055: Defining Sexual Shame

Podcast Description:

Natasha Helfer Parker interviews Dr. Tina Sellers in regards to her work with clients and students from religiously conservative cultures and her experience noticing a recent increase of sexual shame coming from what she calls the purity movement. She recently published a book called Sex, God and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy where she addresses sex-positive approaches people can reduce harmful shame and adopt both Christian and Hebrew traditions that can enhance, heal and edify their sexual relationships. She presented at the Rocky Mountain Sex Summit , September 22-23, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Sellers is the Director of Medical Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University and has been teaching the sexuality course for the Family Therapy program.

Resources Mentioned During the Podcast:

AASECT

Al Vernacchio: Sexual Educator

Sex, Mom and God: How the Bible’s Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politicsby Frank Schaeffer

Are We Due for Another Sexual Revolution? with Dr. Roger Libby
Thank God for Sex project

Girls and Sex: Navigating Complicated Landscape by Peggy Orenstein

The Etiology and Phenomenology of Sexual Shame: A Grounded Theory Study by Dr. Noel Clark

Christians Caught Between the Sheets — How ‘Abstinence Only’ Ideology Hurts Us by Tina Sellers

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Thank you to Jeff Meyers for the intro and Peter & Mary Danzig of Otter Creek Duo for the concluding bumper music.

Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST, CSTS can be reached at natashaparker.org and runs an online practice, Symmetry Solutions, which focuses on helping families and individuals with faith concerns, sexuality and mental health. She hosts the Mormon Mental Health and Mormon Sex Info Podcasts, is the current past president of the Mormon Mental Health Association and runs a sex education program, Sex Talk with Natasha. She has over 20 years of experience working with primarily an LDS/Mormon clientele.