Tools, Toys, & Taboos: Integrating Play Into Sex and Relationship Therapy (3 CEs)

Illinois Affiliation of Marriage and Family Therapists (IAMFT) Annual Conference

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the fundamentals of the intersection of play and sex therapy
• Discuss their biases and values regarding sexuality, play, and the interplay between the two and how that impacts their work with clients.
• Describe 2 different practical interventions and applications of play in sex and relationship therapy with various client systems and individuals.

Speaker Bios:

Kayla Harris, MA, LMFT (she/her) is a white, disabled, cisgender, firstborn, woman, and veteran from Rockford, IL. She has lived in Chicago since she began her Masters in Couple and Family Therapy at Adler University in 2018. Since then, Kayla has become more specialized in her clinical work, playfully serving Queer, neurodiverse, military-impacted, and sex-focused clients in private practice. She holds a Certificate in Sex Therapy from Adler University and is accruing the supervision hours required for American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) Certified Sex Therapist (CST) designation. Currently, Kayla is a full-time Staff Therapist at The Expansive Group as well as a full-time fourth-year PhD student in the Couple and Family Therapy program at Adler University.

Helen Wyatt, MA, LMFT (she/hers), is a dynamic sex and relationship therapist, educator, researcher, and artist. In addition to seeing clients at her therapy practice AE Collective, she is a supervisor and adjunct professor of topics on human sexuality, the life span, and group therapy at Adler University and Northwestern University. Helen is also a professional musician and actor, and is completing her AAMFT Approved Supervisor designation, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist designation and Intimacy Coordinator certification through IDC. She works clinically with relational repair and individual treatment of out-of-control sexual behavior and breaches of trust, discrepant desire and disinterest in sex, and religious sexual trauma. She also works with creatives and professional performers around reconnecting to artistry, repairing shame responses, managing performance anxiety, and building confidence and artistic integrity.