At the risk of being too concise, I’ll have to say that my approach can be summed up in the following manner:
During my masters program I was taught the correct approach to the teaching of sexuality, and that knowledge was then combined with what I had already learned about teaching strategies and the development of lesson plans, which was then further meshed with the essence of the therapeutic activities taken from my my expressive arts background.
All of the above came about over a period of a few years, slowly but surely and was validated and re-validated many times over, birthing the four methodologies expressed below.
CIRCLES is the base of everything I do, and all of the other programs are derivatives of it, modified for the audiences they were created for.
C – Cultivate comfort
I – Initiate internal dialogue & journey
R – Release & reveal blockages
C – Construct your story through analysis
L – Liberate yourself & heal through remodeling and
reframing
E – Establish new intentions and goals
S – Start to design your Action Plan
This program focuses primarily on you and your relationship with sex and takes you on a journey from discomfort and lack of self-awareness to real comfort and a heightened sense of sexual self-awareness.
A – Access
R – Release
T – Transform
The A.R.T. of Sex is for those already comfortable with sex and their sexuality, and, therefore, only need focus on the I, R and L in CIRCLES. The topics covered will help take you to a heightened sense of sexual self-awareness.
E – Education for
R – Revolutionising and
O – Optimising your
S – Sexuality
EROS is slightly different from CIRCLES or The ART of Sex in that it goes further than self, by focusing on the sexual relationship between you and your partner. In this programme, we examine and dispel sexual myths, explore basic sex techniques and focus on communication styles as well as negotiation skills to help you become a better partner and lover. Participants must have completed either CIRCLES or ART of Sex before acceptance into this programme.
C – Creating comfort and connection
I – Information sharing
R – Reflection & Internalization of Information
C – Critiquing and testing ideas through interactive sessions
L – Learning to apply information in real life situations
E – Exploring new ways of being and acting
S – Start practising behaviour-change through Theatre/Drama-in-Education techniques
Y-CIRCLES has been modified into three programs targeted to the issues that affect a particular group of youth. For youth, promoting abstinence is an important strategy that can help delay sexual activity, but complementary messages are also needed for those who are sexually active.
Effective sex and relationship education does not encourage early sexual experimentation. It is intended to teach young people to understand human sexuality and to respect themselves and others. It facilitates the maturation process, and helps youth to build up their confidence and self-esteem. It is designed to help youth understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity, while at the same time, it builds up the knowledge and skills needed to make healthier and safer choices.
