyone else.

You deserve to have the freedom to explore your own personal sexual signature free from guilt and shame.

On this page, I introduce you to several resources that I have found to be highly instructive and empowering. Take your time with these resources, keep a log or journal of your discoveries and insights. Be loving and kind to yourself, trust your instincts, allow yourself the opportunity to explore issues that may need compassionate support and self-acceptance.

Looking for something you can’t find here? Write to me!

Contents of this Page Include: 

• References on Sex-Positivity and Empowerment
• Recommended Sexuality References for Personal Discovery
• Sexual Orientation/LGBTQ and Gender Identity Resources
• Sexual Health and Dysfuntion Research

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Here are some references on sex-positivity and empowerment that I recommend:

• {NEW} Mental Health and Sexuality, by Dr. Ari Tuckman (2019) from ErikaLust.com
• {NEW} What Does Sex-Positivity Look Like Today? We asked Five Sexperts (2018)
• {NEW} Female Masturbation: An Interview with Betty Dodson
  From the female-positive adult cinema website ErikaLust.com (2019)
• {NEW} 6 Surprising Facts about Men and Sex (2018) from OneMedical
• {NEW} Kinsey Institute ‘Sex Tech’ Study Finds Technology Facilitates Sexual and Emotional Interactions (2019), from Kinsey Institute news releases
• The Pleasure Revolution: The Sex Women Really Want
  An interview on the state of female sexuality with Sharon Walker, published November 2018 in the Guardian Observer 
• Esther Perel: Fix the Sex and Your Relationship will Transform
  An interview with sex therapist Esther Perel conducted by Miranda Sawyer, published in the September 2018 Guardian Observer
• {NEW} O.school Directory of Sex Ed Videos
  from the female-positive O.School 
• Sex Positivity: A Guide
  Sponsored by the Colorado State University Women and Gender Advocacy Center
• What does “Sex Positive” Mean?
  Sponsored by the International Society for Sexual Medicine
• What is Sex Positivity? (video)
  Educational video by Dr. Nadine Thornhill
• Trauma-Informed Sex Positivity, by Emily Nagoski 
  Nagoski is the author of the award-winning book Come as you Are: The Surprising New Science that will Transform Your Sex Life (2015), excerpted from her blog The Dirty Normal
• Female Sexual Desire: A Motivating, Empowering Approach: Dispelling the Myths, by Barry W McCarthy Ph.D., from Psychology Today
• How to Become a Sexually Empowered Woman
  By Pamela Madsen, Contributor on Women’s Sexuality Issues for the Huffington Post
• Female Sexual Empowerment, by Michael Krychman, MD, published for the site Speaking of Women’s Health
• What Women Really Want in Bed, by Amarenda Lees, from Erotic Review Magazine
• Women’s Masturbation: Experiences of Sexual Empowerment in a Primarily Sex-Positive Sample, research published by Dr. Christin Bowman in the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly

Recommended Sexuality Resources for Personal Discovery

• A favorite blog site is entitled Sex and Psychology maintained by Dr. Justin Lehmiller of the Kinsey Institute. Dr. Lehmiller is author of the 2018 book Tell Me What You Want 
• The Enduring Enigma of Female Sexual Desire, by Rachel Nuwer, sponsored by BBC News Future news magazine
• Masturbation 101: Letting Go of Guilt, by Laurie Mintz Ph.D., published in Psychology Today
• Masturbation 102: How Women Pleasure Themselves, by Laurie Mintz Ph.D., published in Psychology Today
• Seven Fascinating Facts about Sexual Fantasies, from Dr. Justin Lehmiller’s blog
• {NEW} Are Polyamorous Relationships the New Sexual Revolution? (2019), by Feminista Jones, published in Zora.Medium
• Sexless Marriages: How Common are They, and How do People Cope with Them?, from Dr. Justin Lehmiller’s blog
• Men Who Have More Sex Have a Lower Risk of Heart Attacks, from Dr. Justin Lehmiller’s blog
• Several sexuality reference sources are available from the Center for Research and Education on Gender and Sexuality at San Francisco State University
• The Huffington Post’s Guide to Sex Research
• A Comprehensive Guide to Kink: Ground Rules and Definitions, by Lioness
• 13 Things to Try if You’re New to BDSM, by Emma McGowan
• Forms of Kink: An Outline for Beginners, from Kinkly.com
• Forbidden Fantasies, by Rowan Pelling, from Erotic Review Magazine
• {NEW} The Sexual Pleasure of Erotic Dance, by Kate Orson, from Kinkly.com
• Recent Research About Millenials’ Sex Life: Are Millenials Really Having Less Sex?, by Sari Cooper (2017) from Psychology Today
• Heterosexual Women’s Anal Sex Attitudes and Motivations: A Focus Group Study (2017), by Kimberly McBride, published in The Journal of Sex Research
• {NEW} What the Sexual Fantasies of Non-Transgender People Tell us about the Dreams of Those Who are Trans, from Crossdreamers 
• Attitudes About Sexuality and Aging, from the Harvard Medical School Health Information Gateway
• 5 Key Key Ways Sex Changes for Older Men, from Psychology Today
• Sexual Healing: Graceful Guidelines, by Michael Picucci
• Inside the Erotic Mind, sponsored by the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (ERA)
• Literotica, a long-running free source of quality amateur erotic fiction
• How to Find Free Erotica Online: 10 Websites to Get Hot and Steamy Erotic Literature from Your Tango

Sexual Orientation/LGBTQ and Gender Identity Resources

• Sexual Orientation and Gender, a resource guide from Planned Parenthood
• Coming Out Resources, from the University of Southern California’s LGBT Resource Center
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Resource Guide, from the Centers for Disease Control
• About Crossing Gender Lines–Transgender, Nonbinary and Queer Issues, from Crossdreamers.com
• What is Gender Dysphoria? from the American Psychiatric Association
• LGBT Youth Resources Guide, from the Centers for Disease Control
• Guide to Gender and Sexuality Terminology, from Williams College’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
• Transgender Associations and Possible Etiology: A Literature Review (2017), by Fatima Saleem and Syed W, published in the journal Cureus
• Intersex Studies: A Systematic Review of International Health Literature (2018), by Tiffany Jones, published in Sage Open journal
• {NEW} LGBT People and Mental Health: Healing the Wounds of Prejudice, from the Here to Help Support Network of BC Canada
• Bisexuality 101, a resource guide from the Bisexual Resource Center
• Lesbian Health Guide, from WebMD
• {NEW} This is the First Lesbian Visibility Day that I’m Proud to Call Myself a Lesbian, by Jill Gutowitz (2019) from Them magazine
• {NEW} Experiences that make a Lesbian Relationship the Most Powerful Relationship You’ve Ever Had, by Mila Jones (2019), from PSILoveYou
• {NEW} We Asked a Lesbian Relationship Expert for Mistakes Most Couples Make, by Lindsay Curtis (2018), from Go Magazine
• {NEW} Bisexual Pride Primer, 2019, from the Kinsey Institute
• Understanding Bisexuality, from the American Psychological Association
• Is Polyamory a Form of Sexual Orientation?, by Elisabeth A. Sheff Ph.D, from Psychology Today
• {NEW} Sexuality in Polyamorous Relationships (2019), by Dr. Elisabeth Sheff, from Psychology Today
• The Complex Circumstances that Defined Your Gender, by Linda Geddes, sponsored by BBC News Future newsmagazine as part of its series on Sexual Revolutions series
• Answers to Your Questions about Transgender People, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression, from the American Psychological Association
• Transgender Resource Guide, from GLAAD
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Aging resources guide from the American Psychological Association
• National Resource Center on LGBT Aging
• Coming Out in the Workplace as Transgender, from the Human Rights Campaign

Sexual Health and Dysfunction Research

• Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Systematic Review of Outcomes Across Various Treatment Modalities (2019), by James M. Weinberger, et al., published in the journal Sexual Medicine Reviews
• Late-Onset Hypogonadism and Testosterone Therapy: A Summary of Guidelines from the American Urological Association and the European Association of Urology (2019, full-text), by Mikkel Fode et al., published in European Urology Focus
• Supporting Sexuality and Improving Sexual Function in Transgender Persons (2019), by Mats Holmberg, Stefan Arver & Cecilia Dhejne, published in Nature Reviews Urology
• Women’s Sexual Health and Aging (2018), by Lisa Granville MD and Janet Pregler MD, published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 
• The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Consultation on Sexual Function Among Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial (2018), by Narges Babakhani et al., published in The Journal of Caring Sciences
• Sexual Dysfunction and Male Infertility (2018), by Francesco Lotti & Mario Maggi, published in Nature Reviews: Urology
• Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH) Expert Concensus Panel Review (2017), by Irwin Goldstein, MD et al., published in Mayo Clinic Proccedings
• Aging and Sexual Health: Getting to the Problem (2017), by Ecem Kaya et al., published in the journal The Aging Male
• Treatment of Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (2017), by Barry McCarthy & Danielle M. Cohn, published in The Textbook of Clinical Sexual Medicine
• An Update on the Role of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in the Management of Hypogonadism (2016), by Geoffrey Hackett, published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Urology
• Diagnosing Sexual Dysfunction in Men and Women: Sexual History Taking and the Role of Symptom Scales and Questionnaires (2016), by Dimitris Hatzichristou, et al., published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine
• Risk Factors for Sexual Dysfunction Among Women and Men: A Consensus Statement from the Fourth International Consultation on Sexual Medicine 2015 (2016), by Marita P. McCabe, et al., published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine
• Sexual Health and Function in Later Life: A Population-Based Study of 606 Older Adults with a Partner (2015), by Vicki Wang, et al., published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
• Viewpoint: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: Inventing a Disease to Sell Low Libido (2014), by Antonie Meixel, et al., published in The Journal of Medical Ethics
• Male Hypogonadism (2013), by Dr. Shehsad Basaria, published in the journal The Lancet
• Characterization of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) in Men (2012), Leonard DeRogatis, PhD, et al., published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine 
• Body Image and Female Sexual Functioning: A Review (2012), by Liesbeth Woertman and  & Femke van den Brink, published in the Journal of Sex Research
• Sexual Desire Disorders (2008), by Keith Montgomery MD, published in the journal Psychiatry