The Art of Sex Coaching: Expanding Your Practice

by Patti Britton

This is the essential resource for professionals seeking sex-positive approaches for their clients. Britton shows therapists and counselors how to move their practices fully into sex coaching or simply integrate sex coaching techniques for encouraging sexual self-understanding, growth, and pleasure into their existing therapeutic work. Based in the empirical science of sexology and adapted for practitioners looking to enrich their work and enlarge their client base, The Art of Sex Coaching covers what professionals need to know in order to participate in this exciting new field of coaching.

Genres: Sexuality, Psychology, Reference, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2005

Reviews

[Aida · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is VERY dated in multiple arenas, especially around LGBTQ+ issues which while explicitly addressed are not well woven through and instead more relegated to a separate chapter. The way it addressed trans issues, specifically, is very clearly from a narrow cisgender lens and veers into “Aw look at how cute / inspirational these people can be!” which is 🙄😬 yikes.

Which, to contextualize with the times, made *some* sense for then but NOW? Now we have much better works, and more importantly from actual trans people.

Also holy heck the fatphobia in this book is insidious. That was pretty striking.

Finally, there’s *very little* mention of culture/race/class. Abuse was minimized in some sections. Little political analysis on many axes, though there are glimpses of it at times?

On the plus side, pretty well organized and the sections about common concerns and how to deal with them were pretty robust. Patti also spends time discussing some of the business development side of things and the training lineages she’s coming from which is helpful to evaluate how she’s doing her thing and why she offers the ideas she does + encourage readers to check themselves similarly.

I’m already a seasoned professional in these fields so not much was new to me and it made it easy to spot the gaps/issues, so I’d be concerned about others reading it who may not have the above context through which to filter the content. 🥲

🙃

[Joli Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewing older sexuality texts is always challenging. There are, spread throughout, some absolute gems. Unfortunately, there is also rampant fatphobia, some queer-phobic language, and a significantly hetero/cisnormative bias. So, if you are a sex coach or considering becoming one add this to your reading but remember our field moves fast and so must we. The recommendation to attend a SAR is to my mind an absolute must for anyone even considering sex coaching or any mental health professional so take that one right to heart!

[Andrea Brown Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great jumping off point for anyone considering getting into sex coaching. It's very broad and general so it gives just enough of a taste to make you want to pursue more training and information.

A few issues with the book (mostly technical):
There were several grammar and punctuation errors that make me feel as if the editor did a sloppy job -- these errors were sometimes very distracting as I had to try to figure out what the author was trying to say.
The book, though it includes a chapter on trans clients and LGBTQ clients, was still pretty heteronormative, and I found some of the language to be a bit off-putting, but it may just be a sign of the times in which the book was written -- the movement has progressed quite quickly, and I think the language of the book really illustrates that.

All in all, I'd recommend it as a teaser taste for anyone considering the field of sex coaching.

[Annica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read 75% of this book and its inspired me to read two or three others. My idea is no longer to become a sex therapist so my interest has weakened. I think I will finish the book and I've certainly learnt a lot from it. Patti has a lot of experience and explains the 'simple' and 'common' issue couples and individuals have in their sex lives - a great A-Z of sexual issues. She also give references to books and therapists that deals with more complex situations.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there are some good points in this book, it is very, very dated. It is pre social media and LGBTQIA2+ issues are dated as well. Britton has done some later work, and I believe, though I haven't read them, those pieces are closer to today's understanding.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente livro para trabalhar!

[Shannon Hanrahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC overview of what you need to know to be a sex coach.

[Zina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great starting point however it is a bit dated.