פורום טיפול מיני בתפוז
פורום מקצועי שבו צוות מרפאת דר' אלוני משיב לשאלות ופניות גולשים בנושאי מין ומיניות
What is the difference between a Sexologist and a Certified Sexual Therapist
Anyone who works with human sexuality can call themselves a Sexologist because in principle there is no legal restriction on the use of the term. Today therefore there are many professionals who call themselves Sexologists including some who lecture on sexuality. There are also those who call themselves Sexologists to denote that within their profession they specialize in matters of sexuality, for example, an Educational Counselor in a school.
Problems can arise however when it comes to dealing with medical treatment or psychology because only those professionals with a license or the proper authorization may engage in actual treatment – in other words, doctors, clinical psychologists and clinical social workers.
This group is called Sexual Therapists in contrast to Sexologists and like any profession there is room for specialization.
The ISST (Israeli Society for Sex Therapy) was founded ten years ago as a professional organization in order to encourage licensed professional to specialize in Sex Therapy. ISST is the also the representative in Israel for the International Association of Sexual Therapists.
ISST qualifies professionals to specialize in the field through a three year residency in Sex Therapy clinics and a range of hospitals. The residency is aimed at providing professionals in relevant academic fields with extensive therapeutic experience. There are currently around sixty ISST registered Sexual Therapists in Israel apart from those therapists who have yet to finish their specialization.
To summarize, according to the law, any doctor, clinical psychologist or clinical social worker may engage in therapy, including Sexual Therapy. Of the tens of thousands of professionals in these fields in Israel however, only a few individuals have chosen to specialize in Sexual Therapy according to recognized international criteria. They are the members of ISST.
We therefore strongly recommend only using sexual therapists who are certified, specialized and recognized. Treatment may be complemented by other therapists in other fields but their formal qualifications must be such as to allow them to work as therapists.
Sexologist:
Putting it simply, there is no such profession yet many professionals use this title despite a lack of understanding of the field and no therapeutic certification. There have even been cases in which professionals called themselves psychologists without holding therapeutic certification.
Sexual Therapist:
These are doctor or clinical psychologists with a degree in Human Sexuality or clinical social worker who have undertaken a three year specialization in the field. An individual who is interested in undergoing Sexual Therapy should in the first instance turn to a Sexual Therapist.
A list of certified Sexual Therapists in Israel can be found here.
Sexual Counselor:
Professionals who have completed a recognized course and who are certified to provide information on sexually transmitted diseases (STD), contraceptive options and so on, in schools or other educational institutions are termed Sexual Counselors. However a professional with this qualification is not permitted to give therapy.
מה ההבדל בין סקסולוג למטפל מיני מוסמך?
אכן יש בעיה בהגדרת המקצוע. כל מי שעוסק במיניות האדם יכול לקרוא לעצמו "סקסולוג". אפילו מי שהחליט להתפרנס ממתן הרצאות על מיניות. ואכן יש בעלי מקצוע רבים שמכנים עצמם "סקסולוגים". למעשה אין מגבלה חוקית על השימוש בתואר.
יש מי שמכנה עצמו "סקסולוג" ומתכוון שבמסגרת המקצוע שלו הוא מתמקד בנושאים של מיניות. למשל, יועצים חינוכיים בבתי ספר. הבעיה מתחילה כשמדובר בטיפול רפואי או פסיכולוגי. רק מי שיש לו רשיון או אישור מתאים רשאי לעסוק בטיפול ממש. והכוונה לרופאים, פסיכולוגים קלינים ועובדים סוציאלים קליניים ב-ל-ב-ד!!!!