Dr. Katehakis has written a manual to help people create their own sense of healthy sexuality. She calls it the KIST model, or the Katehakis Integrative Sexual Theory. Her theory is based on the Psychobiological Approach to Sex Addiction Treatment (PASAT), which is not to say that only those with sexual addiction will find this work helpful. In fact, anyone who accepts the World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 definition of sexual health can appreciate this workbook to some degree, given their own biases. This is because, like the WHO, the KIST model bases sexual health not only on the absence of sexual addiction or coercion, but also on wellness, positivity, respect, pleasure, safety, protection, and fulfillment in sexuality.

Katehakis posits spirals of healthy sex that include physical, cognitive, affective, interpersonal-intrapsychic, and spiritual realms. She offers criteria for healthy attitudes and behaviors in each dimension. She then begins the workbook aspect of the manual, offering questions and space for written reflections regarding each area. At the end of every topic, readers are guided to rate their activation levels in responding to the queries. She offers somatic checkpoints as an aid to self-discovery. Then she suggests homework for processing the experience through both creative and narrative means, including pages for journaling. If that is not enough, Katehakis includes prompts for exploring issues of anatomy, functioning, self-evaluation, gender, and communication.

The list of personal value choices on p. 49 is especially helpful and meaningful. It makes a great conversation starter for those who prefer to focus first on the importance of healthy sexuality before delving into anatomical particulars. Overall, the workbook is very creative and inventive in its approach, modeling some of the finer qualities of healthy sexuality itself. It even differentiates personal from sexual values, to leave room for human vagaries of experience, while honoring overlaps as well.

One point of confusion or perhaps bias for the reviewer was the instruction to specify “sexual values/turn-ons,” however, because of perceived differences between values and erotic templates produced by unhealthy experiences. To this reviewer, it would seem helpful before this point to take special account of how traumatic events may affect turn-ons that do not match one’s values. While this is part of the scope of the book, it seems important to first explore the sequelae of trauma earlier than this exercise. This is especially true for a workbook that is geared partially toward those recovering from sexual addition. After all, Patrick Carnes, in his book Sexual Anorexia (1997), showed how trauma can lead to either acting out or extreme inhibition. In fairness, Katehakis discusses and expands on such issues in the very next chapter. This reviewer, though, would prefer the section on preferences versus trauma repetition to be placed ahead of material on activities that might not fit with all the WHO definitions of healthy sex.

To her credit, Katehakis offers a wait list for certain acts or positions of which the reader is unsure how to feel or what to think. This way, readers can complete their Sexual Health Plan (SHP) based on what they are sure is most important to them already. From here, Katehakis adds to the dynamism of the SHPs by taking them into the realm of relational conversations with supportive others, such as therapists and/or partners. Also of help, she differentiates plans for singles and offers that couples do their plans in therapeutic settings. Finally, sample plans and a checklist are offered to cap off this brilliant toolbox for general readers. For therapists, she adds annotations that are essential for use with patients in session. Thus, this workbook is a real find for therapists who deal with sexuality, psychodynamics, problem solving and creativity in their practices.

Darlene Viggiano, PhD (MFT); Saybrook University, CA

Katehakis, Alexandra. (2018). Sexual Reflections: A workbook for designing and celebrating your sexual health plan. Los Angeles: Center for Healthy Sex, 132 pp., (softcover), ISBN: 9781717166128.

Dr. Katehakis has written a manual to help people create their own sense of healthy sexuality. She calls it the KIST model, or the Katehakis Integrative Sexual Theory. Her theory is based on the Psychobiological Approach to Sex Addiction Treatment (PASAT), which is not to say that only those with sexual addiction will find this work helpful. In fact, anyone who accepts the World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 definition of sexual health can appreciate this workbook to some degree, given their own biases. This is because, like the WHO, the KIST model bases sexual health not only on the absence of sexual addiction or coercion, but also on wellness, positivity, respect, pleasure, safety, protection, and fulfillment in sexuality.

Katehakis posits spirals of healthy sex that include physical, cognitive, affective, interpersonal-intrapsychic, and spiritual realms. She offers criteria for healthy attitudes and behaviors in each dimension. She then begins the workbook aspect of the manual, offering questions and space for written reflections regarding each area. At the end of every topic, readers are guided to rate their activation levels in responding to the queries. She offers somatic checkpoints as an aid to self-discovery. Then she suggests homework for processing the experience through both creative and narrative means, including pages for journaling. If that is not enough, Katehakis includes prompts for exploring issues of anatomy, functioning, self-evaluation, gender, and communication.

The list of personal value choices on p. 49 is especially helpful and meaningful. It makes a great conversation starter for those who prefer to focus first on the importance of healthy sexuality before delving into anatomical particulars. Overall, the workbook is very creative and inventive in its approach, modeling some of the finer qualities of healthy sexuality itself. It even differentiates personal from sexual values, to leave room for human vagaries of experience, while honoring overlaps as well.

One point of confusion or perhaps bias for the reviewer was the instruction to specify “sexual values/turn-ons,” however, because of perceived differences between values and erotic templates produced by unhealthy experiences. To this reviewer, it would seem helpful before this point to take special account of how traumatic events may affect turn-ons that do not match one’s values. While this is part of the scope of the book, it seems important to first explore the sequelae of trauma earlier than this exercise. This is especially true for a workbook that is geared partially toward those recovering from sexual addition. After all, Patrick Carnes, in his book Sexual Anorexia (1997), showed how trauma can lead to either acting out or extreme inhibition. In fairness, Katehakis discusses and expands on such issues in the very next chapter. This reviewer, though, would prefer the section on preferences versus trauma repetition to be placed ahead of material on activities that might not fit with all the WHO definitions of healthy sex.

To her credit, Katehakis offers a wait list for certain acts or positions of which the reader is unsure how to feel or what to think. This way, readers can complete their Sexual Health Plan (SHP) based on what they are sure is most important to them already. From here, Katehakis adds to the dynamism of the SHPs by taking them into the realm of relational conversations with supportive others, such as therapists and/or partners. Also of help, she differentiates plans for singles and offers that couples do their plans in therapeutic settings. Finally, sample plans and a checklist are offered to cap off this brilliant toolbox for general readers. For therapists, she adds annotations that are essential for use with patients in session. Thus, this workbook is a real find for therapists who deal with sexuality, psychodynamics, problem solving and creativity in their practices.

Darlene Viggiano, PhD (MFT); Saybrook University, CA

Katehakis, Alexandra. (2018). Sexual Reflections: A workbook for designing and celebrating your sexual health plan. Los Angeles: Center for Healthy Sex, 132 pp., (softcover), ISBN: 9781717166128.