Episodes
Thursday Jan 25, 2018
Therapy for Sexual Trauma and PTSD, Women's Issues, Guest Megan Garza
Thursday Jan 25, 2018
Thursday Jan 25, 2018
Every time I speak with someone that helps people recover from physical or sexual trauma, I am in awe. I ask them all the same question; How do you do it? How do you hear stories of abuse every day and still find a way to drive home and live a normal life? The answer is always something about self-care, but I have a feeling it’s also something about what kind of person they are. They are the kind of person that dedicates a big part of their life to helping people that need it the most. Something in them is able to hear those stories and still find a way to not break down, to not become disillusioned with humanity, and to not become cynical.
Therapists throw around a term called compassion fatigue. It’s when a therapist hears the same stories over and over again and it does get to them. They are very empathetic people, and when their empathy has been bombarded with trauma after trauma, their brain has one solution to solve this problem: Apathy. They become apathetic, meaning they give zero forks about anyone or any problem that other people may have. It’s not because they don’t care. It’s because they cared too much and have been overwhelmed by their work.
I have to assume that therapists that work with trauma victims have to be at a higher risk for compassion fatigue. Something drives them to this work. I have to assume trauma specialists simply have a lot of love to share and so they decided to find the people that needed it the most.
Our guest this week, Megan Garza, is a trauma specialist that works with the YWCA. Apparently, their organization offers free counseling to those that need it the most. These are some amazing people. I hope you enjoy the episode.
About our Guest
Megan Garza is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Specialty
Trauma Care Supervisor with experience working in the mental health and violence
against women field since 1999. She is a graduate of Pepperdine University with a
Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy and University
of Missouri St. Louis with a 2 nd Master’s degree in Psychology. She works as an
individual and group therapist treating sexual trauma survivors as the Lead Therapist
for the YWCA Women’s Resource Center. Megan also works for Behavioral Health
Response as a Mobile Outreach Crisis Counselor performing suicide and homicide crisis
assessments, providing stabilization support in the community, and facilitating
inpatient psychiatric hospitalization admission, when necessary. She is on the Board of
directors of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan
(NPEIV) and serves as co-chair of the Practice committee working on policies and
research related to Trauma Informed Care. Megan is an American Association of
Marriage and Family Therapist’s (AAMFT) Board Approved Clinical Supervisor an active
member of the St. Louis chapter of Marriage and Family Therapists. Megan has spoken
at National conferences on sexual trauma and PTSD and has published research in the
area of sexual trauma, weight, and sexual behaviors. Her specialty areas include:
sexual trauma, PTSD, women’s issues, crisis intervention, and children & adolescents.
She is an outspoken advocate for the Endometriosis community. Megan is a long time
active volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Humane Society of Missouri. She
is an avid traveler and has been to 1/7th of the globe.
About Us:
Angela Skurtu is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an AASECT certified sex therapist. She is a published author, with her second book releasing in February.
About Sex now livestreams episodes on Facebook a week before the podcast episodes come out. // Visit us at: www.aboutsexpodcast.com // Get marriage therapy and sex therapy in the St Louis area with Angela Skurtu LMFT M.Ed., a Licensed Marriage and Sex therapist at: www.therapistinstlouis.com
Also, we have facebooks and twitters and all that stuff, but if you read this far i seriously doubt you have time to read any more.
Facebook: Angela Skurtu LMFT, M. Ed, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist // Joshua Skurtu
Monday Dec 18, 2017
Monday Dec 18, 2017
Sex Addiction isn't real. Sex is real. Porn is real. Some other words that are real include diversity, fetus, vulnerable, science-based, evidence-based, entitlement, and transgender. Yes, transgendered people are real. This week it seems the Trump administration decided that these seven words don’t exist and should not be used by the CDC. Whether or not this ban is real, political leaders have been doing this as long as we have had scientific research.
Misinformation about reality, or the censoring of reality, can be harmful. Myths about sex can make it difficult for people to feel normal in their sexuality. If they are told that their biological urges are sinful or weird, they can feel a split between sex and themselves. They can see sex as something outside the normal human experience or even outside of their own control. If we as humans label something as uncontrollable, then we may fail to even try to have control over it.
Sex addiction is not a real addiction listed in the most recent edition of the DSM, the bible of mental health diagnosis. These individual’s struggles are a failure of logic brought on by shameful views of their own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. People who self-label as sex addicts have the same amount of sex as people who do not. People who claim to have this addiction feel the need to hold themselves to a standard beyond the normal human condition. They feel amorous, they feel love, they feel horny, and yet they deny these feelings and push them down to hide and deny their own sexuality. They not only feel uncomfortable just talking about sex in a social setting, but can sometimes feel uncomfortable even discussing these topics with their sexual partners. They can literally be having sex with their partner and feel super uncomfortable just discussing birth control and condom usage.
Our guest today is clinical psychologist Dr. David J. Ley, Ph.D. and the author of the books Ethical Porn for Dicks: A Man’s Guide to Responsible Viewing Pleasure, The Myth of Sex Addiction and Insatiable Wives. I also just found out he has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. What the hell? That's awesome. To me, he sounds like the Jason Bourne of the clinical psychology world, saving people from myths and misinformation about sex and relationships. Our discussion with him covers the myths of sex addiction, porn, the CDC’s list of banned words, and so much more.
David J. Ley PhD (@DrDavidLey) on Twitter
About Us:
Angela Skurtu is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an AASECT certified sex therapist. She is a published author, with her second book releasing in February.
About Sex now livestreams episodes on Facebook a week before the podcast episodes come out. Check us out at our new YouTube Channel. // Visit us at: www.aboutsexpodcast.com // Get marriage therapy and sex therapy in the St Louis area with Angela Skurtu LMFT M.Ed., a Licensed Marriage and Sex therapist at: www.therapistinstlouis.com
Also, we have facebooks and twitters and all that stuff, but if you read this far i seriously doubt you have time to read any more.
Facebook: Angela Skurtu LMFT, M. Ed, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist // Joshua Skurtu
Sunday Oct 01, 2017
Sunday Oct 01, 2017
Sex feels great. Your body hums with energy, your mind reels with pleasure, and you feel bliss in its purest form. But what if it hurts? You probably won't be as excited to get back in the ring if you know it will only lead to pain. Many women suffer from pain during intercourse, known as Dyspareunia, and this can make women avoid, reduce the frequency, or outright stop having sex. Luckily, there are people that can help. Some physical therapists help you get your shoulder back in working order. Our guest in this episode works with women to revitalize their sex life by reducing pain with exercises and other therapies.
About our guest:
Dr. Brooke Kalisiak PT, DPT, WCS Legacy Physical Therapy
Brooke Kalisiak is the owner of of Legacy Physical Therapy LLC. She is a board
certified women's health physical therapist with a passion for treating pelvic issues such
as pelvic pain, bladder leakage, painful intercourse, and bowel dysfunction. She created
Legacy Physical Therapy to provide compassionate care and hope for women and men
with pelvic issue. She has a Doctorate of Physical Therapy and a Master of Science in
Physical Therapy from Washington University in Saint Louis. She completed her
undergraduate degree at Princeton University in New Jersey, where she also played
NCAA Division I basketball. Besides treating patients, Brooke also enjoys mentoring the
next generation of physical therapy students at Washington University. When not
working she enjoys spending time with her husband and 11 year old son hiking, bike
riding, or doing taekwondo.
Website URL
www.legacytherapystl.com
Blog URL
www.legacytherapystl.com/blog
Facebook URL
www.facebook.com/legacyphysicaltherapystl
We are now livestreaming episodes on youtube a week before the podcast episodes come out. If you just can't wait to listen, check us out at our new YouTube Channel.
Visit us at: www.aboutsexpodcast.com
Get marriage therapy and sex therapy in the St Louis area with Angela Skurtu LMFT M.Ed, a Licensed Marriage and Sex therapist. You can talk to her about sex or other therapy needs at: www.therapistinstlouis.com
Also, we have facebooks and twitters and all that stuff, but if you read this far i seriously doubt you have time to read any more.
Facebook:
Angela Skurtu LMFT, M. Ed, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Sex Surrogacy with Special Guest Kendra Holliday
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Sexual dysfunction can be very deflating. Or is it defeating? I think both work. Either way, disabilities or dysfunctions that negatively affect your sex life can be difficult to live with. Some people are able to work with their doctors or work with talk therapists to solve these problems. Others need more a more "hands on" approach. That's where sexual surrogates like Kendra Holliday can help.
For someone not in a relationship, someone without a sexual partner, having a sexual dysfunction means any time they try to date or begin a relationship they might feel like they have an asterisk attached to their sex lives. Not only do these individuals have to deal with the dysfunction itself, but they also have to deal with any shame or other "feelings" humans have when it comes to sex. It's hard enough to find a mate without an asterisk.**
Sexual surrogates give these individuals an outlet to work through, manage, or even cure what ails them, asterisks be damned! Surrogates like Kendra Holliday create a safe space for these people to heal. A place free of shame, judgement, and one that fosters positive views on human sexuality.
About our Guests:
In this episode we speak with Kendra Holliday, a sexual surrogate and her partner Matthew. Kendra describes herself as a passionate bisexual sexplorer when it comes to kinks, fetishes, BDSM, swinging, sex work, and polyamory. She is also a mother, daughter, sister, friend and volunteer.
Kendra is a 44 year old woman located in St. Louis, MO and is the Editor of The Beautiful Kind, her personal blog. She is also co-founder of Sex Positive St. Louis. She has a professional consulting site Be Open and Honest, where she offers sex and relationship advice and sex surrogacy services (talking and hands on intimacy).
Her life experiences include monogamous marriage, divorce, sex work, parenthood, as well as being fired and sued for her sexuality. A nudist and sex-positive activist, she is in a polyamorous BDSM relationship with her long-term partner, Matthew.
Episode 40
Visit us at: www.aboutsexpodcast.com
Get marriage therapy and sex therapy in the St Louis area with Angela Skurtu LMFT M.Ed, a Licensed Marriage and Sex therapist. You can talk to her about sex or other therapy needs at: www.therapistinstlouis.com
**Josh's note: Josh wishes no ill feelings toward any asterisks or other punctuation marks, but he is still not on speaking terms with the ampersand.
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
How can I love thee? Let me count the ways... Three? Is that all? I probably need to do better than that. Let me see, there is poking, rubbing, spitting. That's love, right?
Luckily, I'm married to a sex therapist. I'm sure she can help. This week we talk about being married to a sex therapist and we also cover how sex therapists can help us talk about sex.
About our Guest:
Monica Houttuin, LCSW, CST at Counseling Rediscovering Connections
Monica is a Couples and Intimacy Specialist, Certified Sex Therapist and Educator.
She works in private practice in Union Missouri and specializes working with couples struggling with issues of sex and intimacy. Her area of expertise is reviving sexual injury from affairs and helping couples make adaptations to their sexual connections as a results of chronic illness or just the regular effects of long term relationships and living a long life together.
Monica earned her Master's Degree From Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri with an emphasis on Family Therapy and Mental Health. Upon completion of that degree, she earned a Certificate in Sex Therapy from the University of Michigan. Combining those credentials with many years of experience intense Clinical Supervision, she earned her certification as a sex therapist through the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). She has pursued advanced training in research proven effective methods to treating couples such approaches for couples therapy, including Crucible™ Couples Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) and Gottmann Methods.
Find her at:
https://jumpstartyourhearts.com
www.facebook.com/CounselingWithMonica/
Episode 38
Visit us at: www.aboutsexpodcast.com
Get marriage therapy and sex therapy in the St Louis area with Angela Skurtu LMFT M.Ed, a Licensed Marriage and Sex therapist. You can talk to her about sex or other therapy needs at: www.therapistinstlouis.com
References:
https://www.omgyes.com/en/how-it-works#/pricing
Sunday Jun 11, 2017
Sunday Jun 11, 2017
Sex can be amazing, like a beautiful ballet, graceful and in perfect synchronicity.
Sex can be passionate, like a sensual tango of pushing and pulling, holding roses in your teeth while throwing your partner across the room (in a loving way).
Sex can also become a chore, like tap dancing, or like walking the dog or taking out the garbage, if the conditions are just right.
But the good news is that it's normal. Relationships go through different phases and outside factors and stressors can affect your relationship and sex life. You need to understand the dance to know when you or your partner are pulling away; that way you know when to embrace them even closer. Find out more in this week's episode of About Sex, with Sex Therapist Angela Skurtu and her husband Josh!
Episode 35
Visit us at:
Get marriage therapy and sex therapy in the St Louis area with Angela Skurtu LMFT M.Ed at: