Adopting Queer Lens in Clinical Practice
1h 25m
Dominic Davies
Psychotherapist & clinical sexologist
Trailer
Get AccessFull VideoContent and Aim: Are queer lenses needed only for LGBTQIA+ clients? Through this thought-provoking inspirational talk, Dominic Davies and Silva Neves, help us gain insights into the diversity of an individual’s sexuality and the best approach to explore it.
Societal normativity can shape the way clinicians work. These factors may not always be apparent to them and may harm their clients. Adopting a queer lens, not limited to the LGBTQIA+ population, can help therapists become more aware of normative biases and assumptions impacting their work.
In sex therapy, assumptions can lead to inadequate care, missed opportunities to understand clients, communication breakdowns, and the reinforcement of stereotypes. Cultivating an inclusive and affirming therapeutic environment involves challenging these assumptions, recognizing the diversity of sexual experiences and identities, and tailoring therapy to meet each client’s unique needs.
This inspirational talk provides an opportunity to explore the evolving concept of queerness and its changes over time. The distinctions between being erotically and relationally queer are explained. Additionally, the influence of heteronormativity, monogamous normativity, and other normative factors that impact clinical practice are examined. Our speakers demonstrate the contrasting approaches of therapists with and without a queer lens. This discussion also sheds light on commonly overlooked concerns, such as exploring erotic diversity in heterosexual clients, and provides invaluable tips on avoiding common mistakes clinicians make.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain insights into the historical meaning of queerness, how it has changed over time, and its impact on clinical practice.
- Understand common assumptions that hinder effective treatment in sex therapy.
- Get examples of a clinical approach using the queer lens.
- Learn how to navigate the complex landscape of identity, sexuality, and interpersonal connections and address diverse needs effectively, embracing erotic and relational diversity in all clients.
Produced in 2023
Dominic Davies
Psychotherapist & clinical sexologist
Lecturer
Dominic Davies is Founder and CEO of Pink Therapy. He has worked as a psychotherapist, clinical sexologist and practice consultant for 40 years.
Over the years Dominic has received a number of honours and awards for his pioneering work in the field of gender and sexuality. In 2015 he received the Practitioner award from the Sexualities Section of the British Psychological Society. He is the only non-psychologist to ever receive this award.
In 2016 he was made a Fellow of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society and in 2018 Dominic received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Sexual Freedom.
Dominic has also been made a Fellow of the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists. Fellowship is the highest level of membership for these professional bodies.
In 2021 Dominic was named as one of 50 Distinguished Gender and Sexual Health Revolutionaries.
After a 21-year hiatus, he has recently co-edited (with Silva Neves) two more Pink Therapy textbooks aimed at GSRD therapists and Sex & Relationship Therapists in Europe. Erotically Queer and Relationally Queer were published in April 2023.
He has been referred to as one of the grandparents of Gender, Sex and Relationship Diversity Therapy in the UK and Europe.
Silva Neves
Psychotherapist & Sexologist
Lecturer and Supervisor
I am Silva Neves, an experienced, accredited psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist, trauma therapist, trainer, and author, holding a busy private practice in Central London, UK.
I gained my post-graduate qualification as a psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist with LDPRT (Middlesex University) in 2013. After that, I completed further training in somatic trauma therapy with Babette Rothschild and also EMDR, focusing on sexual trauma. I also did an extra training specifically on couples therapy. I gained my qualification in clinical supervision in 2017.
I’m an accredited member of COSRT (College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists), and registered with UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy), NCP (National Counselling Society), UKPTS (UK Psychological Trauma Society), EMDR Association UK, and I am a Clinical Associate with Pink Therapy.
In the last 10 years I worked in various settings: charity organisations, NHS (National Health Service in the UK), private clinics and in my own private practice. I regularly deliver clinical trainings on sexual trauma and sexology to diverse organisations across the UK and internationally. I also speak at international conferences. I am a Course Director for CICS (Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology). I’m also an accreditation assessor for COSRT.
I am the author of Compulsive Sexual behaviours, A Psycho-Sexual Treatment Guide for Clinicians (Routledge, 2021), and a forthcoming book: Sexology: The Basics, due to be released in November 2022. I regularly write articles for Psychology Today and therapy magazines/ journals. I am a member of the editorial board for the leading international journal Sex and Relationship Therapy.
I am particularly experienced in working with: 1- sexual trauma, 2-LGBTQ-specific therapy, 3- compulsive sexual behaviours. I employ a humanistic and integrative approach, drawing on many theories and treatment strategies, including somatic trauma therapy, CBT, ACT, Gestalt, Person-centred, Psychodynamic, TA and specific knowledge in sexology and intimate relationships.
Languages
English, French
