Join the APP RST
Cohort: 2025
A Relationship & Sex Therapy Learning Community
Advance Psychotherapy Practice (APP) is now accepting applications for our next Relationship & Sex Therapy (RST) Cohort, beginning Fall 2025. This yearlong program offers early-career and experienced therapists a chance to specialize in inclusive, neurodiversity-affirming, and trauma-informed sex therapy while building meaningful professional relationships in a supportive group practice.
Why Join This Cohort?
Whether you’re new to sex therapy or returning with deeper questions, the RST Cohort offers space to grow your clinical voice through theory, reflection, and embodied practice. You’ll join a small group of dedicated therapists to:
Skills — Strengthen your abilities in sex and relationship therapy
Depth — Engage with cutting-edge issues in gender, neurodivergence, kink, and polyamory
Insight — Explore complex dynamics like transference and ethical nuance with trusted peers
Perspective — Clarify your own approach grounded in foundational principles and cultural humility
This is a place for meaningful professional development—with room to think, feel, and grow.
The Commitment
Meeting Structure
Sex Therapy Training: CE Class: Topical, skills-based sessions open to all APP therapists. View topic sequence here.
Sex Therapy Training: Seminar: Sessions for RSTI cohort only, to process, reflect, and integrate learning.
Consultation group: Any APP therapist may attend and seek support for a case.
Additional
One-on-One Supervision: 1 hour, weekly.
Asynchronous Learning: 2 hours per month of curated readings, video lectures, and reflection prompts aligned with requirements for earning AASECT credits.
Active learning: Cohort members will occasionally be invited to present on topics to each other, facilitate group interactions, or offer clinical vignettes.
Professional Sex Therapy Clinical Experience: Taking on individual and couples clients, you will accumulate the experience needed for AASECT certification.
Opportunities for Additional Income: Earn extra income through couples intensives, a high-demand service designed for in-depth assessment and treatment.
| Meeting | Compensation / Credit | Frequency | Hours | Attendees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex Therapy Training: Seminar | AASECT CEs | Monthly | 1 hr | APP RST cohort only |
| Sex Therapy Training: CE Class | AASECT CEs | Monthly | 2 hrs | All APP |
| Consultation Group* | $25/hr* | Biweekly | 2 hrs (1 hr × 2) | All APP |
| Monthly Total Meetings (1-2 hrs on Fridays) | 5 hrs | |||
AASECT Certification: Between APP offerings (including AASECT supervision starting July 2026) and CE allocation, therapists are provided with everything required for certification (apr $15,000 value) in four years.
*FT FFS therapists receive the admin rate for up to 4 approved meetings per month. Neither AASECT-related supervision nor Sex Therapy Training Seminars or CE Classes sessions are paid.
Ariel will facilitate most training and consultation meetings, with with occasional guest presenters
All cohort members will complete Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Level 1 (12 hours online asynchronous) by the end of November. $295 cost allocated from $1,000 per year FT FFS therapist receive toward professional development.
What Makes This Cohort Unique
This isn’t just a series of workshops. What sets the RST Cohort apart is its structure:
Continuity — a consistent group fosters trust and layered learning over time
Mentorship — ongoing guidance from an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Educator
Integration — tools and theory applied directly to your clinical work
Leadership — join a pioneering team of sex therapists developing something needed and not currently available in Western Massachusetts
A Foundation, Not a Formula
While some of the material I’ve written is included in the curriculum, I want to be clear: this isn’t about adopting my philosophy. My hope is that you’ll engage with a range of perspectives — mine included — as part of developing your own grounded, thoughtful approach to sex therapy.
This field is rich with complexity. We’re not aiming for a fixed method. We’re here to build a strong foundation, reflect honestly, and support one another in becoming more effective, ethical, and attuned therapists.