Humble Beginnings

From Podcast, to Practice, to Project!

The Practice

Licensed practitioners in Ohio face ongoing challenges in the mental health field—particularly when it comes to families accessing high-quality mental and behavioral health care. Few clinicians receive in-depth training in systemic therapy approaches, and even those who do often distance themselves from family work due to its complexity and intensity.

Working with families—working within systems—requires a major shift in perspective. It’s not just about managing a collection of individual issues, but about understanding the broader structural, contextual, and multigenerational forces at play. Effective family therapy calls for a multi-layered approach, where the therapist must skillfully join the very system they’re trying to help transform.

Another gap in the field is the narrow application of sex therapy. Traditionally, sex therapy has been seen as something for adults or couples, with most certified sex therapists focusing on intimacy issues in adulthood. And yet, many of the core models in sex and couples therapy emphasize the deep influence of early childhood experiences, attachment patterns, and family dynamics in shaping sexual identity and well-being.

So why wait until adulthood to begin that work? Why not address the system directly—and start reshaping the beliefs, self-esteem, and communication patterns that form the foundation of healthy sexual development in the first place?

By integrating sex therapy into family therapy, there’s a powerful opportunity to reimagine how sexual wellness is nurtured—not just individually, but collectively, across generations.

The AFFECT Project

The AFFECT Project emerged as a practical, evidence-based approach to developing the training, skills, and models needed for family-centered sex therapy.