People Are Not Taught That Sex Should Not Be Painful

Mia Fine, MS, LMFT, CST, CIIP is the creator of the remote course, Sexual Interviewing for Pelvic Health Therapists. This course is for pelvic rehab therapists who want to learn tools and strategies from a sex therapist’s toolkit who works with patients experiencing pelvic pain, pelvic floor hypertonicity, and other pelvic floor concerns. Mia (they/she) is a student of Queer Theory, Intersectionality, and Social Justice and offers holistic, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed therapy in the Seattle area.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Medical Family Therapist and trained AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, Mia has clocked hundreds of hours in direct client contact, supervision, and consultation. She has also attended numerous sex therapy trainings, continuing education opportunities, and trains incoming sex therapists on current modalities and working with vulnerable client populations.

Sexuality is core to most human beings’ identity and daily experiences. Human beings are hard-wired for connection, intimacy, and pleasure. When there are concerns relating to our sexual identity, sexual health, and capacity to access our full potential, it affects our quality of life and holistic well-being. Practitioners who work with folks on issues of sexual health and decreasing sexual dysfunction are in the position to encourage awareness and healing. Mia shares, “Imagining a world where human beings don’t walk around holding shame or traumatic pain is imagining a world of health and happiness.”

Unwanted sexual pain often goes unaddressed because culture does not teach the interactions between feelings, relationships, and the body. Our society often tells us that there is something wrong with us, that we are defective, for wanting a healthy sex life and for addressing our human needs/sexual desires. People are not taught that sex should not be painful and that pain is our body giving us information that something is going on. It’s not uncommon that most people who experience sexual pain often feel as if they are broken. Mia’s favorite thing to say is that “No person is broken. Each and every one of us are uniquely special beings worthy of being loved and nurtured.”

Providers must be aware of their own biases and be introduced to the various sexual health resources available to providers and patients. Mia further stresses, "Always listen to your patient to understand what they are saying and feeling. Do not respond defensively. Remember that this can feel like a threatening situation for patients. It is vital that providers working with pelvic floor concerns have the necessary education and training to work with patients on issues of sexual dysfunction."

From a business standpoint, happy patients are more likely to return to your practice in the future, recommend your practice to their friends, and pay their bills on time and in full. Patients want to have quality interactions with a healthcare provider who cares about them. As a practitioner, your satisfied patient is more likely to make follow-up appointments and maintain their prescribed treatment plan, which can lead to more positive outcomes.

Sexual Interviewing for Pelvic Health Therapists offers current and empirically-founded sex therapy and sex education resources for both the provider as well as the patient. Mia will broaden your scope of competence in working with patients who experience forms of sexual dysfunction and who hope to live their full sexual lives. This course will add the extensive skills of interviewing for sexual health. It also offers the provider a new awareness and self-knowledge on their own blind spots and biases.

Check out Mia's interview with Holly Tanner on the Herman & Wallace YouTube Channel for more information on the course.

Sexual Interviewing for Pelvic Health Therapists - Remote Course

• February 26 - 27, 2022
• August 13 – 14, 2022