Expressive Therapies for Sexual Issues (PDF)

Sexuality is a central part of our identity as humans, but when individuals struggle with matters of sexual identity, orientation, or expression, these issues can be embarrassing for clients to discuss-and equally hard for practitioners to feel comfortable with.

Expressive Therapies for Sexual Issues challenges social work practitioners to think outside conventional forms of treatment as well as conventional ideas about sexuality. Reflecting the diversity of sexual experience (both positive and negative), this concise clinical guide introduces readers to a range of art-based therapies suited to working with clients on their intimate concerns and helping give voice to concepts and feelings that are often difficult to name. Case examples depict a gamut of clients-a group as diverse as gender-questioning youth, abuse survivors, and sex offenders-as they strive for greater self-awareness, negotiate the sexual in their lives, and move beyond trauma, detailing practitioners' creative interventions as companions on these journeys. Contributors keep a clear focus on the delicacy of the therapeutic relationship, ethical fine lines, and the ongoing need for sensitivity and open-mindedness as they examine healing possibilities for:

• Music
• Photography
• Poetry
• Monologue and performance
• Visual art
• Movement and dance.
• Sandplay

Reader-friendly and jargon-free, Expressive Therapies for Sexual Issues breaks consequential new ground for social work professionals and counselors seeking to integrate expressive modalities, and more familiarity with sexual matters, into their practice.