STUDY ABROAD WITH SHA IN AMSTERDAM

We are proud to announce a study abroad course that includes elements of cultural immersion and experiential field trips

with Dr. Justin Lehmiller as our guide!

Sexual Health Alliance 5 day study abroad program will be cutting edge, transformational and exceed your expectations of studying human sexuality in a different culture and country. If you’ve seen Dr. Justin Lehmiller before in any capacity, you know this will be an incredible week learning from a Harvard Award Winning Educator and professor and his stellar guest speakers. This will be unlike any conference or program we have conducted as it includes elements of immersion, experiential and educational excursions.

Dr. Justin Lehmiller is a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, founder of the blog Sex and Psychology, and author of the bestselling book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. He has over a decade of experience teaching sexuality courses in colleges and universities and has led several popular workshops for the Sexual Health Alliance. He also has experience teaching study abroad courses in the Netherlands and thus has extensive knowledge of country and culture, as well as many local connections. For example, last year, his students had a chance to meet the Fokken twins, 77-year-old sisters who have been sex workers for over a half century (he wrote a fascinating blog post about what he and his students learned from that experience here). To learn more about Dr. Lehmiller’s previous study abroad courses, check out these blog posts.

This course offers students the opportunity to perform a comparative analysis of sexual attitudes and behaviors in the Netherlands and the United States. The Netherlands provides a fascinating cultural contrast because, in addition to having the best sexual health outcomes in the world, the Dutch were among the first to legalize same-sex marriage, they have mandated comprehensive sex education, and they have decriminalized and regulated the sale of sex. We will explore the Dutch model of sexuality in depth and consider what we can learn from it. Students will also learn about LGBTQ issues in the Netherlands and have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Dutch culture in order to enhance their cultural sensitivity and global perspective.

5 day program includes

Cultural immersion elements in regard to sexuality education

Guest Speakers from across Europe

One bigger cultural event each day (e.g., a bike tour of the city, a food tour, a canal cruise)

Classroom sessions

Free time to explore the city

Program cost includes one meal each day

Includes 20 AASECT CEs

This program has been rescheduled for AUG/SEPT 2021. See everyone then!

Purchase tickets below for Session 1: August 31 - September 4, 2021

Each day includes classroom time in addition to one or more of the elements listed above. Topics include but not limited to sex work, sex education, and LGBTQ issues—all through a cross-cultural lens.

We recommend students arrive no later that the morning or early afternoon of May 2nd. We will have a group welcome dinner and visit a sex museum that evening. We will do intensive work and cultural immersion days on the 3rd-6th, and leave the 7th as a free day to explore the city (and people can tack on extra days as they wish).

COURSE EXCURSIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO INCLUDE:

• Touring a sex museum

• Exploring the Red Light District

• Presentation and Q&A with sex workers at the Prostitution Information Center

• Bicycle tour of the city (note: for students who are not experienced with biking, an alternative walking tour will be arranged)

• Four hour food tour of a historic Dutch neighborhood and market

• Indonesian rijsttafel (rice table) dinner (Indonesian cuisine is extremely popular in the Netherlands!)

• Sunset boat cruise on the canals of Amsterdam

Note: The “partner(s) ticket” includes all the excursions and activities listed in this section. All of these activities are also already included in the overall course fees.

Core topics to be addressed include:

• Sex work, including the link between sex work and mental health and how that varies cross-culturally

• Sex education, including different approaches and their effectiveness

• Sexual health, including how and why this varies cross-culturally

• Sex trafficking, including how to detect it and the mental health impact on victims

• LGBTQ issues, including how the mental health of sexual and gender minorities differs cross-culturally

Investment:

Course cost is $1,200 per student for early registration. We have VERY limited seats in this program, so we recommend securing your spot early. This cost covers the course itself (i.e., all lectures/workshops and guest speakers) plus cultural excursions (bike tour, food tour, boat cruise), and one meal per day. Students will be responsible for own flight and hotel accommodations.

All fees are non-refundable, but are transferable between SHA students, programs and events.

Note that Amsterdam has great public transportation, so if students want to stay a little further out in order to save money, that’s always an option. We will also offer students the option of pairing up with other students to share rooms and save on hotel costs as the program gets closer. Classroom will be very centrally located and near city center.

Purchase tickets below for section 2: Session 2: September 7 - September 11, 2021

January 2021 update:

We are also excited to welcome you into the new and updated study abroad experience. This will include virtual pre-travel mixers with the SHA Team starting in May to get to know one another, as well as special virtual pre-travel events. We are going to start the party early!
The new Amsterdam Study Abroad dates are as follows:

Session 1: August 31 - September 4, 2021

Session 2: September 7 - September 11, 2021

If you were in Session 1 previously, you will still be in Session 1; if you were in Session 2 previously, you will still be in Session 2. Please respond back to this email confirming your attendance and let us know if you have any questions. If you need to change sessions, please let us know about that as well.

Also, in terms of booking flights/hotels, you should plan to be in Amsterdam no later than mid-afternoon on your starting date—activities will begin at 5:00 PM that day. For departure, plan to leave the day after your section ends because the last day of the course will be a full day, complete with an evening boat cruise! That said, feel free to extend your stay in Amsterdam before or after the course if you desire. We will provide an extensive list of optional activity suggestions should you wish to explore more of Amsterdam.

This program meets the requirements of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) and is approved for AASECT CE credits. These CE credits may be applied toward AASECT certification and renewal of certification. Completion of this program does not ensure or guarantee AASECT certification. For further information please contact ce@aasect.org