Welcome to the ISSWSH Sexuality Attitudes Reflection (SAR) Course!

I’m honored to introduce you to this important educational experience. With this SAR, ISSWSH continues its investment in its members and its commitment to excellence, inclusion, and compassionate sexual healthcare by creating supportive space for professional self-reflection.

We are especially excited that this is the first fully remote ISSWSH SAR course. In recognition of our international membership, the schedule was intentionally designed to be more accessible for participants in Asian time zones.

As professionals working in sexual health — whether through research, medicine, counseling, physical therapy, education, advocacy, or other clinical disciplines — our attitudes, assumptions, comfort levels, lived experiences, and implicit beliefs inevitably shape the way we interact with patients, research participants, colleagues, and one another. Attitude awareness is not separate from clinical competence; it is a crucial component of ethical, effective, patient-centered care.

The purpose of the SAR is not to prescribe “correct” beliefs or responses. Rather, it is to foster greater self-awareness, perspective-taking, humility, and professional growth. This program invites us to examine our values and reactions and the ways they influence communication, clinical decision-making, research interpretation, therapeutic relationships, and the environments we create for others.

Some conversations may feel affirming, challenging, emotional, unfamiliar, or thought-provoking. We encourage you to approach the experience with curiosity, openness, and compassion — both for yourself and for fellow participants. Meaningful learning in sexual health requires not only knowledge and technical skill, but also the ability to remain reflective, nonjudgmental, and engaged with complexity.

I’m grateful to share this experience with you and excited for the conversations, reflection, and learning ahead.