Group Therapy for Couples Facing Chronic Illness
“The importance of accepting change and learning from it with a partner was emphasized by most of the older individuals, and especially by those who had been affected by illness or injury. This attitude was exemplified by an older woman: ‘Things may not work the way they always did so do you just shut it off and say ‘I’m not going to do this anymore because it doesn’t work the way it should’ or do you say ‘Okay, let’s find another way to express our intimacy?’”
Kleinplatz, P.J. & Ménard, A.D. (2020).Magnificent sex: Lessons from extraordinary lovers. Routledge. p. 76.
WHO/WHY: Are you or your partner affected by chronic illness? Would you like to improve your sex life?
WHAT: The process will involve group therapy over 16 hours. Limit of 4 to 6 couples/group. All group therapy for couples facing chronic illness will be held virtually.
The content of the group is based on the work of the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team of the University of Ottawa, including elements and facilitating factors of optimal sexual intimacy as well as research on group couples therapy. The groups are part of a research project studying the effectiveness of group therapy in enhancing sexual relationships. Your participation in the research project (which is optional) consists of completing questionnaires at multiple time points.
You are free to withdraw from the research and/or the groups at any time.
All group therapy sessions will be conducted through secure, HIPAA/PHIPA-compliant platforms.
Please see the list below of pairs of therapists trained in Optimizing Sexual Experiences Group Couples Therapy. Please feel free to contact any of the therapists directly if you are facing chronic illness and are interested in participating in Optimizing Sexual Experiences Group Therapy.
CANADA
Ottawa, Ontario
Peggy J. Kleinplatz, PhD
Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Ph.D. is Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team at the University of Ottawa. She is a clinical psychologist, Board Certified in Sex Education and as a Diplomate and Supervisor of Sex Therapy. She was awarded the Prix d’Excellence in 2000 for her teaching of Human Sexuality.
Kleinplatz has edited five books, notably New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives, (Routledge, 2nd Edition), winner of the AASECT 2013 Book Award and Sexuality and Aging (2015) with Dr. Walter Bouman. She is the author with A. Dana Ménard, Ph.D. of Magnificent Sex: Lessons from Extraordinary Lovers (2020). In 2015, Kleinplatz received the Professional Standard of Excellence Award from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counsellors and Therapists. Her clinical work focuses on eroticism and transformation. She has a particular interest in sexual health in the elderly, disabled and marginalized populations. Her research, writing, teaching and clinical work have been intended to challenge, expand and diversify the field of sex therapy.
Nicolas Paradis, M.Ed
Nicolas Paradis (M.Ed, RP) is a registered psychotherapist who provides counselling services at the University of Ottawa. He has been a member of the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team since 2005 and has published research on Extraordinary Lovers and on couples group therapy. He has been integral to the development of couples group therapy for problems with desire/frequency and has been conducting/co-facilitating such groups with Kleinplatz since their inception.
Miguel Nucete-Crowther, MA, RP
Miguel is a Registered Psychotherapist in private practice in Ottawa offering psychotherapy services and counselling to adolescents, adults and couples. He holds a Master´s Degree in Clinical and Health Psychology (UCM, Spain, 2002), and a Licentiate Degree in Psychology (UCV, Venezuela, 1999). His psychotherapeutic approach and style are best described as integrative, collaborative, caring, and empathic. His expertise enables him to articulate techniques from different models or approaches to psychotherapy, such as Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioural (CBT), and Humanistic therapies to address his client’s specific needs and concerns within a none-judgmental and holding environment. He is passionate about helping couples reconnect more intimately and improve the quality of their sex lives. He also has extensive experience helping individuals and couples living with chronic health issues. With compassion, depth and understanding, Miguel works with each individual and couple to build on their strengths and discover their true selves.
Bonney Elliott MEd, RP, NP, RYT
Bonney is a Registered Psychotherapist in private practice in Ottawa, Canada. She works with individuals, couples and groups. Her focus is doing meaningful work with people seeking positive change, who want to live fuller lives and connect more deeply with themselves and others. She is a yoga teacher and a nurse practitioner with extensive experience in reproductive health and sexuality.
Marlene Neufeld, MSW & Bob Neufeld, M.Ed
Marlene (MSW, RSW) and Bob Neufeld (M.Ed) are a couple who help couples learn life-changing relationship skills and create closer loving relationships. They have been married since 1970 and have been collaborating in a two-on-two counselling practice, workshops and retreats since 2003.
Southwestern Ontario
Leah Valian, MSW
Leah Valian, MSW, RSW, is a BESTCO Certified Sex Therapist and mixed media visual artist. She offers sex & relationship counselling in Kitchener, Stratford and Ayr, Ontario at her private practice COUPLE HEALTH since 2007. SASS CLASS is a women’s self care and processing group that she runs in Ayr with retreats in the Bruce Peninsula. Many ideas for relationship and couples work are developing, beginning with the Optimal Sexual Experiences group.
Calvin McConnell, MSW
Calvin McConnell, BMT, MSW, RSW is a Registered Social Worker who has been working with Individuals, Groups and Couples since 1997. He has a full time private practice with specialties in Couples Therapy, Trauma Treatment, and Sexual Abuse Recovery. Calvin has recently joined with Leah Valian, MSW, RSW and BESTCO Certified Sex Therapist to offer couple work in a group format. This is based on the work of Dr. Peggy Kleinplatz and the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team of the University of Ottawa.
UNITED STATES
New York
Pebble Kranz, MD, Fellow of the European Committee on Sexual Medicine (FECSM)
Pebble is a family physician and sexual medicine specialist. She is the medical director of the Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness and runs a sexual medicine clinic in the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Gynecologic Oncology Department. She has clinical appointments in the departments of family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester. At the Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness, she provides medical evaluations and treatments for sexual function concerns in people of all genders.
Daniel Rosen, LCSW-R
Daniel, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST), has been in practice for over 25 years working with a variety of populations. He completed training with the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team of the University of Ottawa in November 2019 and has been active in the Rochester Area Group Psychotherapy Society, the Center for Group Studies, and is a sex therapy supervisor in training. He has an independent private practice including group, individual and couples counseling as well as providing treatment services for the Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness.
New Jersey
Melissa Donahue, LCSW, CST
Melissa Donahue is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience. She earned her Master of Social Work from Boston University and she is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor. She holds the distinction, Sexologist by The American College of Sexologists. She has been the owner and clinical therapist at MD Counseling in Ridgewood, New Jersey for the past 13 years. She is also the Certified Sex Therapist at NJ Center for Sexual Wellness. She maintains her licensure in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. In the earlier part of her clinical career, she specialized in geriatrics, substance abuse and oncology. She has been a national presenter at AASECT, NASW and AOSW conferences. She is actively involved in leadership roles for NASW and The Collaborative Divorce Group of North Jersey.
Nataliya Rusetskaya, Ph.D., LCSW
Nataliya Rusetskaya, Ph.D., LCSW is a clinical Sexologist with a Doctorate degree from AACS and a New York State and New Jersey State licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s Degree from Fordham University. She is a founder of Key2Connection Relationship Health Center, NJ. She is a certified Imago Couple therapist and specializes in relationship issues and psychosexual therapy for couples and individuals. In her work with couples, she assists her clients in developing healthier, more fulfilling and satisfying relationships by finding the key to connection and conflict resolution. Currently she works with individuals, couples and groups to create a therapeutic alliance of trust and safety, to gain better insights about their life challenges, and to assist the clients in reaching their goals and connect better with their loved ones through improved communication patterns and increased intimacy.
INTERNATIONAL
England, UK
Rokhsana Nowroozi
Rokhsana (Roxy) is a Relate trained therapist with 20 years’ experience of working with individuals, couples and groups. She holds a post graduate certificate in couples therapy and is also an experienced sex therapist. Roxy works in private practice and also for a counselling charity specialising in relationship and sex therapy.
She enjoys working with couples on all aspects of relationships from communication to sex. Her approach is warm and inclusive with a healthy pinch of humour. Roxy is a registered member of BACP (The British Association For Counselling And Psychotherapy).
John Shanahan
John is a Relate trained couples therapist who also holds Masters degrees in both Relationship Therapy and Psychosexual therapy. He specialises in working with couples and individuals to improve all aspects of their relationships, offering a warm, compassionate and collaborative experience of counselling. He believes strongly in the importance of integrating relationship and sex therapy, taking a holistic approach in his work. John works in private practice and for a counselling charity where he also provides training to other therapists. He is an accredited member of BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and a Registered Member of COSRT (the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists).
“[In the course of interviewing extraordinary lovers,] a man in the advanced stages of a terminal illness explained, “Someone who looks on themselves as being somehow broken… need not map to any kind of externally-defined disability… It never struck me as being a defining issue in terms of sexual engagement, sexual passion… If there were a disability that restricts one’s access to sexual fulfillment, I would say it was a disability of the energy or the imagination.”
Kleinplatz, P. J., & Charest, M. (2023). Creating optimal erotic intimacy: An Experiential alternative to treating desire “disorders”. In S. W. Simpson, M. Racho, B. D. Robbins, L. Hoffman (Eds.), Eros and psyche: Existential perspectives on sexuality: Vol 2: Clinical and spiritual perspectives (pp. 85-105). University Professors Press.