Frequently Asked Questions
What does AASECT supervision cost?
A: Darling Mental Health provides AASECT supervision at an hourly rate of $125
What is needed to get a contract for AASECT supervision?
A: Before a contract can be signed and supervision hours tracked for AASECT certification, the supervisee must provide proof of AASECT membership, a copy of their malpractice insurance, and a copy of their license to practice independently in their state/province/municipality.
Do I need to be independently licensed to begin AASECT supervision?
A: No, but it is recommended. Many therapists benefit from first focusing on stabilizing themselves as an independently licensed provider before working towards a special certification. Due to the nature of multiple levels of ethical guidelines and different tracking demands, the Director maintains a policy of providing supervision services to providers outside the practice for either independent licensure or AASECT Certification as a Sex Therapist.
Do I need to have an AASECT supervisor before I begin addressing the educational requirements?
A: No, you may begin collecting your AASECT continuing education certificates at any time, they “do not expire” but we recommend you assess and start your clinical tracking and supervision within 1-2 years of starting to collect your AASECT aligned education. Consult AASECT.org for information about using an advanced degree (PhD, PsyD, etc) in Sexuality to address the educational requirements.
How many Hours of Supervision do I have to have to get AASECT Certified as a Sex Therapist?
A: Minimum 50 hours with a limit of no more than 6 per month, the process results in a minimum of 18 months of supervision and is often longer. Of these 50 hours, 20 must be a primary individual supervisor. Up to 25 hours of the 50 required hours can be group supervision hours. You may have as many AASECT supervisors as you like, and you may use up to 5 hours of supervision with a qualified AASECT Certified Sex Educator and/or Sex Counselor to count towards your 50-hour minimum for your CST application.
How many hours of clinical case work of sex therapy do I have to document for the AASECT CST application?
A: 300 hours of sex therapy need to be documented within your supervision tracking dates. Clinical hours of experience related to sex therapy BEFORE a signed contract with a qualified AASECT Supervisor (or Supervisor in Training) does not count towards certification.
What needs to be tracked in one’s clinical experience for review with a supervisor and to support a CST application?
A: Cases should track initials, gender, and age of the client for contextual and auditing purposes and otherwise have clear keywords that denote experience with any of the following for which diverse representation in your experience will properly support a CST application: sexual orientation, gender identity, relationship diversity, sexual attitude (fetish/kink/BDSM/CNC/etc.), erectile dysfunction, premature/delayed ejaculation, genito-pelvic pain / vaginismus, hypo/hyper libido, fe/male arousal disorder, any DSM diagnosable paraphilia, and other related conditions or cultural experiences (i.e. shame about masturbation) for which the bulk of psychotherapy focuses on sexual health and function.
Does supervision guarantee certification as an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist?
A: No, multiple factors go into becoming AASECT certified, including meeting educational requirements, distribution/variety of cases clinically seen, and qualifying for all aspects of the application to be a CST. That being said, the Director will always communicate with any supervisee what delays or barriers exist for a supervisee to become a Certified Sex Therapist and will provide support and direction on how to resolve those barriers. Ethical violations that prevent a person from being endorsed as a CST will also result in termination of the supervision contract without refund for supervision hours already rendered.
Does DMH provide AASECT group supervision at a reduced hourly rate?
A: Not at this time, however the Director co-facilitates some group supervision for Paula Leech’s cohort found at paulaleech.com – use the scheduling tab and select group supervision for available dates.
Who is qualified to provide AASECT supervision that can count towards certification as a Sex Therapist?
A: Only people who have been Certified as a Sex Therapist for a minimum of 2 years and who engage with a supervisor to train and support the process of becoming certified as a Sex Therapist Supervisor (CST-S) are qualified to provide Supervision for AASECT certification and are considered a “Supervisor in Training” until they reach the milestone that allows them to carry the letters “CST-S”. The Director of Darling Mental Health qualifies as a Supervisor in Training and works directly with his own Supervisor to ensure compliance with AASECT guidelines.
If you still have questions or wish to set up a consultation appointment with the Director, he is available and bills exploratory calls at the rate of $100 per hour, billed in 15 min increments. If the result of the exploratory call is to then set up a supervision contract the exploratory call fee will be waived and/or credited to your next supervision service.
