Orgasm Disorders Presentation

I really liked this presentation because it was extremely organized.  The students also proved great resourcefulness.  This was exhibited when literature was presented and they looked up the anorgasmia definition.  It was also shown when the group realized in the Brody article that the authors were citing themselves.  Further, the plausibility of the article's results was evaluated because the DSM criteria was not used and that shows that the group was alert.  On the wiki page, I liked the chart of emotions people feel when they cannot reach orgasm.  I also think it was really clever to Google "women orgasm" because the most popular results that come up are ridiculous!!  I also liked the When Harry Met Sally clip because it shows that many women fake orgasms when having sex.  The important thing to point out is that it does not bother some women to not orgasm, which means they do not have a disorder (stealing this from the video on the wiki).  But, once it starts to bother a woman, it becomes a disorder.  This is my one bone to pick with the DSM.  Some people may exhibit certain behaviors that do not bother them but I still believe it is a disorder.

Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder Presentation

I thought the group who did this presentation had a large task to take on.  The topics are complicated and confusing.  I thought the presentation went in depth of each disorder and the wiki is also very in depth.  The wiki does a great job of organizing each disorder and its respective criteria, prevalence, predictors, and treatment.  It is easy to read and actually fun to scroll through.  It is nice that each section is broken up intermittently by videos and funny pictures.  It is also efficient that references were put at the end of its section so if we want to research one of the disorders, we don't have to weed through an all-encompassing reference page.  I really liked Trudel et al.'s (2001) graph of women’s thoughts regarding sex because it shows why so many women have "problems" sexually.  I also liked the "Sex Box" TV show video because it shows that sexual problems are being normalized on basic cable.  It also highlights how the media can ruin a good idea by making it raunchy and also shows how the public reacts to sex talk.  I also liked the rest of the "Treatment for Couples" section because it shows specific research studies that back up certain interventions.  It is also helpful that at the end of each section, there are lists of what assessments could be used if we ever get a client with the disorder.  Overall, I think the group did a great job researching and organizing their presentation and wiki page.  The treatment video was also effective in showing how to deal with these sorts of cases by separating the different parts of the session/s.

Sexual Healing w/ Laura Berman

I really liked this video.  Although I am skeptical of Laura Berman, I thought she did a great job of making the clients who had experienced trauma feel comfortable and normalized.  I did notice the first thing she did was get the clients' hormones and blood flow checked.  I think that if you have the resources, then why not get it out of the way and put clients at ease (or not) that it is not biological?  I do not think that Laura Berman focused on the biological aspects, as I expected.  After everyone was initially tested, she seemed to make nothing more of it and focused on having the couples step outside their comfort zones.
     Although watching the couples was comical at some points, I can see myself in two of them: the husband who wanted everything to be clean in order to feel comfortable having sex and the husband who needed to have minty-smelling breath in order to focus.  It was funny at first, and it is easy to judge them, but I realized that I have some of those hang-ups to an extent.  It's sad, really, and I am not sure if Laura Berman attended to those as much as she should have.
     The interventions seemed the most helpful to mixed-race couple (who were so cute!) -- in particular the sexual fantasy homework.  Further, Laura gave the husband in the dyad his own time to have his needs tended to in the homework where he had control over all the decisions made for their date night.  I thought all of the interventions were helpful, to be honest.  The only thing I would say was that the homeworks mostly were catered to the complainants.  This makes sense in a way, but it is not just the complainants' needs being met that will fix everything.  There are intercouple things that need to be worked out also.  Further, all of the homework involved the couples working together.  As we mentioned in class, this is by no means making the relationship worse, but individual homework may have also helped.

NPR

I can't decide if there really is a scientific discovery about FSD that researchers have not uncovered yet.  I have heard from many women from all different sources that their libido was fine for years and then all of a sudden it went away.  The same women also report that they are still attracted to their husbands.  How can this be happening to so many women?  And how are we to say that it is all due to context?  Are that many women's contexts out of whack?  I'm not so sure that women's low libido is due to context.. although I am not sure that it is due to genital malfunction.  I do like the idea of the Flibanserin changing the hormones in the brain -- I think they are on the right track.  However, because the FDA shot it down twice makes me wonder if they aren't on the right track.  So confusing!  This issue needs to be solved or be decreased in prevalence, soon!

Tiefer

After reading the whole book, I cannot decide if I agree wholeheartedly with Tiefer.  On the one hand, many symptoms and problems can be alleviated through non-prescription means.  On the other hand, if the pharmaceutical market went under, our economy would be in real trouble.  I appreciate what Tiefer is doing by keeping unsafe drugs off the market and by trying to open up the public's eyes about what sexuality is, especially to a woman.  I am really considering not using the word "normal" especially in practice because the idea is so subjective.  No one really knows what others are doing behind closed doors, in their own beds, even if the person tells you.  Most people make their sex life better than it is or exaggerate parts of it.  I appreciate the fact that reading Tiefer has made me realize that sexuality is completely subjective and that there is no "normal," but that it is all in the context.  It also seems to me that Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) should not be called a "disease," as many of the documentary guests called it.  To me, FSD is a part of life, where a woman is uninterested in sex when she is stressed out or has other things on her mind.  Thinking in an evolutionary perspective, men are "made" to be very sexual beings so they can spread their genes.  Women, on the other hand, are made to preserve their bodies.  Maybe that is why women are not aroused as often as men are.  More research needed!

Introductory Biography

Stealing Elle Fox's phrase, I am an old soul who does not like to talk about my own sexual history or experience.  Although the term "old soul" does not necessarily relate to being private, I attribute part of why I am like that to being an old soul.  I do not think I aspire to work with couples exclusively.  However, I think this class will force me to be more open with sexuality and talking about it with others, which will only be an asset to my career as an LMFT.  In addition to learning about how sexuality affects others and the world around me, this class will allow me to look at myself as a sexual being whether I like it or not.  My hope is that when I become a parent, I will not react like this when my children ask about sexuality.  I also hope that this class helps me to be open to it at all times with my children so that they can come to me when they are ready.