The Principles of Pleasure

There are tremendous benefits to discussing the subject of sexual and emotional pleasure with clients, and this book addresses the challenges and misconceptions of doing just that. Laura Rademacher and Lindsey Hoskins teach the skills necessary for mental health professionals and sex educators to build competence in this work with their clients. Readers get techniques to implement in therapeutic, clinical, and educational settings, and learn how to examine pleasure in ways that are currently lacking from academic work on sexual health. This book covers skills for working with populations of all orientations and gender expressions. Language and phrasing for addressing pleasure issues in a wide variety of educational or therapeutic settings is also provided. Information about sexual lubrication and sex toys that is rarely taught in professional training programs is included, as well as how to appropriately incorporate information about these important sexual tools into your work. Issues such as abstinence, sexual orientation, couple therapy, and sexual education will be discussed outside of the standard medical model of sex therapy. The Principles of Pleasure will help you feel relaxed and confident while moving clients and students closer to their pleasure goals, and provides the evidence to back up the importance of talking and teaching about pleasure, should you need to justify this work.

Laura Rademacher, MA, LMFT, CST, has more than 12 years of experience working with pleasure issues in professional settings. While currently working as a Certified Sex Therapist in Minnesota, she also teaches and provides trainings nationally. Her workshop with Lindsey Hoskins, Teaching Pleasure: Best Practices, was awarded the 2014 Schiller Prize from AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists). Lindsey Hoskins is a sex ed nerd devoted to helping people of all ages take pride in their sexuality and find pleasure in their bodies in the ways that are right for them. She is the Director of Health Education at Family Tree Clinic, an innovative sexual health care center in Minnesota. Lindsey is a tireless advocate for sex-positive sex education and believes that access to safe and shame-free sexuality is a lifelong human right.

Preface I: The Principles of Pleasure 1. The Importance of Pleasure in the Work of Sex Therapists and Educators 2. Dangerous Pleasure: How The United States' Fears Shape the Work of Sex Educators and Therapists 3. Pleasure for All People: How the Professional Focus on Reproductive Health Puts Everyone at a Disadvantage 4. Pleasure and Consent: How Teaching Pleasure Combats Rape Culture II: Skills for Professional Practice 5. Talking Professionally About Pleasure 6. What's Their Pleasure? Helping Clients Discover Their Ability to Feel Good 7. Guilty Pleasure: Helping Students and Clients Work Through Guilt and Shame 8. Lube Changes Lives: What Every Sexual Health Professional Needs to Know about Lubrication 9. Toys as Tools: What Every Sexual Health Professional Needs to Know about Sex Toys 10. Sharing Pleasure: Consent and Communication for Couples Epilogue: Creating A Pleasure Positive Culture in Your Office, Your Classroom, and the World