Sex coach certification involves completing structured training in human sexuality, coaching techniques, ethics, and client work. Most programs take 6 to 18 months depending on intensity. High-quality certifications, like those offered by Sexual Health Alliance, provide comprehensive education, mentorship, and real-world application to prepare you for professional practice.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of sex toys when in a relationship–often wrapped in narratives of shame, uncertainty, and insecurity. But some couples are flipping the script. Recent research indicates that using sex toys during partnered sex can augment the experience!

What is Consensual Non-Consent? Consensual non-consent is a kink (sometimes referred to as rape play) that includes a negotiated sexual scenario in which participants agree to simulate non-consensual activity.

What is Technology-Faciliated Sexual Violence? It's sexual violence with a digital twist, referring to any time technology is used to carry out or enable sexual harm, whether that plays out online or eventually in person. Examples include online sexual harassment, cyberstalking, and image-based sexual exploitation (aka non-consensual porn). Technology-faciliated sexual violence can happen in two ways: active, where harassment is aimed at a specific person, and passive, where it's not targeting anyone in particular but could still affect people who come across it.

When a show drops a title like DTF St. Louis, you already know it’s not going to be subtle. Characters start throwing around phrases like porn-positive, talking about kinks, the term DTF, and even open relationships, leaving viewers wondering what any of these terms actually mean…and whether they’re being used correctly. Because there’s a big difference between ethical sexual exploration and straight-up cheating with better vocabulary. Let’s get into it friends!

What are Sexual Fantasies? Sexual fantasies offer a window into human sexuality, which is exactly why they're worth understanding! Fantasizing is widely considered a normal, healthy part of sexual life, though like most things, context matters and there are circumstances where it can become complicated. Don’t worry–we’ll talk about it! The simplest way to define a sexual fantasy comes from researchers Leitenberg & Henning (1995): "any mental imagery that is sexually arousing for the individual." These sexual mental imageries often center on common themes.

Are we tired of talking about Heated Rivalry?

Absolutely not.

But why do we love Heated Rivalry so much? What is it that’s keeping us talking?

From the emotional heart of the story, to the timely LGBTQ professional hockey coming-out moment, to the S-E-X, there’s a lot to unpack.

And honestly? That’s exactly why people can’t stop talking about it.

Have you ever said “yes” to something you were unsure about? Or “no” to something that you wanted to do? What about in the context of sexual activity? If yes, you’ve experienced sexual ambivalence!

Researchers wanted to know what happens when therapists get specialized training to work with neurodiverse couples, specifically, couples where at least one partner is Autistic, so they sat down with those therapists and asked. Using a qualitative approach of focus groups and interviews, the study captures what practitioners found helpful, what they wished they had more of, and how the training changed how they support their neurodiverse clients!

When a show becomes a cultural touchstone, it’s often because of chemistry—the kind that makes viewers lean in, blush, or scream into the void at 2 a.m. Heated Rivalry, the queer hockey romance series based on Rachel Reid’s beloved novels, has delivered all of that and more. But beyond the steamy on-screen connection between its two leads—Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov—there’s an essential creative force making it possible: the intimacy coordinator.

Let’s look at what makes Heated Rivalry’s chemistry work so well on screen, how actors cultivate that connection off screen, and why intimacy coordinators are now indispensable in television production.

Is Heated Rivalry the new Fifty Shades of Grey? Not just as a book, but as a screen phenomenon?

Let’s compare.

In this powerful interview, Amanda Jepson, LPC, ACS, SHA and AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, challenges clinicians to rethink how we design and deliver sexual health interventions. As a co-founder of Respark Foundation and a Clinical Therapist at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Veterans Health and Trauma Clinic, Amanda specializes in working with active duty and veteran military members, first responders, and survivors of combat trauma, abuse, and sexual assault.

“It’s okay to learn how to trust yourself.”

That simple statement may sound obvious. But as Dr. Desiree Robinson explains in this interview, self-trust is not something we inherit from social media, peers, or even our parents’ generation. It is a skill developed through self-knowledge, lived experience, and trial and error.

For professionals pursuing sex therapist certification, this message is more than personal advice. It is clinical wisdom. The ability to help clients trust themselves begins with cultivating that capacity within ourselves.

In this conversation, Dr. Robinson shares her origin story, the frameworks she uses—including Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)—and what the next generation needs to understand about boundaries, dignity, and relational health.

The sexual health and wellness industry is growing rapidly — but growth alone does not guarantee business success. For professionals looking to launch or scale a business in this space, understanding retail strategy, consumer behavior, and brand positioning is critical.

In a recent interview, retail marketing expert Nicole Leinbach Hoffman shared powerful insights into what it really takes to succeed in sexual wellness retail — and her message aligns perfectly with the mission of SHA’s Growth Accelerator Certificate Program, designed for anyone who wants to develop a business in the sexual health space.

Whether you’re a therapist, coach, educator, product founder, or brand builder, these insights will help you think like a strategist — not just a practitioner.

As more professionals pursue a Sex Coach and Sexologist Certification, the conversation around pleasure, embodiment, and trauma-informed care is evolving rapidly. In her interview with the Sexual Health Alliance, Erica Leroye offers a powerful reframe: masturbation is not simply a sexual act — it is nervous system training, attachment repair, and embodied self-regulation.

When people think about sexual health, they often think about performance, desire, or relationships. Rarely do they think about the vulva as a living, hormone-responsive tissue that can be protected, repaired, and optimized across the lifespan.

In this powerful interview, Dr. Maria Uloko—internationally recognized sexual medicine specialist, surgeon, researcher, and educator—shares an insight that truly moves the needle:

You can have the same vulva at 20 at 100 years old.

It’s a statement that surprises almost everyone. But it’s grounded in science, regenerative medicine, and years of clinical expertise.

Many couples arrive in therapy carrying an invisible rulebook they never consciously agreed to.

Sex looks a certain way.Relationships follow a certain structure.Bedrooms are shared.And sex, more often than not, ends when he is finished.

According to Erin Musick—Registered Psychologist, AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, yoga teacher, and long-time clinician—these rules aren’t natural truths. They’re scripts. And increasingly, therapists and couples alike are questioning whether those scripts still serve anyone.

For many people, sexual health conversations are still wrapped in shame, comparison, and the quiet belief that there is a right way to have sex—and that anything outside of it is a problem to be fixed.

According to Dr. Joe Kort, that belief does far more harm than good.

In this interview with Sexual Health Alliance, Dr. Joe Kort—psychotherapist, board-certified clinical sexologist, and founder of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health—shares one of the most powerful and liberating insights in sexual health work:

The way you have sex is right for you—as long as it’s consensual and between adults.

Infidelity is one of the most destabilizing experiences a relationship can face. For many people, it shatters trust, safety, and a sense of shared reality in an instant. The emotional aftermath is often intense—shock, anger, grief, confusion, and self-doubt can all surface at once. In the middle of that pain, the dominant cultural message is clear: If your partner cheats, that’s it. Trust is gone forever. End the relationship.

When people hear the words BDSM or adventurous intimacy, many still picture something fringe, extreme, or rare. These assumptions persist despite decades of cultural change and growing research to the contrary. According to Dr. Brad Sagarin, Professor of Social Psychology at Northern Illinois University, those assumptions are not just inaccurate—they actively limit how people understand desire, intimacy, and connection.

In this interview, Dr. Sagarin draws from years of research on BDSM communities and intimate relationships to challenge some of the most entrenched myths about sexuality. His work highlights a powerful truth: many desires people believe are unusual are actually widely shared, and when people communicate openly about them, relationships tend to become healthier, more trusting, and more satisfying.