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**** November eNewsletter ****

November 02, 2026

Happy November, fellow SSTARGazers! 🍂

We hope you’re settling into the fall season and enjoying the beautiful November colors!

This month, we’re excited to share our latest SSTARBurst videos, a study recruitment opportunity, and the call for abstracts for SSTAR’s upcoming conference. Please see the details below!

If you have a workshop, publication, job posting, call for participants, or other announcements you'd like to share with the SSTAR community, we’d love to hear from you!

New Online Submission Form: Please submit your content using the following form:https://form.asana.com/?k=sEXk2Vl4NvJ-Di7eMIUW0w&d=8142059046716. Please select “SSTARGaze Monthly Newsletter” as your Communication Type. Submissions are due no later than five days before the end of the month (e.g., by October 20 for inclusion in the November newsletter). Be sure to include any relevant deadlines.

We’re grateful for your continued contributions to keeping the SSTAR community informed, engaged, and connected!

Have a great day ☀️,

Marie-Michèle Paquette, Ph.D.

Interim Communications Officer

 

SSTARBurst

Dear SSTAR Members,

What if something we've been taught about sexual dysfunction is wrong?

We've long considered performance anxiety a key contributor to sexual dysfunction. But what if our traditional thinking and prevailing conceptualization is fundamentally misguided?

That's the provocative question at the heart of this month's SSTARburst, featuring Dr. Daniel Watter—clinical and forensic psychologist, certified sex therapist, author, long-standing SSTAR member, and former SSTAR president.

In this latest SSTARburst "hot take," Dr. Watter challenges conventional thinking about performance anxiety and its role in sexual dysfunction. And he makes a compelling case for rethinking what many of us have been taught!

Intrigued? Click the image below to watch the interview.

Then we'd love to hear from you! Is Dr. Watter onto something? Take the topic to the SSTAR listserv and let us know what you think!

After all, challenging conventional wisdom is how our field moves forward.

And if you missed our previous SSTARburst interviews with:

  • Dr. Jared Boot-Haury
  • Dr. Marie-Michèle Paquette
  • Dr. Lyne PichĂŠ, and
  • ďťżDr. Bonnie Saks,
  • Dr. Jason Winters, you can find them here.

What is SSTARburst?

SSTARburst is a series of short video interviews—perfect for your lunch break—each spotlighting a different SSTAR member and featuring their recently published research or practical, real-world clinical or professional insights. It's all about getting to know one another, celebrating the incredible work of SSTAR members, keeping you current on research and clinical or professional practice, and building connection, collaboration, and community.

We hope you enjoy this month’s SSTARburst—and that it sparks some conversation!

Warmly,

Carolin Klein, Programs Officer

P.S. Want to hear more from Dr. Watter? You can also watch the full, unedited 28-minute conversation. We typically trim SSTARburst interviews to around 10 minutes to make them easy to enjoy over a lunch break—but there's always more to the conversation!

 

Conferences, Workshops, Training, and Webinars

Join Us at the 2026 Fall Clinical Case Conference

The 2026 Fall Clinical Case Conference is just around the corner, and we would love for you to be part of it.

We’re delighted to return to New York City this year, where we’ll gather at the Griffis Faculty Club on Friday, November 13, 2026.

In-person registration is closing on Monday, November 2nd, so if you plan to join us on site, we encourage you to reserve your spot soon. Virtual tickets are also available and can be purchased until November 11th for those who prefer to attend online.

We look forward to seeing you in just a couple of weeks!

Sincerely,

Michael A. Vigorito, LMFT, CGP, CST-S

https://sstarnet.glueup.com/event/sstar-2026-fall-clinical-case-conference-185377/

 

Dear SSTAR members,

I’m excited to share a new initiative designed to give SSTAR members the opportunity to ask questions, spark conversations, and learn directly from experts in the field: our “Ask the Sexpert” Q&A series is about to launch!!

DATE: Thursday, November 5, 2026

TIME: 12:00–1:30 p.m. PST / 3:00–4:30 p.m. EST

TOPIC:So You Want to Write a Book? From Pitch to Publication, Ask the Sexperts How!

PANEL OF “SEXPERTS”:

  • Laurie Mintz — author of Becoming Cliterate and A Tired Woman’s Guide to Passionate Sex, with a third book forthcoming
  • Ian Kerner — author of numerous books, including She Comes First, He Comes Next, and So Tell Me About the Last Time You Had Sex
  • Lori Brotto — author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness and its accompanying workbook
  • Hilary Swanson — bestselling ghostwriter, editor, and co-founder of Soulprint Media, and former senior editor at HarperCollins, who will bring an editor’s perspective to the discussion

Ask the Sexpert” will be a live, virtual Q&A exclusively for SSTAR members, offering an opportunity to engage directly with experts in the field and connect with fellow SSTAR members. Members will have the opportunity to submit questions in advance, as well as ask questions and participate in the discussion during the live session.

Mark your calendars and join us for this new SSTAR member benefit! We look forward to seeing you there!

To register: https://www.sstarnet.org/ask-sexperts

REGISTER NOW

Carolin Klein, Programs Officer

and the rest of the SSTAR Team

 

Dear SSTAR members,

We are excited to invite you to submit an abstract for the 52nd SSTAR annual meeting to be held in Montreal from May 6 to 8, 2027!

The theme of the 2027 annual meeting is Sexual Resilience: Reclaiming Pleasure, Connection, and Well-Being. Abstracts on all sexuality-focused empirical research, clinical observations, and theoretical formulations are welcome, and we particularly encourage submissions that align with this year’s theme.

The deadline to submit is Friday, November 13, 2026.

Please review the Submission Guidelines here [insert hyperlink to https://sstarnet.org/sites/default/files/content-files/2027%20Abstract%20Submission%20Guidelines%20(1).pdf

You can also find the Submission Guidelines at: https://sstarnet.org/2027-annual-meeting

You may submit an abstract in one of two categories:

  • Research-focused abstracts

Must also clearly identify the clinical implications of the findings and show methodological rigor.

  • Clinically-oriented abstracts

Must clearly articulate how the content is grounded by or meaningfully connected with existing empirical or theoretical frameworks.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS

  • All abstracts must be well-structured, clearly written, and in English.
  • The max word length is 300 words, not including author information, learning objectives, and references (these are entered separately).
  • To comply with CE/CME requirements, all submissions should include 3 learning objectives and 5 references. Detailed instructions are provided in the Submission Guidelines linked above.
  • We encourage strong evidence-informed contributions that are clearly positioned within the broader research or clinical discourse.
  • Submissions that are solely anecdotal or insufficiently contextualized within existing literature will not be considered.
  • Abstracts, and accepted posters and presentations, should align with SSTAR values.

SUBMITTING YOUR ABSTRACT

For questions, please contact the Conference Chair at conferencechair@sstarnet.org

New Study

Dear SSTAR members,

My name is Dr. Isabelle Anillo. I am currently a licensed psychologist in Florida conducting research alongside Dr. David Feldman at Nova Southeastern University. These investigators are researching the professional opinions of treatment providers working with sexual offenders on the legality and morality of child-like sex dolls. This will be completed through an anonymous survey and demographic questionnaire. This process should take no more than 15-20 minutes to complete. If you are currently working with sexual offenders’ prevention and treatment and interested in participating in this research, please click the link below and you will be redirected to an anonymous survey via Qualtrics. This survey will be active for six months from the date of the initial posting.

https://novapsy.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_37sxNurOiKcfTw2

ďťżRegards,

Isabelle Anillo, Psy.D.

 

 

Contact SSTAR

Email: Info@sstarnet.org

Phone:(847) 647-8832

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