Findings

Evidence

Interaction with group members provides opportunities to learn about the sex therapist’s attitude toward sexuality as well as their own.

“I’m not so happy with the group, I’m quite disappointed. I feel they are not serious enough or take it seriously, maybe it originates from personal embarrassment.”

“…over time, yes, something was released over time, because I think it has to do with the group, if everyone was uncomfortable at first then later people opened up like that, that’s how it seems to me.”

To deal with the sex therapist’s attitudes toward the client’s sexuality, the participants indicated that they would avoid dealing with problems that include deviation or violence.

“…sexual abuse within the family, okay? Not on us, a father who rapes the girls…shocking and very difficult. These, these are the difficult contents for me: pedophilia, incest…”

“I am unable to work on anything related to pedophiles in the pedophile section. Not something I am, not something I accept, not something I will deal with, as it goes against my faith…”

Sexuality is a taboo topic in society, which in turn poses a challenge for sex therapists. To change the conservative attitudes about sexuality, one has to engage with an open mind.

“…It’s a subject as you saw that people shy away from. It won’t help, you know, not everyone is free. When the manager is very non-sexual and even in the current relationship, sex is outside (the discourse) (there is) a taboo…so what is the need for this topic, why is it interesting, and who is asking it? Therefore, it isn’t…”

Sex therapy is perceived as an area of discomfort and a sense of low self-efficacy that causes avoidance of exposure to content perceived as threatening. Participation in the intervention program allows for a change in attitudes and an increase in the sense of comfort in sex therapy.

“I think I’ll freeze, I don’t know what I’ll do, I can’t deal with this issue. This is my red line this thing. What do I do with it?”

The interaction with the supervisor as a role model enables guiding and addressing socially taboo issues in the clinic and reducing the sex therapist’s attitudes and reluctance to address the topic.

“And I talk a lot about ‘modeling’, so for me, so you really brought the accessibility of this language to the modeling of this way, and meeting with you in this way opened up possibilities for discourse.”

“Thanks to your very enabling atmosphere, I had a good time. As well as being relaxed, very open, very accepting, and very non-judgmental, you were very honest about yourself, what shrinks your stomach, what is less, what arouses you…so the expectation is not that, okay, now the pedophile will come and I can work with him.”