Suzanne, your insights were very thought provoking - the organisation (a large disability service) for which I work has done a lot of work in the area of carer education, with mixed success (as cultural attitudes are by their very nature deeply entrenched). For clients requesting sex toys we tend to refer on to an inhouse therapist and a private recreation officer who specializes in this area.
It impressed me that some clients have spoken of their frustration that the focus of therapy interventions always seems to be on the "practicalities" eg the "mechanics" of positioning with a partner, and limited to a functional approach to the use of sex toys...and suggested that they'd like to have some of the subtler qualities of their sexual expression discussed - like sex in the context of their relationships and so forth. Is this the realm of Psychology? or does OT's truly wholistic perspective have a place? It seems to me that endeavouring to understand the occupational quality of the sexual expression of our clients is one of the most challenging aspects to OT....it really takes one to the limits of one's beliefs and attitudes...well that's what I reckon anyway! Ron, I think there was an earlier posting detailing the PLISSIT model ...essentially it provides a "heirarchy of intervention"...and suggests potential limits to the scope of OT practice at it's upper levels (Specific Suggestions,Intensive Therapy). I can't believe that only two list members replied to the original request for their thoughts on this topic! Sex is a fundamental human occupation/means of expression....are therapists in the US constrained by the (apparently!) more restrictive medico-legal environment there from considering their client's needs in this area of life? is it a funding issue? what if a client felt that their sex life was more important to them than learning to do simple meal prep, and wanted to spend their therapy time investigating strategies to make things better there? cheers David *********��*********** Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ** List messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] *********��***********
