In this issue: 

In the News: People are ready to have sex again: Condom sales are surging


Click here for Upcoming CE Workshops

• Gender DeTRANSition: Here to there and back again

• Sexuality and Disability

• Non-Monogamous Lifestyles

Article:  When Art and Evil Collide:  by Dr. Clark

Upcoming Certification Trainings

• Hypnotherapy and Sexuality

• Sex Offender Therapy Program

• Transgender  Certification Trainings                                                                                                                         

People are ready to have sex again: Condom sales are surging

New York (CNN Business) Condom sales have been in a slump during the pandemic as people sheltered at home and put their sex life on hold. But now, as more Americans are getting vaccinated and Covid-19 safety restrictions are loosening, condom makers are no longer having trouble getting their sales up
 

Read full article here!

Gender DeTransition: Here to There and Back Again
June 18, 2021 3 CE hours for $159
9am - 12pm EST live webinar or in person

As the world becomes better educated on Gender Dysphoria and the new terminologies emerging under a Gender Expansive Umbrella, we are coming to discover a growing trend… De-Transitioners. Is this a phenomena or is it simply regret? There can be various reasons why someone who has gone through the challenges of conforming into a new gender, which may later have them decide to revert to, what one might believe would be what nature would have intended for them. How would therapists and professionals navigate through this? Through this Workshop we will explore the possibilities of preventing detransition, navigating through a detransition, and underline the many challenges that clinicians might face when treating individuals with gender dysphoria.

REGISTER HERE!!
 

Sexuality and Disability

June 19, 2021 5 CE hours for $159
9am - 3pm EST live webinar or in person

This course will include 1) Barriers faced by teens and adults who are mentally/emotionally challenged; 2) Challenges faced by people with physical disabilities as a result of birth, accident, or military service; 3) Provide strategies and resources for helping individuals optimize their sexual

REGISTER HERE!!

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Non- Monogamous Lifestyles

Register Here!!

**Find ALL our CE workshops here!!**

When Art and Evil Collide

Thanks to the internet age and 24/7 news, we are all increasingly discovering our idols have feet of clay, to say the least. Feet of clay standing in foul muck, more like.
 
Back in the old days, Hollywood studios protected their assets – the actors – by controlling the media around them. Back in the old days, we could admire art without knowing too much about the artist. Back in the old days, we could admire or detest politicians based on their political views, not their sexual escapades. Back in the old days, ignorance was bliss.
 
Of course, there were always rumors and hushed whispers and gossip in the tabloids that no respectable person would read, but we could ignore all of that to keep our heroes bright and shining. Now, it’s a different world, and what do we do with the information ranging from disappointing to sordid to horrific?
 
In spite of our awareness that everything in the world is in shades of gray, our human brains often function in black and white. We are comfortable when our world is “ego syntonic” – the state where other people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior are in harmony with our own, especially people that we like. When people we like behave in ways that are antithetical to our own ideas of what’s right and wrong, it is “ego dystonic” and we experience acute discomfort.
 
The way to relieve that discomfort is to either label the person doing the bad behavior “bad,” and then having nothing to do with them, or we label the behavior “good” or at least acceptable and then we can continue to enjoy whatever it is we like about the person.
 
So, what do we do when someone like Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein are discovered to have committed horrendous behavior? We can’t say they are good people any more, but we also can’t minimize or ignore the incredibly harmful things they did. Truly a conundrum.
 
For some reason, we in the United States have taken this to absurd lengths, as evidenced by our politics. We have, collectively, become incapable of rational thought or discourse to explore the shades of gray that comprise all aspects of the world in which we live, including people and the things they do. Our emotional brains cannot tolerate the complexities of life today. I often tell my students that the biggest motivator of human behavior is the need to belong to the group, and so when we individuals are faced with a disturbing conundrum, we resort to going along with our group. The algorithms built into our social media ensure that we get a lot of validation from our groups and so we can safely ignore any uncomfortable information, however factual it may be, and remain ego syntonic.
 
How do we resolve this? How can we avoid choosing a side and allow good and evil to coexist?
 
I believe it is helpful to let Nature guide us. We somehow are able to find beauty in natural disasters. For instance, I bought a blown glass ornament made from the ash of the Mt. St. Helen’s volcanic eruption when I visited there several years ago. The destructive nature of that event made the ornament possible and I find great joy in it. It is also possible that that forces at work inside men like Cosby and Weinstein are also what produce their artistic genius. It is only because we see a deliberate intent on the parts of men that is lacking in nature that we find it difficult to appreciate the art unreservedly.
 
Can we enjoy and appreciate the art produced by people who behave wrongly? I believe we can if we suspend our need to be ego syntonic. We can allow many facets of experience into our lives and choose how to attend to each. We can admire the art and still hold the artist accountable for the harmful behavior. We can consider the intentions in our own actions – are we striking out because we feel helpless or do we want to hurt or punish? Are our actions achieving our intention or is there a better way?
 
We can choose where to turn our attention. I choose beauty.
 

Be in Light
Carol Clark

Hypnotherapy & Sexuality Training

CSOT - The Certified Sex Offender Therapist Program

The Certified Sex Offender Therapist (CSOT) Program will certify licensed therapists to work with adult and juvenile sexual offenders in a variety of settings. This extensive training and supervision will prepare these professionals to work with individuals with deviant sexual behaviors and to mitigate the risk to society.

Therapists will be proficient in the required areas pertaining to adult and juvenile sexual offenders.

Next class May 28 9am-3pm EST - Start anytime classes cycle around
 via live  Webinar

Transgender Certification Training

The International Transgender Certification Association (ITCA) provide’s credentialing, standards of practice, professional identity, and self-regulation for service providers of the Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming and Non-Binary Community. Therefore, this training is ideal for Clinicians, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Case Managers and those individuals who work directly with a Gender Expansive population and are looking for formal training and continuing education credits.

The purpose of ITCA is to provide a cohesive organization that credentials healthcare professionals and community providers by promoting ethical guidelines, offering training and education, and developing networking resources. Upon completion of our course, you will receive documentation to certify that you are a Transgender Care Therapist/Professional (TCT/TCP) and be awarded CEU’s for your participation.

Check out our latest YouTube  video. Dr. Clark talks about how a cis-gender therapist can counsel transgender clients.