Sex with Robots: Therapeutic Challenges and Opportunities
1h 22m
Markie Twist
Professor of Human Development & Sexologist
Trailer
Get AccessFull VideoContent and Aim: The use of radical new sexual technologies – digisexualities – are here, and as technologies advance, their adoption is increasing, including engagement with sex dolls and robots. Researchers have found that both lay people, and clinicians, have mixed feelings about digisexualities. Yet, clinicians need to be aware of digisexualities, as well as the opportunities and challenges in engaging with such sexual technologies. Indeed, in order to remain ethical and viable, clinicians need to be prepared to work with clients engaging with digisexualities, including with sex dolls and robots. To address these gaps, tools for clinical assessment around digisexual engagement, as well as a clinical framework—”The Couple and Family Technology Framework”—for addressing digisexual-related concerns, including out-of-control-digibehaviors, will be presented.
Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to:
- describe the first and second waves of digisexuality
- note the opportunities and challenges of engagement with digisexualities
- detail a clinical assessment tool and model for addressing digisexual-related concerns
Produced in 2021
Markie Twist
Professor of Human Development & Sexologist
Lecturer
Markie L. C. Twist, PhD, MEd, MA, LMHC, LMFT, CSE, CSE-S, RegCOSRT (dr./she/they) was born in Alaxsxaq (Alaska) and raised in a small village on the road-system and currently resides in what colonizers call, “Las Vegas, Nevada,” but was and is Nuwu (Southern Paiute) land. Dr. Markie is Teaching Faculty at the Graduate Student Research Chairperson in the Doctoral and Masters Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) programs, as well as the Director of Outcomes and Accreditation in the Relational Therapy Division at Antioch University (New England and Seattle campuses) in the Graduate School of Counseling, Therapy, and Psychology.
Dr. Markie is also the Session Instructor in the University of Guelph Professional Sexuality Practices Clinical Training Program. Dr. Markie has also been a faculty member of the CFT Program and the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and has also served in positions in the University of Wisconsin-System (Sex Therapy Certificate Program), as well as the University of Alaska Anchorage (Psychology department). Dr. Markie is a registered member of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT), a licensed marriage and family therapist (IA, NV) and mental health counselor (IA), as well as a clinical fellow and approved supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and certified sexuality educator and supervisor through the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT).
Dr. Markie is co-author of the books, The Internet Family: Technology in Couple and Family Relationships, The Couple and Family Technology Framework: Intimate Relationships in a Digital Age, and Focused Genograms: Attachment Focused Intergenerational Assessment of Individuals, Couples, and Families (2nd ed.). Dr. Markie serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Sexual and Relationship Therapy: International Perspectives on Theory, Research and Practice and is coeditor of the book, Eco-Informed Practice: Family Therapy in an Age of Ecological Peril. Some of Dr. Markie’s honors include being the recipient of: the 2020 Wisconsin Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT) Carl Whitaker Award, a 2019 University of Wisconsin (UW) System Honoree of the Dr. P. B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People, the 2018 Delta Kappa Zeta Chapter Charles Cole Outstanding Professional Development Award, and a 2017 Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Rising Scholar Emerging Professional Award.
Dr. Markie regularly consults, engages in scholarship, presents, and clinically works in the areas of eco-informed family therapy, tantra-informed communication practices, digihealth, digiattachment, and digisexuality, and gender, sexual, erotic, and relational diversity (GSERD). You can learn more about Dr. Markie at https://drmarkie.com/ or follow them at Instagram/Threads @dr_markie or Facebook at drmarkietwist.
