The Science of Sexual Fantasy: What Do We Want, and What Do Our Fantasies Say About Us? (4 CE Hours)

Course Description:

Almost everyone has sexual fantasies, and those fantasies serve a number of important functions. Despite the vital role they play in our lives, fantasies are all too often a potent source of shame, embarrassment, and anxiety. A big part of the reason for this is that fantasies remain poorly understood. The goal of this training is therefore to offer an in-depth exploration of the science of sexual fantasy. Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, will synthesize the latest research on this subject and present the key takeaways for sex therapists. Attendees will not just learn about the immense content and variability that exists in our sexual fantasies, but also what we know about where our fantasies come from, how they are connected to our own unique personality profiles and sexual histories, as well as how and why fantasies vary across different demographic groups.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• List the seven most common types of sexual fantasies
• Explain which paraphiliac fantasies are truly rare and which are not
• Describe the difference between a sexual fantasy and a sexual desire, as well as how these constructs overlap
• Describe at least two factors that contribute to fantasy content and variation
• Explain how our personalities and sexual histories are connected to the content of our sexual fantasies
• Describe how sexual fantasies vary across different segments of the population (e.g., gender, age, sexual orientation)

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller, received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Purdue University. He is a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute and author of the book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. Dr. Lehmiller is an award-winning educator, having been honored three times with the Certificate of Teaching Excellence from Harvard University, where he taught for several years. He is also a prolific researcher and scholar who has published more than 40 pieces of academic writing to date, including a textbook entitled The Psychology of Human Sexuality (now in its second edition) that is used in college classrooms around the world. Dr. Lehmiller’s research focuses on topics including casual sex, sexual fantasy, sexual health, and friends with benefits. His studies have appeared in all of the leading journals on human sexuality, including the Journal of Sex Research, Archives of Sexual Behavior, and The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Dr. Lehmiller has run the popular blog Sex and Psychology since 2011, and it now receives several million page views per year. He has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, includingThe Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, CNN.com, The Atlantic, The Globe and Mail, and The Sunday Times. He has been named one of 5 “Sexperts” You Need to Follow on Twitter by Men’s Health and one of the “modern-day masters of sex” by Nerve. Dr. Lehmiller has appeared on several episodes of the television program Tabooon the National Geographic Channel and has been a guest on numerous podcast and radio shows, including the Savage Lovecast and the NPR programs Radio Times and Airtalk. He is a popular freelance writer, penning columns and op-eds for major publications, including Playboy, USA Today, VICE, Psychology Today, and New York Magazine. In addition, the articles he writes on Sex and Psychology have been syndicated on major websites, including Business Insider, Huffington Post, Men’s Health, and Thought Catalog

Activity Schedule:

1 Hour Overview & Types of Sexual Fantasies

1 Hour Research on sexual fantasies and overlap with sexual desire

1 Hour Personalities and sexual histories with regards to fantasy content

1 Hour Sexual Fantasies across different segments of the population