When Therapy Gets Spicy: Navigating Sex, Alt. Relationships, and Gender in the Therapy Room
Instructor
Greg Kilpatrick, LMFT, CST
In-person Course
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
12:00 – 1:30pm
Location
The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training
6401 Ruby Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90042
1.5 CEs for qualifying professionals.
Course fee
$40 for licensed therapists
$25 for pre-licensed and students
Sex, sexuality, gender and relationship structure are frequent themes in cultural discourse, but how often do they move from subtext to explicit conversation in therapy? Chances are, both you and your clients are thinking about these topics more than you're talking about them. This training explores the complex, often unspoken dynamics that shape the therapeutic space, especially when it comes to identity, desire, and relational diversity.
We’ll examine how our own experiences of sex, gender, and relationships inevitably show up in the room, and how to work with that reality skillfully and ethically. We'll also review common DSM-5 diagnoses related to sexual functioning and gender identity, and consider alternative, affirming frameworks that expand clinical understanding.
The training will include an introduction to alternative relationship styles and sexual practices, with a focus on culturally responsive and non-pathologizing care. Designed for clinicians ready to move beyond avoidance, this workshop invites you to lean in, get curious, and build greater nuance in your work with clients navigating sexuality and identity.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this training, participant will be able to:
Describe how their personal experiences related to sex, sexuality, gender, and relationships may influence the therapeutic process.
Demonstrate increased skill in recognizing and navigating the intersection of therapist and client subjectivities in clinical work.
Identify the most common DSM-5 diagnoses related to sexual dysfunctions and gender dysphoria, and compare them with alternative, affirming frameworks for understanding human sexuality and gender diversity.
Describe common alternative relationship structures and alternative sexual practices/identities, and apply strategies for working with clients from these communities with greater cultural responsiveness and clinical nuance.
Instructor Credentials
Greg Kilpatrick, LMFT, CST is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Sex Therapist (AASECT) in private practice in Pasadena, California. He specializes in working with clients navigating sexuality, gender, religious trauma, and alternative relationship structures, with a particular focus on queer individuals, people recovering from purity culture or religious fundamentalism, and those exploring kink or non-monogamy.
Greg’s clinical approach is relational, affirming, and grounded in a deep respect for complexity, particularly the messy intersections of identity, desire, and belief. He has advanced training in sex therapy, alt-sex and alt-relationship frameworks, and religious trauma, and these areas form the core of both his clinical and research work.
In addition to his practice, Greg teaches and facilitates trainings for mental health professionals on working with sexuality and relational diversity. He is a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists and is committed to expanding cultural responsiveness and clinical nuance around topics that are often under-discussed, especially in the therapy room.
For more information or questions contact us at thealamoprograms@gmail.com
Refund policy: Participants seeking a refund can email us at thealamoprograms@gmail.com at least 15 days before the first meeting. Refunds requested 15 days or earlier will receive 100% refund. 14-7 days prior, participants are eligible for a 50% refund. No refund will be provided 6 days prior or less.
Course certificates awarded at the end of the course upon receipt of completed form.
Course meets the qualifications for 6 hours of continuing education credit for PhD, LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the American Psychological Association and the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training is a dba of Michelle Harwell Therapy. Michelle Harwell Therapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Michelle Harwell Therapy maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Michelle Harwell Therapy is also approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #) to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs. Michelle Harwell Therapy maintains responsibility for this course and its content.
No known conflict of interest or commercial support for Michelle Harwell Therapy, The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training, or the instructor.
Contact Us
To request accommodations for special needs, obtain the grievance policy, report a grievance, request a refund, request more information about the course, or if you have general questions, please email us at thealamoprograms@gmail.com