Let's Talk About Sex: Ethically
Sunday, November 22nd, 2026 10:00 AM EST
-1:00 PM EST
Elizabeth Reed, LCSW, LISW-S, LICSW
Sexuality-related issues often enter the therapy room through conversations about intimacy, identity, relationships, sexual trauma, shame, religious or cultural messaging, consensual non-monogamy, gender identity, boundaries, and client values. Yet many clinicians receive limited formal training on how to respond to these topics with confidence, clinical clarity, and ethical grounding.
This 3.0-hour ethics training is designed to help mental health professionals navigate sexuality-related content in therapy while remaining within their scope of practice and honoring professional ethical responsibilities. Participants will explore common ethical considerations related to informed consent, competence, documentation, confidentiality, cultural humility, client self-determination, referral decisions, and therapist values or bias.
The course will also address how clinicians can recognize when additional consultation, supervision, training, or referral may be appropriate, while still responding to clients in a respectful, non-shaming, and clinically supportive manner. Special attention will be given to maintaining appropriate therapeutic boundaries and documenting sensitive sexuality-related information in ways that are clinically necessary, ethical, and mindful of client safety.
By the end of the training, participants will have a practical framework for approaching sexuality-related conversations ethically and compassionately, reducing avoidance or overreaction, and supporting clients with greater confidence and professionalism.
About the Presenter
Undergraduate Education: West Liberty State College, West Liberty, WV, 1996 Graduate Education: Master of Social Work, West Virginia University, 2000 Clinical Experience: Worked in residential, outpatient, and IOP settings Supervision Experience: Clinical supervisor since 2005 Private Practice: In private practice since 2014 I grew up in rural Appalachia, in a Gen-X era where asking for help usually meant you were being punished or had done something wrong. Therapy wasn’t something people talked about — and if they did, it came with shame attached. I watched queer folks being mistreated, and marginalized people pushed even further to the edges. From early on, I knew that wasn’t okay. I’ve always carried a strong sense of fairness and social justice, and that eventually led me to study psychology — and later social work — as a way to do something meaningful about it. Along the way, I also came to understand myself better. Like so many women and AFAB people, I fell through the cracks when it came to ADHD. I wasn’t the “hyperactive boy bouncing off the walls” stereotype, so no one noticed. I was the bright, daydreamy, anxious kid who worked twice as hard to hold it all together — and didn’t get a name for it until adulthood. When I finally received my ADHD and anxiety diagnoses, so much clicked into place. It changed how I saw myself and how I approached life — with more understanding, compassion, and curiosity instead of criticism. Now, I bring all of that — the lived experience, the empathy, the social justice lens — into my work. I know what it’s like to feel misunderstood, to be told you’re “too much” or “not enough,” or to try to fit into systems that were never built with you in mind. My passion is helping others find the relief, connection, and self-acceptance that I once needed too.