Neglect-Informed Sex Therapy
Attachment, Regulation and the Conundrum of Intimacy
Two 2 Hour Workshop Sessions with Ruth Cohn, MFT
Dear Therapist,
If you’ve ever sat across from a client who’s disconnected, dissatisfied, or sexually shut down — but says “nothing happened” to explain it — then this workshop is for you.
Over decades of clinical work with trauma survivors, I’ve found that neglect is the invisible root of more sexual confusion, dysfunction, and despair than we’ve ever been trained to recognize. It’s not about what happened — it’s about what didn’t.
Neglect leaves no bruises. It leaves no headlines. But it creates a silent, wordless template for every future relationship. And when it comes to sexuality — something that depends on presence, safety, and co-regulation — that early absence can wreak havoc.
What makes this even more complicated is that most therapists — unless they’re specifically trained in sex therapy — don’t know how to talk about sex. And if you grew up in a family or culture where it was never discussed, how could you?
That’s what inspired this training: To bring sex and trauma together in a way that’s clinically grounded, shame-free, and actually useful in the therapy room.
You’ll learn how neglect shows up sexually, how to talk about it with your clients, and how to begin untangling the shame, silence, and stuckness that so often surrounds these issues — even in long-term, high-functioning relationships.
We’ll talk about presence, regulation, and why intimacy can feel like a threat. We’ll look at gender, attachment, and how these dynamics form before birth. We’ll challenge myths of “normal” sexuality, and build fluency in conversations you’ve probably been avoiding.
But most of all, we’ll work from a no-blame paradigm — because this isn’t about shaming parents, clients, or ourselves. It’s about understanding. And doing better.
Please, join me for this honest, eye-opening, and deeply humane training.
Warmly,
Ruth Cohn, MFT
& Academy of Therapy Wisdom
Why This Matters Now
Since the Me Too movement, we’ve had to confront the pervasiveness of sexual trauma. But what we haven’t done is ask: What created this?
Why are so many people dissociated during sex? Why aren’t we looking at the developmental injuries of the people committing sex crimes so that we can try to prevent future assaults from happening? Why are we still treating sex as a “symptom” instead of part of the core story?
Neglect is the missing piece. This training starts the conversation that should’ve begun decades ago.
This Two Part Workshop is for therapists who…
Work with clients who are stuck, disconnected, or dissatisfied — but don’t know why.
Encounter clients who report long periods of sexual silence in otherwise “good” relationships.
Are themselves uncomfortable talking about sex in the room — and want to do better.
Sense there’s more to their clients’ stories… but nothing “big” ever happened.
Want to better understand how trauma, attachment, and sexuality actually intersect.
Meet Your Teacher:
Ruth Cohn, MFT
Ruth Cohn, MFT, is a psychotherapist living and practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has specialized in working with survivors of trauma and neglect, their intimate partners, and their families since 1988. She is a Certified Sex Therapist, certified in Neurofeedback, EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Imago Relationship Therapy.
Ruth is also the author of numerous articles on sexuality, trauma, and neglect and three books: Working With the Developmental Trauma of Childhood Neglect: Using Psychotherapy and Attachment Theory Techniques in Clinical Practice, Coming Home to Passion: Restoring Loving Sexuality in Couples With Histories of Childhood Trauma and Neglect, and Out of My Mind: Late Night Contemplations About Trauma and Neglect.
The Core Problem: “Nothing happened to me.”
Many clients come in feeling bad, broken, or confused — but have no “story” to explain it.
There was no car crash. No violent abuse. No devastating loss. Just… nothing.
No one mirrored their emotions.
No one responded to their needs.
No one was there.
This absence is the trauma — and it leaves a devastating, wordless imprint on how a person connects, regulates, and relates sexually.
The Dilemma Without Solution
Neglect creates an impossible bind: the need for connection is as vital as air — but reaching out feels dangerous.
So the neglected child learns to survive by not needing anyone.
That becomes the template for every relationship that follows.
From dissociation during sex, to long-term abstinence, to compulsive behavior or sexual confusion — these patterns are adaptations. And without understanding where they come from, your clients (and maybe even you) stay stuck in cycles that make no sense.
This Training Helps You See What’s Actually Happening…
SESSION 1:
Attachment, Regulation, and the Conundrum of Intimacy
The clinical foundation of neglect-informed sex therapy, including the role of profound interpersonal ambivalence — so that you can finally understand where confusing sexual behaviors come from and how they develop.
Why “presence” is so hard — and why it matters — so that you can help clients (and yourself) overcome the internal blocks to intimacy and connection.
How neglect shapes adult intimacy and sexual “roles” — so that your clients stop blaming themselves and start recognizing their adaptive patterns.
Talking about sex: the missing experience — so that you gain fluency and confidence initiating and navigating these essential conversations.
The Six Principles of Sexual Health and redefining “normal” — so that you can normalize client experiences and dismantle damaging myths about sexuality.
SESSION 2:
Getting Practical
- Therapist awareness: values, biases, shame, and the “ick” factor — so that your own discomfort doesn’t limit the depth of your clinical work.
- Sexuality psychoeducation and “what we most need to teach” — so that your clients walk away informed, empowered, and less ashamed.
- How to explain sex therapy as regulation work — so that clients understand their challenges in a new, non-pathologizing light.
- Conversations that normalize, reframe, and heal — so that clients feel seen, safe, and ready to shift stuck patterns.
- Working with gender, parenting, and midlife sexuality — so that your practice reflects the complexity of real-world sexual issues.
- Recommended opening practices and “beginning conversations” — so that you have concrete ways to start working with sex — even when it feels overwhelming.
- Therapist self-care and staying current — so that you can sustain this work without burnout or emotional shutdown.
Our courses are at the intersection of psychotherapy, spirituality and social change.
We know you have options for learning and Continuing Education. Here’s what sets us apart:
Emphasis on Your Learning
We offer a friendly, intuitive learning portal designed specifically so you can easily find your course content, connect with your colleagues, and have fun actually completing it!
Professional Production Quality
A real camera crew with high-end equipment, a deeply involved content director who works closely with every presenter, and a top-notch editing team with over 200 courses produced to date all make our video lessons second-to-none. Each learning module is split into digestible video segments so they are easy to watch and reflect on.
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We’re proud to maintain a customer happiness rating of over 90%, with 85% of inquiries responded to within 6 hours. We’re here for you, every step of the way.
We ensure that your learning experience is not just adequate, but exceptional.
We believe learning should challenge and change you.
Why Therapists Love Ruth’s Work
“Ruth Cohn’s compassionate musings on childhood trauma and neglect, while circling a serious topic, will leave you deeply reflective, often joyful, always hopeful. These are bite-sized, accessible missives, out of the author’s fertile mind on the topic of healing from childhood trauma. Sometimes guided by current events and sometimes by personal history, these essays are grounded in her three decades as a therapist working with survivors of trauma and neglect. These three volumes of essays provide a rich, even playful approach to helping one face profound trauma, and build out one’s own scaffolding for healing.”
– Durgaji
“A powerful must-read based on years of research, clinical experience and riches of the heart. A comprehensive work you’ll refer to again and again. Coming Home to Passion gives you compassion and competence to manage the most difficult of life’s challenges. Each chapter made me look forward to the next.”
– Pat Love, Ed.D.
Author, The Truth About Love
“I highly recommend this as an insightful and incisive book that describes trauma and its consequences in new and original ways.”
– Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Co-founder & Chair Trauma Research Foundation
Author of New York Times best seller The Body Keeps the Score
“It has been a while since my husband and I worked with Ruth, but not a day goes by without my feeling grateful for her insight, her profound commitment to her work, and the relationship skills—and life skills!—she imparted to us. In her writing, her research, and her clinical practice, Ruth is a woman on a mission, and those of us who have worked with her are much the better for it. To say we’re fortunate to have found her is an understatement. (We’ll be celebrating 40 years in November.)” With love,
– L.Q.
Here’s What You’ll Walk Away With:
- A clear framework to recognize neglect-based sexual issues — even when the client doesn’t so that you can stop missing the signs and start intervening with confidence, clarity, and precision.
- Language to talk about sex directly, compassionately, and without shame so that you can open doors to healing that your clients have never been able to walk through before.
- A new understanding of how attachment, trauma, and sexuality intersect so that your interventions go deeper, land better, and create lasting change instead of surface-level insight.
- Practical tools to start shifting patterns in the room — even with stuck clients so that you don’t just “talk about the issue” — you actively move it.
- Insight into your own comfort zones, blind spots, and therapeutic presence so that you show up with more authority, authenticity, and therapeutic impact.
You Have a Choice
Or you can become the therapist who finally helps them make sense of what happened — and what didn’t.
Enroll now!
Join Ruth Cohn for a powerful, eye-opening training that will change how you practice.
If you are a BIPOC helping professional,
Please accept our discounted enrollment price for this course by clicking here.
We are glad to have you with us!
100% Risk-Free Money-Back Guarantee
We are confident you will learn new skills in this online training. However, if 7 days after the first live call (or 7 days after purchase, whichever is later), you don’t believe you will learn anything to apply with your clients, please contact our support team at support@therapywisdom.com and we will give you a full refund, no questions asked.
FAQs
Is this course live?
This course is on-demand, and it’s made up of two 2 hour workshop sessions filmed with Ruth Cohn.
Is this suitable even if I haven’t taken Ruth’s other trainings?
Yes. Prior exposure to her other teachings is helpful, but Ruth will lay the foundation during these sessions.
Are CEs available for this workshop?
No, not at this time.
What is Academy of Therapy Wisdom?
The Academy of Therapy Wisdom is an inspiring, multidimensional platform for learning, with courses & videos that are easy to use, access & digest. Our goal is to help you become a more confident, capable & compassionate therapist who works with their clients in a new way.
