Psych and the City

Sarah speaks with psychotherapist Dr. Joe Kort, PhD, LMSW about his 40-years long work with individuals and couples trying to strengthen their relationships. Dr Kort specializes in marital problems and conflict, mixed orientation marriages, male sexuality, and out of control sexual behavior to name just a few of his areas of expertise. In 2013, Dr Kort coined the term 'sides', finally term...

Sarah speaks to Dr. Kate Stephenson, a historian with a particular set of specialties - school uniforms, sex in Edinburgh, and condoms. Coined as the 'condom historian,' Kate and Sarah speak about sex in Edinburgh throughout time and the history of condoms. Women dominated the industry and people would reuse them again and again. The history is fascinating! Find Kate's work: http://www.katestephen...

Sarah interviews Stella Harris, certified intimacy educator, sex coach, and author. Stella gives the 4-1-1 on how to ACTUALLY listen, hear, and be a safer person when it comes to communication, especially about some of the scarier stuff - sex, relationships, and kink. Stella's tools will help you put language to what you want and share it. Stella Harris is the author of two books, Tongue Tied: Unt...

Sarah speaks to Nicole Prause, PhD, an expert sexuality scientist and researcher. The two discuss the TRUTH aka the studies and science surrounding manosphere communities and no fap and no nut forums. We also address the the myth of sex and porn addiction and treatment planning for those who struggle.

Sarah speaks with Tabitha, a South Dakota-based illustrator whose work focuses on menstruation. Through her work, she hopes to promote period positivity and awareness in a fun, unique way. Sarah and Tabitha discuss the bleeding basics as well as different types of period products, the history of taxes on those products, period poverty, what actually happens during menstruation and much, much more....

Sarah speaks with co-founder of the Equitable Care Certification, Soleil Merroir and poet-activist, Jenna Torres about the first ever curriculum for therapists created by sex workers. The Equitable Care Certification (ECC) is created by sex workers, sex working therapists, and allies; to help do just that - build a more equitable care model for sex workers seeking mental health care. In this episo...

Sarah speaks with Marysa Carter, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, DPT, PT who specializes in pelvic health and sex education. Let me answer your question before you finish. Yes, if you have a pelvis, YOU have a pelvic floor. Absolutely flooding with knowledge, Arkansas-based Marysa gives me the basics - like, what even is a pelvic floor? - in addition to covering deeper topics - such as myofascial pa...

Sarah speaks with Andrew Heartman, co-founder of the Surrogate Partner Collective and a surrogate partner for over 13 years. Often incorrectly referred to as 'sex surrogates,' Andrew explains the healing powers of surrogate partner therapy and how it's way more than just physical touch. With only about 50 surrogate partners in the United States, Andrew and his team are passionate about...

Come along as I do a quick recap of object relations theory in preparation for my LCSW exam. This rundown is short, sweet, and filled with rapproachement. I hope these audio summaries of theories sometimes utilized in social work are helping others study and learn. The information about this theory came from the Dawn Apgar Social Work Licensing Clinical Exam, A Comprehensive Study Guide book (3rd...

Studying for the LCSW exam continues. For the next few weeks, I will be doing short, solo episodes, covering a theory or framework used in social work and listed in the Dawn Apgar Social Work Licensing Clinical Exam Study Guide, Edition Three. Come along as we study all the theories so I can pass my exam. Today, Freud’s psychosexual stages of development.

I’m beginning to study for my LCSW exam! For the next few weeks, I will be doing short, solo episodes, covering a theory or framework used in social work and listed in the Dawn Apgar Social Work Licensing Clinical Exam Study Guide, Edition Three. Come along as we study all the theories so I can pass my exam.

Today is part two of the dive into Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and Dissociative Trauma Disorders. Anne and Lexi, co-founders of Beauty After Bruises, are back! This week, we are primarily focusing on dissociative trauma disorders. We debunk myths about DID and dissociation - like, how it's rare (it's not) and discuss the BASK model of dissociation. And finally, Dun dun duuun! th...

This episode serves as an initial dive into Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and Dissociative Disorders. Sarah speaks with Anne and Lexi, co-founders of Beauty After Bruises, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing survivors of childhood trauma with both access and funding to receive therapy and/or inpatient care - while creating professional and public awareness for Complex...

Sarah interviews Jim Duffy, harm reduction advocate and founder of Smoke Works - an organization that provides injection alternatives and safe smoking supplies to syringe service providers and groups nationwide. Harm reduction programs often have difficulty obtaining and distributing pipes due to budgetary and legal hurdles. Smoke Works aims to fix that. Dedicated to drug user health equity and HI...

Horny after a partner dies? NORMAL. Body and emotional numbness? NORMAL. Completely lost or somewhere in between? NORMAL. THE advocate for ageless sexuality Joan Price, shares insights from her book, Sex After Grief: Navigating Your Sexuality After Losing Your Beloved. After losing her partner of seven years, being the sex educator and senior sexpert she is, Joan went looking for resources and hel...

On this fine Monday, Sarah interviews Reb Holmberg, aka Mistress Amanda Wildefyre, about their work and journey as a professional dominatrix for over 30 years. This episode discusses some of the basics of (only!) a few of Mistress Amanda’s specialties and interests: bondage, clinic and medical play, and cross-dressing. Amanda not only shares about their journey from Dominatrix to Educatrix, but sp...

After a little hiatus, Sarah speaks with Jordan Dann, psychoanalyst and relationship coach specializing in somatic therapy and couples therapy. Jordan and Sarah talk about Gestalt therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, and Somatic Experiencing, the theoretical underpinnings that inform Jordan's work as a couples therapist. There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this episode - whether you're a fellow...

Sarah and her friend, end-of-life doula Lucy, discuss - yep, you guessed it: grief, death, and sex. In this episode, Lucy shares about what exactly an end-of-life doula is and all the (some wrong) ways we think about grief. We discuss the dying process, what a consent-focused approach to end of life care can look like, and how grief can show up in our bodies and sex lives. Lucy says, a lot of bein...

Sarah speaks to her friend Shaina - one of nine siblings, who was born and raised in the Chabad Chassidic Orthodox Jewish world of Brooklyn, New York. Shaina educates Sarah about what it was like for her growing up Orthodox and shares about some of the history and practices of the Chabad Chassidic community. Shaina shares her experience with sex education (or lack thereof), religion, and ultimatel...

Sarah speaks with Saniyyah fellow sex educator, harm reductionist, abortion doula, and so much more on today's episode. Niyyah works as an abortion doula and shares some of what their experience has been like as someone who helps support folks dealing with the loss of planned and spontaneous abortions. The second part of the episode, Niyyah and Sarah discuss polyamory, and Niyyah's practice as a s...

Sarah speaks with Jessica Fern, psychotherapist and author of Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma, and Consenual Nonmonogamy , about...yup, you guessed it - attachment, trauma, and nonmonogamy. Jessica shares about the different dimensions of attachment and how our styles can show up in all areas of life - not just romantic relationships. Sarah and Jessica also talk trauma - particularly the nested mod...

Sarah speaks with Dr. Tila Pronk, an assistant professor in social psychology at Tilburg University, who specializes in love and relationships. Dr. Pronk guides us through her research on executive functioning (a set of processes that have to do with managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal), forgiveness, and how to minimize online dating burnout. This episode  discusses que...

Welcome to season 2 of Psych and the City! Sarah speaks with coworker Dr. Jeffrey Birnbaum, a pediatric HIV specialist who has been working in HIV care since 1992. For the first part of the episode, Sarah and Jeff discuss perinatal HIV, injectable HIV treatment, and why transgender people are at an increased risk for HIV. Jeff and Sarah discuss a somewhat controversy in HIV medicine - if positive...

Sarah speaks with Tracey Helton, author of The Big Fix, Hope After Heroin and known to many as the Narcan Lady. After getting sober 23 years ago, Tracey has spent her life as a harm reductionist working in overdose prevention and advocating for people who use drugs. Tracey and Sarah discuss shifts in the drug trade, the barriers to recovery and harm reduction services (P.S. it's not the individual...

Sarah speaks with Mariah Grant, a human rights and migration specialist with a focus on migrant and sex workers’ rights, freedom of movement, and labor exploitation. As the Research and Advocacy Director at the The Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center she oversees Sex Workers Project advocacy efforts and development of original research. Mariah and Sarah discuss the initiatives of SWP,...