**** September eNewsletter ****

Happy September fellow SSTARGazers!

We hope you had a wonderful summer and are enjoying the start of fall! 🍂

This month, we’re excited to share our SSTARBurst videos, upcoming training opportunities, World Sexual Health Day events, a special issue, and a study recruitment —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 June 20 for inclusion in the July 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,

We’re back with another SSTARburst interview, this time featuring psychologist and president-elect, Dr. Jason Winters offering his “hot take” on something he thinks we don’t talk about nearly enough in sex therapy: Personality.

How much does personality shape the concerns our clients bring to therapy? And are we paying enough attention to it in how we understand—and treat—those concerns? Have we become over-focused on the role of “nurture” as opposed to “nature”?

Take a few minutes to hear Jason’s perspective by clicking on the title below to link to the video.

Then join the conversation: Do you agree? Share your thoughts on the SSTAR listserv!



August 2026 SSTARburst Interview with Dr Jason Winters

And if you missed our previous SSTARburst interviews with:

Dr. Jared Boot-Haury

Dr. Marie-Michèle Paquette

Dr. Lyne Piché, and

Dr. Bonnie Saks, 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 SSTARburst interview.

Warmly,

Carolin Klein, Programs Officer

and the rest of the SSTAR Team

World Sexual Health Day

World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) is the annual global initiative of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS). Each September 4, health professionals, advocates, educators, researchers, and communities around the world come together around a shared theme.

For 2026, that theme is Every Body.

Bodies are personal, relational and political. We live, express and experience through them — asking, choosing, refusing, desiring. That begins with ourselves. It continues in our relationships, in the education and services we can reach, and in the culture, faith, technology and law that decide whose sexuality is protected.

The campaign is set out in four parts:

1. Our bodies and ourselves. Our bodies are a source of pleasure, desire, and possibility. Sexual agency means being able to want, choose, initiate, explore, change our minds, and decide for ourselves what sexuality means to us. Bodies are not static: puberty, pregnancy and childbirth, illness, disability, menopause, aging, medical treatment, and gender transition can all change how we live in our bodies and how we experience sexuality.

2. Our bodies in relation. The people, communities, and institutions around us — partners, families, faith leaders, schools — can support our sexuality or constrain it. Respect for bodily integrity, choice, and consent are both ours to claim and ours to respect in others.

3. Our bodies and the systems around us. Education, information, and services help make the right to sexual health a reality. They work best when they include pleasure, support people throughout their lives, and leave no one behind.

4. Our bodies and the politics of sexuality. Culture, faith, and technology shape how we understand and experience sexuality, while laws and policies shape whose sexuality is protected, recognized, or punished. Sexual rights are human rights, and sexual justice means making those rights real for everyone.

Most of us are living in all four at once, and what happens in one shapes the others.

Click to read the four parts in full.

To learn more : https://worldsexualhealthday.org/

Conferences, Workshops, Training, and Professional Groups

WAS World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) Webinar

Join us on World Sexual Health Day for a live-streamed panel on this year's theme, broadcast from Stellenbosch University as part of the second World Sexual Health Assembly.

The panel asks whose pleasure is assumed and whose is questioned. Whose sexuality is accepted and protected, whose is controlled and whose is punished. And how far that depends on what is taught, what is funded and what may be said in public.

Moderator: Eszter Kismödi, WAS Associate Secretary and Co-Chair of the Sexual Rights Committee, and Chief Executive of Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

Opening: Faysal El Kak, President of WAS, and Constance Matlholwa, Programme Coordinator for HIV, Gender and Sexualities in the Equality Unit at Stellenbosch University

Poetry: Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, President of the European Federation of Sexology

Panelists include:

• Julia Ehrt, Executive Director, ILGA World
• Judy Amina, Africa Pleasure Hub and The Pleasure Project
• Crystal Hendricks, Advocacy Specialist for Sex Characteristics, ILGA South Africa
• Kristen Mark, Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, and Co-Chair of the WAS Scientific Committee
• Vic McKinney, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University
• Zahra Stardust, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre of Excellence in Automated Decision-Making and Society, Queensland University of Technology, and Co-Chair of the WAS Sexual Rights Committee

Exhibition Opening: For those attending in person, afterwards, the session closes with the opening of a new exhibition by Robert Hamblin, and a chance to meet the artist. Hamblin is a South African visual artist whose photographic and painted work has spent two decades on the body politics of the post-apartheid era, working closely with trans and sex worker communities in Cape Town.

Webinar Registration

Where Sexology Leaders Gather

Every year, the Sexual Health Alliance Annual Sexological Conference brings together some of the brightest minds in sexual health to explore emerging research, practical clinical strategies, and the conversations shaping the future of the field.

Join clinicians, researchers, educators, physicians, therapists and sexology professionals from around the world for three days of expert education, experiential learning, and meaningful connection. Learn from internationally recognized keynote speakers and more than 50 presenters while engaging in interdisciplinary conversations designed to advance clinical practice, research, and professional growth.

Whether you're looking to deepen your expertise, expand your professional network, or discover new perspectives shaping the future of sexology, the 2026 SHA Annual Sexological Conference offers an immersive learning experience unlike any other.

CME, APA, AASECT, NBCC CEs Available

October 15–17, 2026 | Denver, Colorado

Learn More & Register

New Special Issue in IJSH on Professional Education in Clinical Sexology

Dear SSTAR members,



We are very excited to announce the publication of a Special Issue in the International Journal of Sexual Health: Professional Education in Clinical Sexology; Guest edited by Elsa Almås & Leiszle Lapping-Carr.

This work is the reflection of multiple years of international research to understand the state for professional education for sex therapists, sexual medicine specialists, and all clinical professionals providing care for sexual health concerns. It includes an introductory article, a report on the results from a global perspective, and six regional reports (Africa, Asia/Oceania, East Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

SSTAR members Drs. Leiszle Lapping-Carr, Karen Caffee, and Elisabeth Gordon are all co-authors on the paper describing professional training in North America.

For the next 3 months, all articles in the especial issue are available via open access - so go download them now!

You Can Find Them Here

Recruitment

Hello!

Over the past year, the Mothers & Babies Program at Northwestern University has created a postpartum prevention intervention specific to LGBTQ+ birthing parents, called Parents and Babies. We are now ready to pilot the adapted intervention and are looking for eligible participants! The study is led by me, Dr. Leiszle Lapping-Carr (IRB# STU00225523).

Please share the attached flier with any colleagues or clients that you think might be interested. Participants must self-identify as LGBTQ+, be currently pregnant or have given birth in the past year, and be experiencing mild or moderate symptoms of depression. Participation will include a brief eligibility screen by phone, three sets of questionnaires (baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up), and ten sessions of 1-hour group therapy. Participants will be compensated up to $120 for completing questionnaires.

Please contact us with questions or to express your interest by emailing us at parentsandbabies@northwestern.edu or by calling us at ‪(872) 395-1196.

Thank you!



Leiszle Lapping-Carr, PhD

(she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor

Northwestern University

Book and Award 📚🏆

📖Book launch 📖

Dear SSTAR members,

I hope you are well!

I’m writing to invite you to the virtual book launch of my new book, Come Closer!

The event is an hour-long conversation with psychoanalyst Adam Phillips, author Miranda July, comedian Gary Gulman, and musician Noga Erez.

Warmly,

Dr. Galit Atlas

Link for Registration

SSTAR Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award 🏆

The SSTAR Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award recognizes outstanding scholarly work by students and trainees developing careers in sexuality and sexual health. The award aims to support the professional development of emerging scholars in the field.

Eligibility

Submissions are invited from full- or part-time students and trainees who, at the time of submission, are enrolled in an accredited graduate degree program, postdoctoral fellowship, internship, residency, or fellowship sponsored by a recognized institution of higher education or an accredited teaching hospital or health facility.

Submission topics

Submissions may consist of any unpublished scholarly work focused on sexuality or sexual health, including the understanding, assessment, treatment, or prevention of sexual concerns. Examples include:

• Empirical research reports
• Critical reviews of the literature
• Treatment protocols
• Theoretical analyses
• Teaching program development
•  

Submission requirements

To be considered for the award, please submit the following documents to the Leiblum Award Chair, Dr. Noémie Bigras, by email at noemie.bigras@uqo.ca:

1. Cover sheet: Please complete the standardized cover sheet and submit it with your manuscript. The applicant’s name should appear only on the cover sheet, and all co-authors must sign the cover sheet prior to submission.
2. Manuscript: The manuscript should be double-spaced and include references to the relevant literature. An abstract of no more than one page should appear on the first page. There is a 30-page limit for the text, excluding the abstract, references, tables, and figures. To ensure a fair and equitable evaluation process, all submitted manuscripts must adhere to APA 7th edition formatting guidelines, including 1-inch margins, an APA-approved font (e.g., Times New Roman 12-point, Arial 11-point, or Calibri 11-point), double spacing, and consistent formatting throughout the manuscript. All submissions must be de-identified (i.e., masked for review).

Selection Criteria: Submissions for the Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award will be judged by a committee of SSTAR members on originality, scientific and/or professional quality, written presentation, and contribution to the research and/or clinical fields. All applicants can expect to receive an email from the Leiblum Award Chair about the results of the award by mid-December. 

Award: The recipient of the Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award will be asked to give an oral presentation of the submitted manuscript at the next SSTAR Annual Meeting, typically on the final day of the conference. At the time of the presentation, a plaque and cash award of $100 will be presented. Additionally, the award recipient will:

• Have their travel expenses, conference registration, and hotel accommodation (2 nights) covered for the annual meeting.
• Receive a free, one-year, student membership, pending application approval by SSTAR.
• Be asked to acknowledge the Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award in any future publication of the paper.
• Serve on the review committee for the next year of the Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award. This involves reading and scoring of a subset of the submissions on a pre-set rubric.

Individuals who submit a paper for the Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award but are not selected for the award will be given a free, one-year, student membership, pending application approval by SSTAR.

Deadline:Monday, October 19, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time. Applications received after this date will not be considered for the award.

*Reminder* All individuals who wish to be considered for a presentation (oral or poster format) at the SSTAR Annual Meeting must submit a separate abstract for consideration. Please follow the submission instructions and separate deadline in the SSTAR Call for Abstracts from the Scientific Program Co-Chairs.

If you have questions about the SSTAR Sandra R. Leiblum Student Research Award, please contact the SSTAR office at info@sstarnet.org.