{"id":68480,"date":"2021-09-07T18:49:16","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T22:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pelvicguru.com\/?p=68480"},"modified":"2024-02-27T04:32:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T09:32:22","slug":"clinical-blindspots-heather-alex-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebetashow.com\/pelvicglobal_new\/clinical-blindspots-heather-alex-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Clinical Blindspots: Filling in the Gaps of Sexual Health Medical Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A discussion with Heather Edwards & Alex Papale<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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These two have been doing a series of courses under the title of “Clinical Blindspots” that focus on some specific niches of kink and BDSM that involve pelvic health. These topics are often taboo and rarely covered in pelvic health education, leaving practitioners who have concerns regarding these more specific sex acts without anyone to ask. Likewise, if they do ask, pelvic health providers might feel exceptionally inadequate in understanding what these sex acts are or what the best practices for them might be. This is the void Heather & Alex are seeking to fill in the pelvic health field.\u00a0<\/p>

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It’s frequently mentioned in the feedback they get from their courses that their short courses are SO MUCH FUN and feel like a truly accepting space free of judgement.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Heather:<\/span> Hi Alex! I feel like we\u2019ve really gotten to know each other under a set of bizarre of circumstances this past year. You\u2019ve definitely been one of those bright spots of the pandemic\u2026 the whole \u201clack of being local\u201d was no barrier to our co-creation! We\u2019ve recorded, what like 9+ hours of really fun sex ed in 2021 so far??\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Alex: <\/span>Hi Heather! Truly, it\u2019s been a wild time. This work relationship is definitely one of the highlights of 2021! I\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s correct too, 9 hours sounds like a lot but I swear it flies by! We have so much fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Heather: <\/span>I love that Pelvic Global (Pelvic Global, LLC) has taken on these sex toy courses that we put together. I know lubes and toys are certainly things I get asked about often. What are some of the questions that you get most from patients (or other practitioners) on these topics?<\/span><\/p>

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Alex: <\/span>That\u2019s a good question! Usually it\u2019s something along the lines of a patient telling me they don\u2019t use lube or use a not so great lube because they\u2019ve never really thought too much about it and I can then recommend a better option. Regarding toys, a very popular conversation is around what the options are for dilation products that aren\u2019t as clinical or that can be multipurpose. This can be really really helpful in bridging the gap between the clinical dilation process and the patient feeling connected to their body in a more fun, pleasurable way!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Heather:<\/span> Every time we teach together, I feel like you surprise yourself with the actual depth of knowledge you have on SO MANY sexual health topics! Seriously, I think we could have done a 1 hour course just on harness selection (and we probably will). Tell the folks reading this how you have accumulated this wealth of knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Alex:<\/span> Haha, I do recognize I have that reaction often. I\u2019ve always been a big nerd about all things sex and sexual health related, and I worked at a local sex shop for a few years. When I was there I went through an extensive sex ed training headed by a well known sexologist, and got a lot of on the spot experience with talking to customers from all walks of life about pleasure and products. I loved to teach a wide variety of workshops, and got to create a few brand new ones myself! This really dovetailed beautifully with pelvic health PT and the more clinical anatomy training.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Heather:<\/span> I know that I got into the field of sex education from a combination of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>