Join me and N. Jasmine Johnson, MSW, MA, ICSW, LCSW, at the 2027 West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders!

June 4, 2027
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. PT
Palm Springs, CA

Sexuality is a core part of being human, yet it is limited or left out entirely from many clinical mental health programs and, in turn, substance use counseling and treatment spaces, often leaving clinicians relying on social norms and personal experience when it comes up with clients. This has left a glaring gap in clients’ psychoeducation, healing, and rehabilitation experiences and left them with many of their sexuality-related concerns and contributors to substance use insufficiently addressed – or not addressed at all.

Sex Ed: The Missing Link in Long-term Recovery Programs presents a case for sexuality education to be a core part of treatment programming and why it is as essential for clients in recovery as relapse prevention and life skills training. Using current research into the lack of sexuality training in counseling and psychology programs and its impact on client care, this workshop will provide attendees with tangible tools and solutions for clinicians, program directors, and facility managers who want to counteract these effects and set a new standard for truly holistic addiction treatment and whole-istic client care.

Learning Objectives:

• Upon completion, participants will be able to list at least two clinical outcomes that accurate sexuality education can have for treatment of substance use disorder.

• Upon completion, participants will be able to identify at least one reason why clinicians need to complete professional development related to human sexuality or sexual health.

• Upon completion, participants will be able to describe one example of how sexuality education can be incorporated into existing or new treatment and programming.