Services
We are dedicated to enhancing the sexual health, knowledge and well being of people in mid and later life by providing quality sexuality education to individuals, couples and to professionals who serve them. As an educational outreach initiative of the Widener University Graduate Program in Human Sexuality, we are affiliated with a highly respected academic program equally committed to healthy lifespan sexuality and professional practice.
We invite you to tour this site and explore how you and/or your organization may benefit from sexuality consulting, training, policy development and resource development.
Consortium members are professionals whose work addresses diverse aspects of sexuality. We recognize sexuality to be a lifespan issue that affects everything about an individual from self-perceived sex and gender to the management of sexual health and attractions of the heart.
For Professionals
Intimacy Needs and Behaviors of the Elderly
Care-giving staff in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities will benefit from
this half- or full-day workshop on the diverse sexual backgrounds, experiences and
expectations of aging, aged and elderly populations. Topics covered include physical
and medical conditions of aging that affect sexual functioning as well as the sexual
challenges faced by individuals in this phase of the life cycle.
Facilitator: Karen Hicks, PhD
Keynote speeches on Intimacy, Sexuality and Aging
Conference organizers and attendees will benefit from targeted keynote addresses by
one of America’s foremost sexuality educators.
Speaker: Peggy Brick, MEd, CSE
How to Talk Comfortably and Capably about Sex
When administrators and staff can speak comfortably about sexuality, policies and
patient care improve. This is an interactive workshop will help participants communicate
with professionals, patients and their loved ones.
Facilitator: Melanie Davis, EdD, CSE
CEU Programs for Nurses and Staff
Sexuality and sexual rights are important issues for anyone working with seniors in
long-term and assisted living environments. Programs can be customized to your unique
needs, with CEUs available for registered nurses.
Facilitator: Carole Adamsbaum, RN, ACSE
SexTalk Workshop: Skills for Communicating with Clients about Sexual Concerns
In this highly experiential workshop, participants strengthen the skills of communication
with their clients by deepening their understanding of their own responses to sexual
issues, examining the process of psycho-sexual development, exploring and expanding
knowledge of sexual function and dysfunction, and practicing approaches to interactions
which will facilitate comfort and communication for both them and their clients.
Facilitator: Joan Garrity
Intimacy/Sexuality/Personal Sensitive “Gap Analysis” for Facility Administration
Gap analysis identifies the gap between what residents say they want and need from
the staff around sensitive topics and staff attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior.
Staff gain comfort with sensitive topics, understand needs of residents, gain knowledge
to address situations, and understand personal and institutional values and procedures.
Facilitator: Katherine Forsythe, MSW
Aging and Sexuality Curriculum Implementation Training
Training for professionals on how to use lessons from the groundbreaking resource Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter.
Facilitator: Bill Taverner, MA
The Heart Has No Wrinkles: Sexuality and Intimacy in Assisted Living and Nursing Homes
This customized workshop prepares professionals to use a positive approach in dealing
with residents’ sexual needs and rights. The content is tailored to the unique concerns
of individual agencies.
Facilitator: Peggy Brick, MEd, CSE
The Lion’s Way to Stress Reduction
In one hour, professionals can learn practical, tension relieving techniques that
will help them “pounce when it counts” for maximum efficiency in high-pressure environments.
Facilitator: Melanie Davis, EdD, CSE
HIV with Love and Wrinkles
People with HIV/AIDS are now living into their 50s and 60s, and those over fifty constitute
one of the fastest growing populations of individuals becoming newly infected with
the virus. The material presented in either a keynote or workshop format will help
professionals caring for the older population to better understand the impact of HIV
on their clients, and increase their skills in giving HIV results and supporting older
clients to live well with the virus.
Facilitator: Joan Garrity
For Individuals & Couples
Aging, Sex, and Spirit: Taking the Next Step on the Journey
Men and women examine their concepts of aging, sexuality and spirituality during this
workshop. This workshop allows for an exploration of the transcendent experience in
our sexuality in a comfortable and safe setting.
Facilitator: Connie Bowes, MA, EdD
If the Walls Could Talk: Stories of Personal Events that Changed Our Lives
Participants share events in relationships in their lives that were turning points
– life lessons that they learned from “intimate” relationships that they would like
to pass along to the younger generation. Wisdom from a lifetime is gathered and preserved.
Facilitator and discussion guide: Katherine Forsythe, MSW
Evolving Intimacy: Love in a New Age
Age-related emotional and physical changes often require new ways of thinking about
and expressing sexual needs and interests. This workshop will help individuals and
couples maximize their changing physical capabilities. It will also sensitivity to
their own and others’ evolving sexual and intimacy needs.
Facilitator: Melanie Davis, EdD, CSE
New Expectations: Sexuality in Mid and Later Life
These custom-designed workshops for baby-boomers address the expected changes in sexual
experience and behavior, new partners, safer sex and communication issues.
Speaker: Peggy Brick, MEd, CSE
Good, Good, Good Vibrations: Spicing Up Your Sex Life with Sex Toys
The world of adult sex toys is rife with gadgets and gizmos to increase the pleasures
of sensuality and sexuality together and alone. Come and learn what the marketplace
has to offer. For women who want to reach greater levels of comfort and physical satisfaction.
Facilitator: Connie Bowes, MA, EdD
Sex after Cancer and Other Chronic Health Issues
Cancer, chronic illness and their treatments can take the fun out of sex and intimacy…but
they don’t have to. This program will help you assess the changes you have experienced
and explore new options for pleasure that remain available to you and/or your partner.
Facilitator: Melanie Davis, EdD, CSE
Principles and Skills of Loving: Creating the Partnership
You’ve AlwaysWantedLearn the principles and skills of loving to enable you and your
partner to build a new path to intimate interaction. It will offer experiences to
practice the skills you have learned.
Facilitator: Connie Bowes, MA, EdD
Sex and the Internet: The Do’s and Don’ts
The internet offers myriad opportunities for satisfying sexual curiosity, but careless exploration can put your privacy, safety and financial security at risk. Learn what’s online and how to explore it safely.
Facilitator: Connie Bowes, MA, EdD
Women Over 50: Moving from Work to What’s Next
Where do you go after you have completed a career and want to develop new interests,
relationships and passion for the second half of your life. Now is the time for you
to create your plan.
Facilitator: Connie Bowes, MA, EdD
