The Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR, pronounced "star") is an international non-profit professional association. [1] It was founded in 1975 and its members "have clinical and/or research interests in human sexual concerns." [2] It provides means for exchanging ideas among clinicians and scientists treating or studying human sexuality. SSTAR membership includes professionals in varying disciplines including Psychology, Medicine (including Psychiatry, Ob/Gyn, Urology, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine), Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Nursing, Sexology and the sciences. [3]
SSTAR provides annual professional meetings, clinical conferences, membership newsletters, and an e-mail listserv for members. Notable members have included Eli Coleman, Stephen B. Levine, Stefani Goerlich, Peggy Kleinplatz, Sandra Leiblum, Marta Meana, Kenneth J. Zucker and William (Bill) Maurice.
The Masters & Johnson Award honors exceptional lifetime contributions to clinical sexuality and sexual research.
The Consumer Book Award, created by William (Bill) Maurice, recognizes the best recent book for a non-professional audience which enhances the understanding of human sexuality and/or sexual problems in the general public.
The Health Professional Book Award, created by William (Bill) Maurice, honors the best recent book for health professionals which advances their understanding of human sexuality and/or sexual problems.
The Service Award, created by William (Bill) Maurice, recognizes those who have made major contributions to the growth and history of SSTAR, often awarded ex post facto.
The Mentorship Award recognizes extraordinary mentorship of other SSTAR members.
The Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award recognizes students who are pursuing a career in sexual health and is meant to support the winner’s professional development as they begin their careers.
Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD), originally called persistent sexual arousal syndrome (PSAS), is spontaneous, persistent, unwanted and uncontrollable genital arousal in the absence of sexual stimulation or sexual desire, and is typically not relieved by orgasm. Instead, multiple orgasms over hours or days may be required for relief.
Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), hyposexuality, or inhibited sexual desire (ISD) is sometimes considered a sexual dysfunction, and is characterized as a lack or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity, as judged by a clinician. For this to be regarded as a disorder, it must cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulties and not be better accounted for by another mental disorder, a drug, or some other medical condition. A person with ISD will not start, or respond to their partner's desire for, sexual activity. HSDD affects approximately 10% of all pre-menopausal women in the United States, or about 6 million women, 1.5% of men and an unstudied amount of gender non-conforming people.
William Granzig was an American sexologist.
Heba Kotb is an Egyptian certified sex therapist and host of The Big Talk, a sexual advice show airing in Egypt. The first licensed sexologist in the country, Kotb bases her methods on the teachings of the Qur'an, which she says encourages healthy sexual relationships between husband and wife. She has been called: "Egypt's Dr. Ruth."
Robert Taylor Segraves is an American psychiatrist who works on sexual dysfunction and its pharmacologic causes and treatments.
Lori Anne Brotto is a Canadian psychologist best known for her work on female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD).
Yitzchak M. "Irv" Binik is an American-Canadian psychologist whose main research interest is human sexuality, specifically sexual pain.
Peggy Joy Kleinplatz is a Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist whose work often concerns optimal sexuality, opposition to the medicalization of human sexuality, and outreach to marginalized groups. She is a full professor of medicine and clinical professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa.
Sandra Risa Leiblum (1943–2010) was an American author, lecturer, and researcher in sexology.
James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias.
The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) is a professional organization for sexuality educators, sexuality counselors and sex therapists.
Certified Sex Therapists (CST) have graduate degrees in a clinical mental health field and have obtained advanced training in sex therapy from a credentialed training body, resulting in certification. One of the largest such bodies is the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).
Meg-John Barker is a writer, writing mentor, creative consultant, speaker, and independent scholar. They have written a number of anti self-help books on the topics of relationships, sex, and gender, as well as the graphic non-fiction books, Queer: A Graphic History and Gender: A Graphic Guide, and the book The Psychology of Sex. They are the writer of the relationships book and blog Rewriting the Rules, and they have a podcast with sex educator Justin Hancock.
Michael A. Perelman is an American psychologist. He is a Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychology in Psychiatry and former Clinical Professor of Reproductive Medicine, and Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Perelman is the co-director of the Human Sexuality Program, Payne Whitney Clinic of the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital.
New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives is a 2001 book by the Canadian sexologist Peggy J. Kleinplatz. It provides alternatives to the then conventional clinical strategies of treating sexual problems with medical and drug interventions.
Charles Allen Moser is an American physician specializing in transgender health, a clinical sexologist, sex therapist, and sex educator practicing in San Francisco, California. He is the author of numerous academic publications and books in the fields of transgender health, paraphilias including BDSM, and sexual medicine.
Marta Crawford is a Portuguese psychologist and author, specialising in clinical sexology. She frequently appears on Portuguese TV to discuss matters related to sexual therapy.
Stefani Elizabeth Goerlich is an American author, sexologist, researcher, and relationship counselor. She is an author of books based on academic self-help, sexual, and relational health themes. She is a licensed clinical social worker with advanced specialization in forensic social work and an AASECT certified sex therapist.