Join SHA at our Inaugural Sexological Conference!

October 13-15th, 2023 in Denver, Colorado at the Omni Interlocken

In-Person & Virtual attendee Options!

join us for the most groundbreaking event in the field of sexology! Join SHA and Dr. Chris Donaghue at our inaugural Sexological Conference, taking place from October 13th to 15th, 2023, in the breathtaking state of Colorado. come be inspired, educated, and empowered WITH 15+ PRESENTERS as we explore "The Science of Sex" with the renowned Dr. Chris Donaghue at the helm.

Dr. Chris Donaghue, an internationally recognized lecturer, therapist, and educator, will be our esteemed host for this sexceptional conference. With his wealth of expertise, he will guide us through a profound journey of understanding and transformation. Dr. Donaghue is the Director of Clinical Education for The Sexual Health Alliance (SHA), the host of the LoveLine podcast, a regular expert on "The Amber Rose Show" and "The Doctors" TV show. He has previously hosted shows like WE tv's "Sex Box" and Logo TV's "Bad Sex," solidifying his reputation as a leading authority in the field of sexology. Throughout the conference, Dr. Donaghue will delve into a range of captivating topics, offering fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to enhance our understanding of sexuality and its intersections with psychology and clinical practice.

Click on the box below for tickets!

if you’ve only experienced sha online, then you’ve been missing out! since 2015, sha has hosted 45+ live, in person events across the country. come meet your peers, network with leading professionals, and make new memories!

Some of the key areas Dr. Donaghue will explore include:

• Reconnecting Sex with Pleasure & the Body: Learn to liberate yourself from societal constraints and embrace a holistic approach to sexuality that celebrates pleasure and embodiment.

• Sexological Mindfulness: Discover how the practice of mindfulness can revolutionize your understanding and experience of sexuality, both personally and in therapeutic settings.

• Somatics and Attachment Theory: Explore the profound influence of somatics and attachment theory on our sexual psychology and relationships, gaining valuable insights for clinical practice.

• True Sexual Identity: Examine the concept of sexual identity, unpacking the ways in which labels and identities can both empower and limit our understanding of our authentic sexual selves.

• Myth of Sexual Dysfunctions: Challenge the prevailing narrative around sexual dysfunctions, and explore how diagnoses can inadvertently shame and traumatize individuals.

• Impacts of Porn: Investigate the effects of pornography on individuals and relationships, examining its therapeutic potential while minimizing its negative impact.

• Resolving Intimacy Issues: Acquire practical strategies for resolving intimacy issues and fostering deep emotional connections within relationships.

• Body Esteem: Address body shame and cultivate a positive body image, promoting self-acceptance and sexual well-being.

• Healing Sexual Trauma: Gain insights into the healing process for individuals who have experienced sexual trauma, with a focus on empowerment and reclaiming agency.

• Reducing Negative Impacts of Porn: Learn therapeutic techniques to mitigate the potential negative effects of pornography and promote a healthy relationship with sexual media.

• Arousal Template Exploration: Explore the individual nuances of arousal and desire, embracing the uniqueness of each person's sexual experiences.

• Working with the "Erotic Umbrella": Uncover the various shades and expressions of human sexuality, promoting inclusivity and understanding in therapeutic settings.

Friday, October 13th sexceptional presenters:

• What Else Can You Do with Your Sensual & Sexual Power Other than Pour it Out on Tyrone? - Timmesha Burgess

• Aging Kinky AF - N. Jasmine Johnson & Dr. Nicole Crawford

• Strategies for Better Communication to Open Pathways to Emotional and Sexual Connection - Kelvin Pace

• Empowerment and Healing Through Kink - Amanda Jepson

• Introducing Somatic Activation and Mindful Erotic Practice in Psychotherapy- Rhiannon Webb

• Bringing Sexy Back into the (therapy) room that is - Laura Wood

• Christian Women Need Orgasms Too - LaKeesha Hines

• Relational/Sexual Network Mapping- Casandra Jones

• Porn Literacy 101 - Diane Gleim

• Hands Off: Working with Couples with Jealousy Around Solo Sexuality - Chris Scott

Saturday, October 14th &15th: Dr. Chris Donaghue

The goals of this transformative conference include:

• Exploring the transformative power of mindfulness and somatics as tools for therapeutic and sexological change.

• Utilizing an attachment theory lens to gain deeper insights into an individual's sexual psychology.

• Unpacking the therapeutic potential of pornography while minimizing its negative impact.

• Equipping participants with practical clinical skills to be used both in therapy sessions and for clients' personal growth.

• Reconnecting sex with pleasure, shifting the focus from performance-oriented experiences to authentic and fulfilling connections.

• Challenging the myth of "sexual dysfunction" and promoting a compassionate and empowering approach to sexual well-being.

• Encouraging individuals to explore and embrace their true sexual authenticity, moving beyond societal labels and expectations.

• Removing sexual blockages caused by social conditioning and gender norms, allowing individuals to fully experience pleasure and intimacy.

Throughout the conference, you will have the opportunity to develop essential skills such as undiagnosing, resolving sexual bypassing, discuss mindful masturbation and therapeutic uses of pornography, healing sexual trauma, resolving body shame, and navigating the complexities of modern hookup and app culture.

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About Our Presenters

CHRIS DONAGHUE, PHD, CST

Dr. Chris Donaghue is an international lecturer, therapist, and educator. Dr Donaghue is the Director of Clinical Education for The Sexual Health Alliance (SHA), host of the LoveLine podcast, weekly expert on “The Amber Rose Show”, and frequent co host on “The Doctors” tv show.  He previously hosted WE tv’s “Sex Box”and Logo tv’s “Bad Sex”.  He is published in various professional journals and top magazines, and has been featured on The Today Show, VICE, CNN, HLN, OWN, Nightline, Dr Drew and in Newsweek, New York Times, Daily Beast, Mens Health, Cosmo, and National Geographic. Author of the book, “Sex Outside the Lines: Authentic Sexuality in a Sexually Dysfunctional Culture”. Dr. Donaghue has lectured at prestigious Universities including USC, UCLA, and Princeton as well as being the keynote at various professional conferences such as Chicago Ideas Week, American Association for Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), and The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS). Dr. Chris Donaghue is a Doctor of Clinical Sexology and Human Sexuality, Doctoral trained in Clinical Psychology, Licensed Clinical Therapist, a Certified Sex Therapist and a Certified Sexologist. Dr. Donaghue practices general psychology and specializes in individual and couples sex, relational, and marital therapy.  His work also includes sexual compulsivity, sexual anorexia, sexual dysfunctions, and non-traditional sexuality, identities, and relationships.  His work is also with diverse individuals, including all gender expressions, sexual orientations, and Kink/BDSM/Poly issues.  His office is located in Los Angeles. 

KELVIN PACE, MS, LPC-S, CST

Kelvin graduated with a master’s in clinical psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2009. He has been a LPC supervisor for two years and he has been an AASECT certified therapist for 3 years. 

Kelvin is the owner of KpaceCounseling, LLC where he serves clients in private practice. He does contract work with Full Spectrum Health as a behavioral health clinician where he works with an integrated care team delivering evidenced based care to persons of the LGBTQ+ community. Kelvin has worked for a local non-profit delivering mental health services to children and young adults that have suffered from complex trauma. With a firm foundation in trauma, he delivers trauma informed sex positive therapy to his clients. Kelvin provides services to couples and individuals dealing with sexual or relationship issues that include low desire, anxiety surrounding sex, and infidelity. His current focus is on mindfulness based interventions to manage sexual concerns and he works with persons that are either in or looking to explore non-traditional relationship orientations that fall under the umbrella of consensual/ethical non-monogamy. 

N. Jasmine Johnson

Jet Setting Jasmine is an award-winning adult film director, entertainer, and master fetish trainer. She is also a licensed psychotherapist and educator who uses her expertise in mental health to advocate for a more inclusive and ethically-sound adult entertainment industry.

Challenging Conventional Approaches to Sex

Jasmine is the co-owner, along with partner King Noire, of Royal Fetish Films, a multi-channel adult-entertainment business that resists the discriminatory tropes common in the art of entertainment and mainstream adult industry.

The filmmakers at Royal Fetish Films combine love for artistic and sensual film, with the need for authentic sexual representation. The result is blazing-hot content that stimulates the audience to explore their sexual boundaries in an area free from stigma.

Her work on the decolonization of sex and pornography, as well as her advocacy for sex-positive parenting, recently landed her on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. She has also appeared in major publications such as Vice, Playboy, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, NPR, Essence, BBC, and Psychology Today.

Jasmine challenges conventional approaches to womanhood, sexuality, womanhood, and parenting, and it’s no wonder that she’s in such high demand.

Nicole Crawford, MSW, LCSW, MPH, PhD

Dr. Nicole Crawford works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Qualified Supervisor for Social Work interns in the state of Florida. Nicole earned a Bachelor’s degree in Gerontology, as well as a Master of Social Work, a Master of Public Health, and a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida. Her company Keep Moving Forward Consulting offers direct therapy and dementia care consultation services to a range of individuals, their families, and other entities. Dr. Crawford works from a strengths-based and solution-focused perspective to help clients build on their resilience and work towards their desired outcomes.

Timmesha Burgess

Timmesha is a highly sought after international public figure; and was the only African-American woman invited to speak on the topic of the divine feminine, at the 2020 United Consciousness Conclave supported by the Dalai Lama. Her global efforts involve lobbying for sex education policy reform; and evolving topics around Sexuality & Sensuality, Mental Health, Political Leadership, Reproductive Health & Rights, & Sustainable Development Goals. Her lectures, humanitarian efforts, & published writings are tailored & targeted to help empower victims of sex-trafficking, rape, FGM, child marriage, & molestation; which garnered the attention of Voyage ATL Magazine, ShoutOut ATL, Canvas Magazine, The Georgia Hollywood Review, and The Atlanta Business Journal.

Rhiannon Webb

After two decades of frontier experience in the social sector, birth work, and teaching, Rhiannon founded her private practice as a space in which to integrate traditional psychotherapy with the wisdom offered by other healing practices. With extensive training and/or lived experience in neurodivergence, bdsm/kink, ENM (ethical non-monogamy), parenting and the perinatal window, and sexological bodywork, Rhiannon’s approach bridges developmental and emotion focused tools with somatic literacy to allow her clients to create deep, holistic, embodied relationships with self and others.

A queer, cisgender woman whose identity spans artist, writer, and educator, Rhiannon has studied, and subsequently taught, the art of embodied communication as a means to making connections. She has produced and delivered a series of workshops across Western Canada on embodiment, pleasure, and introduction to kink, and is regularly consulted as an expert or mentor by various educational organizations and media, such as Better Health Magazine, Teen Vogue, and We Rise Rooted: Social Action Labs. Rhiannon is a regular guest writer for various blogs and publications on the subjects of relationship dynamics, parenting, and pleasure.

Formally educated in counselling psychology, Rhiannon has also completed collateral training in somatic sex education and sexological bodywork, and continues studies with the Institute for Relational Intimacy, the Couples Institute, the Neurodiverse Partners Institute, the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, and the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education. She is a member in good standing of the American College of Sexologists, the Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (precursor to the College of Counselling Therapy of Alberta), the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association, the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists, and the Somatic Sex Educators Association.

Outside the working world, Rhiannon is a singer, dancer, and painter, and loves hitting the stage in drag as King Clit Eastwood.

Diane Gleim

Diane Gleim is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor practicing online and in-person in Santa Rosa, California. As the first Certified Sex Therapist in Sonoma County, Diane treats the many diverse issues related to sexual identity, sexual expression, sexual behavior, and sexual relationships. Her clients include everyone with a sexual concern: individuals and couples ages 18-85, and the LGBTQ+, kinky, and poly populations. In addition to her private practice, Diane’s work also includes providing trainings and consultations; being a CAMFT-approved CE provider; writing the blog "Underneath the Sheets" on Psychology Today’s website; and supervising sex-therapists-in-training. She has been quoted in the press and a guest on podcasts. Diane has been voted Sonoma County’s Best Sex Therapist by the readers of the North Bay Bohemian five times.

Laura Wood

Laura has been working in the field of mental health since 2010, is a Certified EMDR Clinician, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and CE provider, and an AASECT Certified SexTherapist. With her years of experience Laura brings in creativity and a unique perspective to her work. Her primary focus area is sexual assault recovery. Laura also offers services for individuals and couples around the topics of complex trauma, dissociation, mood disorders, neurodiversity, and BDSM and kink. With a hybrid private practice based out of Seattle Laura offers services to those across Washington state and EMDR consultation across the United States.

Dr. Christopher Scott

Dr. Christopher Scott is a Certified Gottman Therapist and uses Gottman Method Couples Therapy in my relationship therapy work. As a Certified Gottman Therapist, he has received intensive couples/relationship therapy training including the certification track. He’s also an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and to do so completed two additional years of coursework and supervision after first becoming a licensed psychologist and Gottman Certified Therapist, making him one of only very few sex and couples therapists in the United States to have achieved certifications in both of these areas.

Amanda Jepson

Amanda Jepson (she/her) is one of the co-founders of Respark Foundation—a 501(c)(3) non-profit serving survivors of sexual harm, a Clinical Therapist at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Veterans Health and Trauma Clinic at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, and an adjunct lecturer for the University of Colorado-Denver. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, AASECT-certified Sex Therapist, Certified Sexologist, and Approved Clinical Supervisor who has been working with survivors of trauma for over a decade. She specializes in combat trauma, physical or sexual abuse, sexual assault, and vicarious trauma as well as helping clients navigate issues and interests related to sex, sexuality, consensual nonmonogamy, and kink. She is passionate about empowering her clients as they reclaim their whole selves, providing consultation to both seasoned and new providers, and being a sex-positive provocateur in clinical and educational spaces.

LaKeesha Hines

LaKeesha Hines is a Certified Professional Life Coach and three-time published author serving individuals, couples, and families locally in Tampa, FL, across the US and internationally. She obtained her BA in Psychology and MA in School Counseling from Argosy University. She is currently working toward her certification in Sex Counseling from SHA.

Casandra Marina Jones

MPH, MA LPC Associate (Supervised by Melisa Fleming, LPC-S, LMFT) is an intersextional scientist, educator, love/pleasure guide and mental health clinician, who lives with her partners and dogs in San Antonio, Texas. She is also a fat, disabled, crazy, mixed-race, Queer cisgender Leatherwoman who has been active in kink and polyamory her whole life.

She has worked previously in public health/ infectious disease epidemiology and has expanded into being a mental health clinician dedicated to helping people understand themselves and others, while finding ways of increasing their authenticity and joy in everyday life. Her primary focus is to empower the use of systems thinking and health science in the sex-positive and mental health fields, as well as within the individuals/relationships she works with everyday. She provides sex therapy/mental health counseling services at Respark Therapy and Respark Foundation, and via the name Mistress Cas/ Bold Hearts Education she offers various trainings and workshops on intersectional sex-positive topics and guide/ consultation services.

Sponsor and Partnership Opportunities

We’re finalizing our 2023 partners and invite you to be on our preferred vendors and sponsors! Let us know how you’d like to support and we’ll work together to create a win-win! From marketing email blasts, your logo on swag bags, lanyards, social media, special events and more! Email us to talk with a representative.

WANT TO BECOME SHA CERTIFIED?:

Want to stop paying for conferences one by one and gain hours towards AASECT Certification too? This program can also be registered for and included as part of SHA’s full Sexuality Educator/Counselor/Sex Therapy Certification & Sexuality Consultant Program. Apply HERE to become SHA Certified and to gain all the CEs you need to apply towards AASECT Certification. Take your sexuality education even further and become sexceptional.