For Healthcare Practitioners
Your load is heavy, your work is demanding, yet you stand on the front lines with an open heart.
Each day, you help your patients navigate the fear, uncertainty, and challenges of life after MS diagnosis.
“The most common barriers [to discussing sexual disfunction] are addressable through modifications in the clinic environment, raising awareness, and providing training opportunities.”
Ask Yourself:
Have you inadvertently placed your patients’ sexual wellbeing on the back burner while trying to help them navigate other physical symptoms?
Healthcare practitioners are seldom offered the comprehensive sex education they need to answer patient questions or concerns.
- Are you reluctant to bring up the topic of sexuality because you fear it will be uncomfortable for your patient?
- Do you feel less than confident about your knowledge on how to address sexual dysfunction?
- Is your clinical schedule too hectic to allow for these complex conversations?
MS Sexual Health provides you with the extra support you need to address the complexity of sexual dysfunction, whether it stems from primary, secondary, or tertiary effects of multiple sclerosis.
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Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Effects of MS on Sexual Health
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Identifying and Addressing Erotophobia
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MS and Sexual Self-Worth: How You Can Help
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Orientation, Identity, and Alternative Lifestyles 101
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Kink: Healing or Harming? Your Questions Answered
Our workshop content is science-based, supported by research while addressing current cultural trends.
Be proactive in being the best healthcare provider you can be.
Through online or in-person workshops and training, you will find camaraderie, support, and the language and skills you need to offer compassionate support to your patients.
Studies show that patients are eager to address this symptom and hope that the clinician will introduce the subject.
In his research, Bronner referred to earlier studies by Aschka et al. and Hulter, “Almost half preferred that their physician initiates the discussion and 83% found the sexual interview a positive experience (G. Bronner, 2010).”
Workshops:
Identifying and Addressing Erotophobia
• Where does erotophobia come from?
• How does it manifest in the culture we live in?
• How does it affect our patient’s QoL?
• How do we release erotophobia so that we can serve our patients better?
Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Effects of MS on Sexual Health
• What are primary, secondary, and tertiary effects as they pertain to multiple sclerosis?
• How do we address these issues while prioritizing our patients’ wellbeing?
• When is it appropriate to refer to outside specialists?
MS and Sexual Self-Worth: How You Can Help?
• MS and body Image
• Definitions/Expectations of Sex
• Changing Relationship dynamics
• Interventions and Solutions
Orientation, Identity, and Alternative Lifestyles: The Complexity of Sexuality 101
• Gender Identity 101: More than Two Choices
Sexual Orientation 101: More than Straight or Gay
• Alternative lifestyle choices: Kink, Polyamory, Non-Monogamy
Kink: Your Questions Answered
• What Qualifies as Kink?
• How might this sexual choice affect my patients?
• What does the research tell us?
Your patients are hearing a lot about this topic as the conversation becomes more common. Prepare yourself with the language and basic knowledge to help them make wise and empowering decisions about this sexual choice.
About Cara Griswold:
“An MS diagnosis pulls the world out from under you. I know this because I was diagnosed with M.S. in 1993. My lived experience of MS, along with specialized sex educator training has given me a unique perspective that guides my work.”
Her work is guided by her lived experience of M.S., 25+ years of community activism, and specialized sex educator training.
She aims to inspire personal growth, healthy relationships, and empowerment for all people, focusing on folx with M.S., chronic illness, and disabilities, through a two-pronged approach.
Cara provides further education and training for healthcare providers so that they can better support their patients with MS, and additionally empowers individuals with MS with the radically honest support that they need to maintain or regain the power of pleasure in their sex lives.