TCT AASECT certification programs and supervision

When students complete the Sex Therapy Certification Institute (STTI) training as either a stand-alone program or part of the IICS doctoral program, they will be certified by the Therapist Certification Association (TCA) Board.

TCA is an organization made up of professionals in the sexology field and the Board has created standards for certification as a Sex Therapist, Clinical Sexologist, or Sexology Educator that are on a par with the one other major board that provides this certification – the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). While AASECT is better-known because it has been in existence longer, TCA is gaining in membership and is fully as professional.

There are a few differences between AASECT and TCA of which to be aware.

1. One is that AASECT does not certify clinicians from most countries outside of the U.S.
2. Another is that AASECT created a position statement denying sex addiction and many of their members are quite radical in their repudiation of sex addiction as a condition or issue. TCA is sex addiction-friendly and many of our therapists treat sex addiction.
3. Finally, TCA acknowledges that therapists and other clinicians have gone through internships to become licensed in their fields and need to receive Continuing Education to maintain licensure. TCA therefore does not require as many hours of supervision for certification nor CE credit for re-certification as does AASECT.

As stated above, graduates of the Sex Therapy Training Institute (STTI, which is a program under Therapy Certification Training -TCT) or IICS will automatically be Board Certified. Some graduates, however, may choose to pursue AASECT certification and will need to do some additional work.

The educational courses offered in STTI and IICS are approved for AASECT credit through both Dr. Carol L. Clark and Therapy Certification Training (TCT) and meet the AASECT certification requirement of 150 hours of sexuality education and sex therapy training and both TCT and IICS are approved AASECT CE credit providers.

STTI and IICS do NOT offer a Sexual Attitude Reassessment course. AASECT requires this and so students will need to take that course elsewhere.

AASECT requires 50 hours of supervision, 25 of which can be in group where there is a half hour of time per each attendee with a maximum of 6 attendees, and 25 hours of individual supervision. These hours may not be completed in less than 18 months and need to be completed with an AASECT-approved supervisor.

TCA requires 20 hours of supervision/case consultation, with 10 hours being in group and 10 hours paired. Many of the faculty offer supervisory hours so students can complete their hours by the end of the educational portion of the program.

Dr. Carol Clark is the only faculty member who is an AASECT-approved supervisor. Paired hours of supervision with her can be applied towards AASECT certification as group hours and be included in the cost of the STTI or IICS program cost. A contract for AASECT supervision needs to be completed PRIOR to initiating supervision.

AASECT certification applicants will still need 40 hours – 15 group and 25 individual – to meet AASECT requirements. The group hours may need to be completed with an AASECT supervisor from outside of STTI depending on whether or not other students are desiring AASECT certification. The cost is $75 per student. Dr. Clark can do the 25 hours of individual supervision for a discounted fee of $150 per session. Prospective applicants can choose to find another supervisor for some or all of those hours as well. AASECT allows multiple supervisors, but the student needs to have a primary supervisor to help with the certification application process.

Anyone who is interested in seeking AASECT certification needs to thoroughly read through ALL the requirements on the AASECT website and pay special attention to the supervision requirements prior to initiating supervision. https://www.aasect.org/guidelines-supervision

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