2.5 AASECT + 2.5 NYS CE credits available.

Join us on Saturday, April 29, 2023 from 10:00am-12:30pm EST on Zoom! ICP’s Sex Therapy Program (STP) will be joined by Leyla Gulcur, PhD and Arva Bensaheb, PhD, who will present their chapters from “An Intersectional Approach to Sex Therapy: Centering the Lives of Indigenous, Racialized, and People of Color” (Routledge).

In the morning, Dr. Gulcur will explore the impact of narratives surrounding honor and virginity on the sexual lives of women from the Middle East who are living in the United States. This presentation will include case histories and discuss the competencies and counseling strategies that are needed in order to create effective therapeutic interventions with this population. We will then by joined by Dr. Bensaheb, who will give a case presentation that illuminates what striving for cultural competence (or as she calls it, ‘the C-Spot’) looks like in a psychotherapeutic context. This case we will allow for discussion on the looming questions surrounding the culture and competence of sex therapy as we know it. After both presentations, there will be a Q & A session.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Leyla Gulcur is a multicultural psychologist with a focus on culture, sexuality and relationships. In addition to her research and clinical practice, she has taught psychology for over two decades as an adjunct Associate Professor at New York University.  Dr. Gulcur has also worked for organizations involved in sexual health and rights worldwide, particularly in Asia and the Middle East.  She co-founded the Turkish NGO Women for Women’s Human Rights and has also headed research departments at organizations in New York City, conducting research on programs serving individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders and histories of homelessness.

Having lived or worked in over 25 countries spanning the Middle East, South Asia, North America and Europe, Dr. Gulcur is multilingual and works with people who are often bicultural, multicultural, or expats. She is allied with LGBTQIA+ individuals and those in the poly, kink and open relationship communities.

Arva Bensaheb, Ph.D is a clinical psychologist who earned her graduate degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She currently has a private practice in NYC where she sees individuals and couples who present with relationship difficulties and sexual concerns. She is an active member and continuing education officer of SSTAR. Her practice and approach to psychotherapy are informed by theories and models well known in the field such as CBT, ACT, EFT and Existential therapy. In addition, she is also influenced by her life training having lived in Indian and the Middle East where the culture is at once rich, expressive and diverse in language, colors, food, and spices; yet extremely conservative and traditional in terms of gender roles and expressions of sexuality. She is an East Indian by culture, Islamic by religion, psychotherapist who specializes in sex therapy by profession. She is no stranger to dealing with cities of contrast and her presentation is based a book chapter she authored called – “Cooking Therapeutic Recipes with an East Indian Couple: Add a pinch of convention, a dash of rebellion and stir.”

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STP’s 2022-2023 Schedule

This schedule is still being updated – if you would like to be notified when new workshops are announced, subscribe to our mailing list here.

The Sexually Well-Informed Clinician: Principles & Practices of Sex Therapy
with Ian Kerner, PhD, LMFT
10 Fridays; September 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, November 4, 18, December 2, & 9, and 16, 2022 – 9:30AM-11:30AM

Using Critical Race Theory to unpack how race and self-disclosure matters in sex therapy
with James Wadley, PhD
Wednesday, November 16, 2022 – 7:00pm-9:00pm EDT

Rethinking The Mood: Understanding Mismatched Libido in Modern Lives & Relationships
with Cyndi Darnell, MHSc, M.NT, GDip.Cou
Thursday January 5, 2023 – 7:00pm-9:00pm EDT

The Existential Importance of the Penis: A New View of the Sexuality of Men 
Daniel N. Watter, Ed.D.
Thursday, February 9, 2023 – 7:00pm-9:00pm EDT