**** August eNewsletter ****
Happy August fellow SSTARGazers!
We hope your summer is going great! ☀️
This month, we’re excited to share our SSTARBurst videos, upcoming training opportunities, and a book launch —please see the details below.
If you have a workshop, publication, job posting, call for participants, or other announcements you'd like to share with the SSTAR community, we’d love to hear from you!
New Online Submission Form: Please submit your content using the following form:https://form.asana.com/?k=sEXk2Vl4NvJ-Di7eMIUW0w&d=8142059046716. Please select “SSTARGaze Monthly Newsletter” as your Communication Type. Submissions are due no later than five days before the end of the month (e.g., by August 20 for inclusion in the September newsletter). Be sure to include any relevant deadlines.
We’re grateful for your continued contributions to keeping the SSTAR community informed, engaged, and connected!
Have a great day ☀️,
Marie-Michèle Paquette, Ph.D.
Interim Communications Officer
SSTARBurst
Dear SSTAR Members:
Following on the heels of all the new research shared at the annual meeting, I’m excited to share more new research with this month’s SSTARburst video. In this video, you'll get to know Erin McClung and her recently published research on the effects of autonomy support when romantic relationships end.
In this video you’ll learn:
- What “autonomy support” is.
- Why it is helpful not only throughout a relationship, but also when a relationship ends.
- Clinical/real-world implications for those going through a break-up.
- Erin’s most and least favorite aspects of the research process.
And if you missed our previous SSTARburst interviews with:
- Dr. Jared Boot-Haury
- Dr. Marie-Michèle Paquette
- Dr. Lyne Piché, and
- Dr. Bonnie Saks
What is SSTARburst?
SSTARburst is a series of short video interviews—perfect for your lunch break—each spotlighting a different SSTAR member and featuring their recently published research or practical, real-world clinical or professional insights. It's all about getting to know one another, celebrating the incredible work of SSTAR members, keeping you current on research and clinical or professional practice, and building connection, collaboration, and community.
We hope you enjoy this SSTARburst interview.
Warmly,
Carolin Klein, Programs Officer
and the rest of the SSTAR Team
New Opportunity - Membership
Dear SSTAR Members,
As Membership Chair, I have the privilege of working with colleagues across our Society to help cultivate a vibrant, welcoming, and engaged membership community. As SSTAR continues to grow, I'm looking to expand the Membership Committee and would love to invite members who are interested in helping strengthen our organization to consider joining us.
The Membership Committee plays an important role in welcoming new members, supporting member engagement and retention, reviewing membership initiatives, and helping ensure that SSTAR continues to be an inclusive, collegial, and professionally enriching home for those dedicated to sexual health. Committee members also have the opportunity to contribute ideas that shape the future of membership within the Society.
Whether you've been a member for many years or have joined more recently; whether you have a little or a lot of time to contribute; and whether you are simply looking to be part of the committee or use this as a stepping-stone into a larger leadership role within SSTAR, you and your perspective are valuable and welcome additions to the Membership Committee. We are especially interested in building a committee that reflects the diversity of SSTAR's disciplines, career stages, professional experiences, and lived experiences.
Committee service offers a wonderful opportunity to become more involved in the Society, connect with colleagues across disciplines, and contribute to the continued growth and success of our community. Some of the current projects we are looking to support are the Mentorship Project, Guiding SSTARs – SSTAR’s Mentorship program, The Constellation Crew – SSTAR’s buddy/ welcoming program, for first time attendees to our conferences, and SSTAR feedback – ensuring we are responsive to our members wants and needs.
If you are interested in serving on the Membership Committee or would like to learn more about what committee involvement entails, I would be delighted to hear from you. Please feel free to reply to this email with your interest or any questions you may have.
Thank you for all you do to support SSTAR and the advancement of sexual health. I hope you'll consider joining us.
Warmly,
Elisabeth Gordon, MD, CST
Membership Chair
Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR)
Conferences, Workshops, Training, and Professional Groups
Dear SSTAR Community,
On behalf of the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH), I'm excited to invite you to our 2026 Annual Conference, Matching Evidence with Experience: Connecting Research & Practice, in person, Thursday and Friday, October 22–23 at the UNLV Campus in Las Vegas, NV. SASH brings together folx from across the world of sexual and relational health — including mental health professionals, medical professionals, researchers, educators, advocates, and students — and we would love to have more of you in the room.
This year's program pairs voices from across our field: full-length presentations co-delivered by two professionals from different corners of sexual and relational health, lightning talks both days, a Day One poster session, and a Day Two panel on Problematic Sexual Behaviors. We'll also gather for a private Lock & Key Mixer at Cabinet of Curiosities & The Lock Speakeasy. Space for our mixer is limited to 50 guests, so register early if you'd like to join us.
Full details and pricing are in the attached flyer. Click Here to Register or copy and paste this link in your browser:https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/sash-2026-annual-conference.
Want to share your work? Our call for poster presentations remains open through August 15, 2026. Posters are a wonderful opportunity for detailed work and one-on-one engagement with attendees and we'd love to see your work represented. Click Here To Submit an Abstract For a Poster Presentation or copy and paste this link in your browser:https://forms.gle/FEuoHXNCeiv95HGi7.
We also still have sponsorship positions available, and we would love to include sex therapy folx! If your organization is interested in connecting with our cross-disciplinary community, please reach out and I'll be happy to share details.
Please share this with anyone you think would be interested! Colleagues, students, and friends of the field are all welcome. We would love to see you in Las Vegas!
Warmly,
Dr. Laney Knowlton (she/her/hers)
LMFT-S, CST, CSAT-S, CPTT-S, CCPS, CCRDS-S, CCBRT, RAE
President, Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH)
Title of Workshop: Still Wanting: Menopause, Infidelity, and the Evolving Erotic Self (Conference)
Date: Friday, September 25 & Saturday, September 26, 2026 | Live In-Person
Venue: Palm Beach County Convention Center | 650 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL. 33401
Keynote Speakers: Dr. Alexandra Solomon, Dr. Marty Klein, Dr. Rachel Zar, and Amanda Ricker
Contact Name: Rachel Needle, PsyD
Telephone: 561-379-7207
Email: info@modernsextherapy.com
Link:https://modernsextherapyinstitutes.com/2026-conference/
Hi Colleagues,
The 4th Cohort for Certification in Sensate Focus Touch is beginning August 20th. Classes are small to encourage individualized learning. Please contact me if you are interested and I will send a notice when registration begins.
Hope you can join us!
Many thanks
Linda Weiner
Linda Weiner, MSW, LCSW
Pronouns: She/Her
AASECT Certified Diplomate in Sex Therapy, Certified Supervisor and CE Provider
Owner, Sex Therapist St. Louis, LLC & Sensate Focus Touch, LLC
www.sextherapiststlouis.com
www.sensatefocustouch.com
Books and Award
📖Book launch 📖
Dear SSTAR members,
I hope you are well!
I’m writing to invite you to the virtual book launch of my new book, Come Closer!
The event is an hour-long conversation with psychoanalyst Adam Phillips, author Miranda July, comedian Gary Gulman, and musician Noga Erez.
Warmly,
Dr. Galit Atlas
🏆Announcement of the Winner of the Masters and Johnson Award 🏆
The Society for Sex Therapy and Research is thrilled to announce that it has honored Michael A. Perelman, PhD, with its Masters and Johnson Award, in recognition of his extraordinary lifetime contributions to sex therapy and sex research.
Dr. Perelman is Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, and former Clinical Professor of Reproductive Medicine, and Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine. As a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Helen Singer Kaplan’s Human Sexuality Program at Cornell Medical Center, he became one of the first psychologists in the United States added to a medical center treatment team for sexual disorders, at a time when such teams were primarily limited to physicians. He went on to lead that same program, now the longest continuously active sex therapy case conference in the world, for over three decades. In 1976, he wrote the first sex therapy doctoral dissertation in Columbia University’s history, and he later developed the Sexual Tipping Point® model of sexual response, which he has continued to teach and refine throughout his career.
Across his career, Dr. Perelman has worked at the interface of sex therapy and sexual medicine, translating research into clinical practice and bringing psychological perspectives into venues historically dominated by medicine. He is a recognized pioneer in the understanding and treatment of delayed ejaculation and is widely considered one of the most-cited authorities on the disorder. He was appointed to the Sexual Function Advisory Council of the American Urological Association Foundation and to the International Society for Sexual Medicine Standards Committee. Additionally, as an appointee to the ISSM PE Consensus group that produced the first evidence-based definition of premature ejaculation, he co-developed the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool, now used in clinical and research settings internationally. His work on integrating psychotherapy with pharmacological treatments has helped shape how the field approaches combination treatment today.
Dr. Perelman has authored over 70 peer-reviewed articles, along with countless abstracts and posters, over 25 chapters in sexual medicine textbooks, and has delivered over 300 professional presentations. He is a Fellow of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and serves as Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Current Sexual Health Reports. His honors include AASECT’s Professional Standard of Excellence Award, AASECT’s Integrative Approaches to Sex Therapy Award, SMSNA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, ISSWSH’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Honorary Membership, the American Psychological Association Society for Health Psychology’s Excellence in Clinical Health Psychology Award, and Distinguished Alumni recognition from Columbia University. He has also been recognized by the University of Minnesota Medical School as one of the “50 most distinguished sexual and gender health revolutionaries.”
In 2011, Dr. Perelman founded the MAP Education and Research Foundation, a public charity promoting a biopsychosocial approach to diagnosing and treating sexual disorders. Through the Foundation, he has funded over 30 STP Certificates and monetary awards recognizing outstanding presentations at SSTAR, ISSWSH, and SMSNA meetings. He has also endowed lectures on biopsychosocial approaches to sex therapy and sexual medicine for the SSTAR and SMSNA annual meetings. Throughout his career, Dr. Perelman has supervised and mentored countless students and trainees, helping them hone their skills and launch their careers.
Dr. Perelman has been a core contributor to SSTAR over the decades. His involvement dates back more than 40 years, beginning with annual presentations in the late 1970’s and began serving on its Program Committees in the early 1980s. He served a term as an at-large member of the Executive Council later that decade. Notably, SSTAR began as EAST, the Eastern Association of Sex Therapists, when membership was limited to medical school faculty. Dr. Perelman, was often the first non-physician member of the professional societies he joined, helping to lead the way toward including non-physicians in sex therapy and sexual medicine as part of a truly interdisciplinary treatment process, a privilege many in the mental health professions take for granted today. He went on to serve as the Society’s Inter-Organization Liaison Officer before being elected President from 2009 to 2011. He remains very active in SSTAR, each year presenting the MAP Foundation’s Sexual Tipping Point Award at the annual meeting.
Congratulations, Dr. Perelman!
