Brand-New!
Meets Law & Ethics, Health Equity, Cultural Competence, and/or Professional Roles & Boundaries Continuing Education Requirements!
Pleasure in the Treatment Room
Presented by Rebecca Bloom, LMHC (she/her)
When: Friday, October 9th, 2026 | 9:00 am – 4:30 pm Pacific Time
Where: Live on Zoom. You will receive your Zoom link/invitation the week of the workshop.
Continuing Education Credit Hours (NBCC and NASW-WA Approved): 6 CEs (meets criteria for 2 Law & Ethics, 3 Health Equity or Cultural Competence CEs, and/or 2 Professional Roles & Boundaries CEs) | Cost: $199.00
Continuing Education Workshop Description:
How do we talk about pleasure in the treatment room? Do you feel comfortable talking with your clients about intimacy? How do we talk about what we desire and what we want to say “No” to? In this 6-CE continuing education workshop, we will explore all of this and more — using the most current research and writings on Sex Therapy as the foundation for the workshop.
Over the past twenty-five years, Rebecca’s clinical work has centered on helping adult survivors of complex trauma reclaim safety, agency, and connection after profound experiences of betrayal and harm. Much of this work has involved sitting with the realities of developmental trauma, attachment wounds, and the long-lasting effects of abuse perpetrated by trusted individuals.
As the presenter begins integrating intimacy and couples counseling more intentionally into my practice, she has become increasingly aware of how essential conversations about pleasure, embodiment, and desire are within trauma treatment. Our clients often learn how to endure, protect, and disconnect long before they are given permission to explore what feels good, nourishing, or truly wanted—to discover what brings them pleasure.
Rebecca’s theoretical foundation has been strongly informed by post-graduate training and completion of Levels One and Two at the Sensory Psychotherapy Institute. Using this sensory-informed approach during the workshop, we will explore safe ways for your clients to discuss what their bodies and minds want most—what is pleasurable to them.
We will take time to really look at human physiology and how each of our parts work. This approach emphasizes mindfulness, nervous system awareness, and the importance of tracking bodily experience as part of healing.
When clients begin to slow down through mindfulness and sense perception, they often discover that they have limited experience identifying what they genuinely want. By helping clients attend to sensory experiences in the present moment, therapists can support the development of curiosity, self-trust, and emotional regulation. This process creates space for clients to recognize preferences, boundaries, pleasure, and longing in ways that may have previously felt inaccessible or unsafe.
We will also explore issues that complicate desire. The most common topics among these that come up in the treatment room include nonmonogamy, kink, how our bodies work, pornography, family systems and beliefs, and societal messaging.
Rather than approaching intimacy solely through cognition or narrative processing, helping clients remain grounded and present in their bodies creates opportunities for deeper self-understanding and relational connection. Embodied awareness can become a pathway not only toward healing trauma, but also toward cultivating intimacy that feels authentic, consensual, and alive.
Continuing Education Workshop Objectives:
Learning Goals for “Pleasure in the Treatment Room”:
- Defining pleasure and intimacy.
- Discovering psychosocial aspects of desire, gender, and kink.
- Understanding medical conditions that impair sexual functioning.
- Comprehending common sexual challenges in relationships.
- Exploring issues regarding the use of pornography.
- Understanding contemporary models for treatment of sexual problems.