Date/Time:
Tuesday, August 5, 2025, 6-7:30 p.m. ET
Location:
Live online via Zoom
Description
Sexuality is one of the most powerful forces shaping human connection, yet it is often one of the least addressed in therapy. Clients regularly come to therapy with concerns about sexual desire, functioning, erotic identity, or relational intimacy, but too often these issues are minimized, avoided, or framed as outside the therapist’s scope. This avoidance leaves clients feeling unseen in a core part of their lives and can reinforce stigma or shame around sexuality. In this presentation, Kelly Ghweinem, LCSW, CST, co-founder of the Erotic Intimacy Academy invites participants to reimagine sexual health and erotic identity as integral to systemic and relational well-being.Drawing from years of clinical practice and her work training therapists, Kelly emphasizes how intimacy and sexuality inevitably arise in the therapy room, and how a clinician’s ability to be sexually educated and erotically informed can transform these moments into powerful opportunities for connection and healing rather than points of avoidance or rupture. The session will explore common ways sexual issues intersect with trauma, family dynamics, cultural values, and mental health symptoms. Using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-sexual and trauma-informed lens, Kelly will discuss how therapists can ethically and effectively engage with these themes, even without becoming full-time sex therapists. Through clinical dialogue, applied case examples, and practical frameworks, participants will gain insight into how addressing sexual health strengthens therapeutic alliances, deepens systemic work, and broadens the scope of care they are able to provide.
Course Objectives
After attending this session, attendees will be able to:
- 1) Identify at least three ways sexual concerns and erotic identity intersect with relational, systemic, and mental health issues.
- 2) Describe how therapist bias, comfort level, and self-awareness can influence client engagement around sexuality.
- 3) Apply a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-sexual and trauma-informed lens when considering sexual concerns within therapy.
Presenter
Kelly Ghweinem, LCSW, CST, MSW ’15, is a licensed clinical social worker and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. She is the founder of Velvet Psychotherapy Collective, a boutique sex therapy practice licensed in New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Florida, and the co-founder of the Erotic Intimacy Academy, an educational platform that equips therapists and coaches with advanced training in sexual health and intimacy. In her clinical work, Kelly specializes in helping individuals and couples address concerns related to intimacy, desire discrepancies, sexual pain, identity development, and the impact of trauma on sexuality. She is especially committed to creating inclusive and affirming spaces for LGBTQAI+ clients, and her approach emphasizes integrating sexual health into systemic and relational therapy. Kelly earned her MSW from the University at Buffalo in 2015 and is proud to return as an alumna. Over the course of her career, she has gained experience across diverse settings and populations, including in-home therapy with children and families, psychiatric hospitals, and clinical care in substance use recovery programs. These roles provided a foundation in addressing complex trauma, mental health challenges, and systemic factors influencing well-being. Drawing from this breadth of experience, Kelly brings a holistic and trauma-informed perspective to her practice and teaching, helping both clients and clinicians approach sexuality as a vital part of human connection and mental health.
Quiz and Evaluation
- To verify participation and acquisition of knowledge, this live online course requires completion of a multiple-choice course quiz with a passing score of 80% or better to receive the NY social work contact hours certificate.
- In addition, the completion of a course evaluation is also required.
- Instructions will be provided for how to access the quiz and evaluation.
New York Social Work Contact Hours:
NYSED LMSW & LCSW contact hours are being provided through the University at Buffalo School of Social Work’s Office of Continuing Education. This Office is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0001. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance. 1.5 live online contact hours have been approved.
ADA Accommodations:
If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at kfranco@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-645-1262.
Course Requirements:
All participants will be emailed the link to the Zoom meeting website.
All participants will need to have audio capabilities on their device.
All participants will be emailed all workshop-related materials at least 24 hours before the workshop (handouts, PowerPoint slides, etc…)
All participants will be sent a link to an online multiple-choice quiz that must be completed within 48 hours. (Passing score is 80%)
All participants will be sent a link to an online evaluation about the workshop.
Registration deadline is Sunday, October 12
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