The New Generation of Sexual Health

The Institute for Sexual Health is unique in being one of the only sexual health clinics that provides psychological treatment for the vast spectrum of sexuality concerns. The field of sexual health is often compartmentalized, meaning that professionals often specialize in just one sub-area of sexual health. For example, the certified sex addiction therapist often has little training in the treatment of parpahilias, fetishes, sexual identity development or the treatment of sexual offenders. Sex offender specialists often have little exposure to sexual dysfunctions and traditional sex therapy. In turn, most traditional sex therapists have little training in the sexual addiction model. This professional fragmentation limits the work and limits the quality of services that people deserve and require when it comes to sexual health concerns.

ISH is the “new generation of sexual health” in that we aim to shift the field towards integration - due to the need for knowledge and training across areas of specialty. The Institute aims to establish expertise and services that are based in a foundational understanding of the complexities of human sexuality.

The New Generation of Sex Addiction and Compulsivity Treatment

We are not only specialists in “sex addiction” but also specialists in human sexuality. Thus, we are the only sex addiction-compulsivity program informed with knowledge and expertise in both. At ISH, we recognize the need to understand the sexual complexities of compulsivity problems, particularly with the advent of the Internet and the cultural exposure to new and wide-ranging forms of sexual content, arousal and expression. Simply treating everything as an “acting out behavior” without a nuanced and complex understanding of sexual development and expression leaves clients limited in their search for sexual health.

We are “new school” because our program content, clinical interventions and research initiatives push the boundaries and challenge many of the “old school” paradigms that exist in the sex addiction and compulsivity field. For example, our sex addiction-compulsivity program is one of the only programs that has recognized, conducted research and developed clinical interventions related to sex addiction-induced trauma among the partner or spouse of the sex addict. This creates a critical paradigm shift that significantly changes the treatment the addict, the partner and the couple impacted by sex addiction and compulsive sexual behavior.

 

The Future of Sexual Health

ISH aims to stay abreast of the contemporary changes in our culture and in the fields of sexuality and sexual health. We recognize the significant paradigm shifts in sexual and gender identity, the intersection of Internet-technology and the sexuality, and trends towards the integration of knowledge. We aim to foster movement away from shame, anxiety, inequality and persecution and strongly emphasize sexual health as a process towards awareness, integrity, intimacy and integration.