Routledge Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients: Nine Principles of Clinical Support

Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients: Nine Principles of Clinical Support provides a clinical guide to relational sex therapy with individuals, partnerships, polyships, and alternative family structures where one or more of the clients are erotically marginalized. This term refers to people who are at risk of being pathologized and oppressed both outside and inside the clinical setting due to their gender identities, sexual orientations, or sexual practices. The book outlines nine principles for therapeutic practice which meet the needs of erotically marginalized clients, whose forms of sexuality and desire are rarely spoken about and for whom there is a dearth of language in therapeutic contexts. Each principle concludes with a series of ‘key points’ and then followed by illustrative clinical case studies, contributed by sex therapists and clinicians who self-identify as erotically marginalized and who also work with erotically marginalized clients. The book also provides a full glossary, ‘Defining Erotically Marginalized Identities’. The authors and case contributors use a radical and affirming lens to examine erotically marginalized identities that are often neglected. The book bridges gaps between the past, present, and future in the field of sex therapy and greatly expands the diversity of experiences and identities within the field, particularly the experience of multiple oppressions. The book marks a valuable contribution not only to sex therapists but to the wider clinical and therapeutic community. Review "This is a game-changing book for sex therapists and other practitioners working across gender, sex, and relationship diversity. It provides a clear framework for working affirmatively with erotically marginalized clients, illustrated by a powerful range of case contributions which highlight the impact of intersecting oppressions and the diversity of client experiences. Principles are helpfully divided into sections focusing on foundations, practice, and systems, which help the reader to explore how they might work ethically and with integrity, for example by naming systemic oppressions, by challenging binary thinking, by emphasizing clients' own narratives, and by practising active allyship within wider communities. An essential addition to any practitioner's reading list. Highly recommended." Meg-John Barker, PhD, author of Queer: A Graphic History, Life Isn't Binary, Mindfulness in Sex and Relationship Therapy, and the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy resource on gender, sexual, and relationship diversity. "This is a clinically sophisticated yet highly accessible text. This book explores, in an engaging and in-depth manner, the experiences of and therapeutic principles for working with erotically marginalized clients. A unique and indispensable component of the text is the use of powerful and detailed clinical vignettes, which not only describe clients but also illuminate the therapists’ own process. Practical advice is provided throughout the book―yet this advice is far from a set of simplified steps of ‘what to do.’ Rather, the authors engage the reader in the gritty realness of working as real people with real clients, and their advice is informed by and reflects that realness, in all its messy and complex glory. The contributors are diverse in their intersectional identities and personal and professional experiences, and the style and content of the chapters mirror that diversity. The result is an eclectic collection of perspectives and content, whereby a reader does not necessarily have to read the entire book in order or in its entirety to effectively use and benefit from it. Careful explanation of key terms, and the inclusion of user-friendly clinical resources and forms, are also key features of the book. In sum, this is a rich and interesting resource that clinicians and other professionals will surely find of great interest." Abbie Goldberg,