Sexual Fantasies in Therapy

I had an opportunity to speak at Center for Healthy Sex a while back. In this lecture I spoke about the following:

Sexual fantasy can offer incredible insight into a client’s varying scripts that underlie their behaviors, both sexual and non-sexual, and yet it is a topic that is often overlooked in therapy. As a topic that is often considered to be a taboo and not commonly spoken about in daily life, many people harbor shame, confusion, guilt, and misunderstandings about their fantasies. Piper Grant, PsyD, MPH will address the often common question of “what is normal,” discuss how fantasies function to allow people to feel sexually aroused, and suggest strategies of how you can assist your clients in deepening their awareness of their sexual fantasies and how to use their fantasy to alleviate barriers in their sexual and non-sexual lives. Within the lecture, issues of values, beliefs, and differences in cultural ideas about fantasy will be addressed. Dr. Grant will utilize case examples to exemplify ways to address, assess, and integrate fantasy into your work.