Amy Marsh, Sexologist & Hypnotist

Category: Adult Sex Education and Classes

Classes taught by Dr. Amy Marsh

  • Why I Teach Erotic Hypnosis, But Don’t Do it With Clients

    Over the years I’ve gotten many requests from people who want me to hypnotize them for entertainment and fantasy purposes. But I just don’t do that! It would–frankly–violate my professional ethics as a certified sexuality counselor and certified hypnotist. In my dual professions, I must not engage sexually with clients (or students!). Doing a fantasy hypnosis session for a client, where the intention is to cause sexual arousal, would violate that principle.

    There are plenty of people who do provide fantasy hypnosis for a price however, and sometimes I wish I could be one of those folks. It would certainly be more lucrative…but I can’t. I would risk everything I’ve worked so hard for since 2009.

    I am not sure that all of the many people who have asked me for this over the years understand.

    But what I can do, is teach people to experience erotic hypnosis with each other, or to learn erotic self-hypnosis! And I truly love teaching this topic! From 2-6 hour group workshops to private couple’s classes, it’s absolutely one of my favorite ways to engage with people seeking more excitement and depth in their sex lives. The mind is the biggest sex organ, right? And what better way to stimulate the mind than with hypnosis?

    I’m teaching two introductory classes online, in April. If you’re interested in erotic hypnosis, this is a great way for you to start with it. You can attend these classes solo or with partners. See the Pleasure and Intimacy Page to pay tuition and enroll. You must do this in advance in order to attend.

    In May, I’ll be teaching Intermediate Erotic Hypnosis to those who have taken the introductory course. Stay tuned for those links, coming soon!

    Examples of How I’ve Taught Erotic Hypnosis classes in the past

    I’ve also appeared on blogs and in articles about erotic hypnosis, and written more than a few articles myself. You’re in good hands if you come to me as a teacher!

    Act now so you can get into one of my upcoming workshops, why don’t you?

  • Objectum Sexuality: Slides for Clinicians

    Objectum Sexuality: Slides for Clinicians

    These two PDFs are updates of two online classes I created primarily for clinicians hoping to learn more about Objectum Sexuality. May they be useful to you.

    Title Slide for First Objectum Sexuality slideshow PDF.
    os-survey-intro-2021-updateDownload
    Title Slide for Second Objectum Sexuality Slideshow PDF.
    os-clinical-issues-2-copyDownload
  • Objectum Sexuality Media Musings

    Objectum Sexuality Media Musings

    Feb. 2020 Update: A team of UK researchers have published a peer-reviewed study in Dec. 2019, which provides strong evidence that my 2010 hypothesis about OS links to autism and synesthesia are correct. Link to PDF of 2019 study: Simner et al. OS-Autism:Synesthesia Nature 2019
    Link to PDF of my 2010 survey article: LOVE AMONG THE OBJECTUM SEXUALS

    Earlier this year Denham Hitchcock from Australia’s Channel 7 Sunday Night interviewed me for the “Object Love” segment, which aired May 19, 2019 (right after the full moon in Scorpio, please note!). Unfortunately I haven’t seen it yet as the link on this page doesn’t load or play for me, for some reason. But I am looking forward to watching it someday soon.

    I had a wonderful time the day we filmed and enjoyed meeting Denham, Karen Willing the producer, and the sound and light guys. They flew into SFO the night before, drove three hours to Lake County the next morning, shoved furniture around (good thing I vacuumed under the couch!), and filled the living room and kitchen with cases of equipment. I made breakfast for them too. (Denham kept urging the others to eat, claiming that I was “a feeder.” I wonder if his new mother-in-law is one of those too?) It was all rather thrilling and good fun! Afterwards, I realized I’d be perfectly happy if I could only be trailed by a handsome reporter and a fabulous production crew for the rest of my life… (That’s a joke, folks. Mostly I live like a hermit with several cats.)

    Because I’ve learned a thing or two since 2009, when I coped with the bizarre aftermath of appearances on Good Morning America (Apr.) and Tyra Banks (Oct.), as well as National Geographic Taboo, Google now helps me track where I show up in international media. I’ve turned up in the strangest places, mostly thanks to stories about Objectum Sexuality (O.S.). My 2009 article, “Love Among the Objectum Sexuals,” published in the Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, still seems to be the “go to” place for journalists who are interested in this topic. I get several inquiries a year. And there are many more who write a story or cite me in a study without ever getting in touch. That’s okay.

    I do this partly because it’s a challenge for journalists to turn a complicated issue into reasonable soundbites and there are always mistakes. For example, I’ve been called a psychologist when I’m actually a sexologist. (I’ve also been called a “whack job of a sexologist” which gives me weird Lorena Bobbitt vibes, but whatever…)

    This recent coverage, with subsequent spin-off articles, has produced its share of hyperbole and error.

    (1) I’m not comfortable with this article’s claim that I’m “the world’s foremost expert on the condition known as object love.” I think the people who are Objectum Sexuals are the true experts. I just helped compile and organize some data. It is true though that I published the first sexological article based on a survey (see link above). But other academics have also written about O.S. They just don’t come up as quickly on the search engines, I guess.

    (2) My survey was of 21 English-speaking members of Objectum-Sexuality  Internationale.  Not dozens, as the above article claimed. It’s the qualitative data that really mattered. Looking back, I should have approached this inquiry as a cultural anthropology type of study, but then, I’m not a cultural anthropologist.

    (3) Object personification synesthesia–cause or correlation? I’m rather happy that this article leads with object personification synesthesia instead of objectum sexuality, actually. It makes for a refreshing change. However… it leaps ahead with an assumption of causality which has not yet been proven. [See Feb. 2020 update above.]

    In 2009 I proposed this form of synesthesia as a plausible and possible explanation for some people who are affectionately, romantically, and/or sexually oriented towards objects.

    The synesthesia explanation seems plausible from a sexological view because human beings have erotic responses to just about anything and everything. It is plausible from a psychological view because if some people sense personalities in objects and have emotional responses to some of them, then it’s logical to assume that some of those emotional responses may involve love and sexual attraction.

    In addition, synesthesia (in all its myriad forms) is higher among people who are autistic. And since a certain number of the O.S. people I surveyed were either diagnosed as autistic or felt they had significant autistic traits, it seemed logical to wonder if there was a correlation, or even possibly a causal relationship. I did do another, shorter survey and a fair number (don’t remember it now) of O.S. folks reported other kinds of synesthesia-like experiences.

    However, I’ve always said “this needs more study.” And I have never, ever claimed to be an expert in object personification synesthesia, as this article claims for me.

    (4) As a sexologist, I don’t view O.S. as a “disorder” or as pathological in any way. I view it as a legitimate sexual and/or affectionate/romantic orientation that seems rather rare (but could be more common than we realize). This article calls O.S. a “bizarre relationship disorder.” Sigh.

    (5) Media has been a curse as well as a blessing to O.S. people. On the one hand, it is very good that people who love objects know there are others like them. That’s the good that media does.

    But when media reports include distortions, hyperbole, and inflated assertions, this deters legitimate researchers. No one, except eccentrics like me, will want to tie their present and future career to something that is a laughing stock among their colleagues. Yet without ethical, intellectual inquiry into this topic, there’s a danger that media could also inflame persecution of O.S. people. Such persecution could include hate crimes, discrimination, deliberate destruction of someone’s object love, even development of so-called “conversion” therapies (which are known to be unethical as well as cruel), and so on.

    (6) My focus on O.S. has always been to foster a kind of “cultural competency” among helping professionals. O.S. people have the same needs as other people do. They need their relationships and preferences to be accepted and honored. If they are grieving over the loss of an object or the loss of a relationship with an object, they need that loss to be acknowledged and tenderly held. They do not need to be told they are crazy or traumatized, unless their history does in fact contain co-morbid mental health conditions or actual trauma. In that case, you treat the trauma or the disorder, NOT the sexual or affectionate orientation.

    Please see my free course for clinicians, on this page and spend a couple of hours with a more useful perspective on Objectum Sexuality.

    objectum_sexuality_-_marsh

    Meanwhile I continue to pursue other eccentric sexological interests: erotic hypnosis and an inquiry into spectrosexuality.

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  • Romantic and Erotic Hypnosis

    Romantic and Erotic Hypnosis

    March 6, 2018 Update: Give a listen to this recent podcast interview with Dr. Nazanin Moali. I got to talk about one of my favorite topics – erotic hypnosis! (P.S. Dr. Moali has interviewed quite a number of really interesting people in her Sexology podcast series. Check it out!)

    I celebrated this past Valentine’s Day by offering a class in Romantic Hypnosis at a local senior center. I’m new in the area, and so I wasn’t upset when only three people showed up. It was a fine class anyway. Romantic hypnosis has a lot to offer people who are aging and/or dealing with physical mobility issues, as it’s a great way to bond and enjoy yourself even when “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

    So what is romantic hypnosis, anyway? It’s really very simple. In fact, it’s as simple as this:

    Affectionate and Romantic Words + Relaxation = Relationship Magic.

    And here’s how you do it. You can start by using a hypnosis script (there’s a sample below).

    Step 1: Ask your sweetheart to close his/her/zir eyes and to relax, breathe deeply, comfortably, and so on. Ask your beloved to listen to your voice, letting everything else fade away. This begins to create the slowing down of brainwaves that we call “trance.” Neither of you should worry about the depth of the trance. In fact, your partner can even “pretend” to be hypnotized and this can work beautifully to actually create the slower brainwaves!

    Step 2: Say good things. Tell your partner how much you love and appreciate him/her/zir. If you think you’ll be at a loss for words, write something down ahead of time. Or you can always find an appropriate poem or read a romantic passage from a book, telling your sweetheart to imagine that the passage is about them.

    Make sure you are speaking slowly, in a relaxed, calm way. Pause to breathe. Let your voice reflect your emotions.

    Step 3: Take about 5-10 minutes total, and then switch. Then notice how this simple exercise has amplified the sweetness of your connection.

    Here’s a sample script from the workshop. Its purpose is to emphasize comfort, emotional safety, closeness, bonding, being present with partner, and to affirm feelings of affection and love, attraction, sexiness, etc. It’s also great to reduce stress before sex and improve emotional confidence. (Note: don’t read the instructions that are capitalized, in brackets.)

    Script: “Closer”

    [INDUCTION – REPEAT 2 OR 3 TIMES]

    Take a deep breath in…hold…exhale slowly, and close your eyes. As you relax and breathe, allow your body to loosen up and feel a gentle, warm glow melting into your body. When you are ready, take another deep breath in… hold it at the top…and feel the tension leave your body and all the warmth streaming in. Once more, a deep breath in, hold, and as you exhale, bring your attention to the feeling in your eyelids, the relaxation of your eyelids as they are closed so gently down, flowing through your entire body, warming, soothing, relaxing… From the top of your head to the tip of your toes, relaxed, peaceful, comfortable…

    Bring your attention again to the feeling of your eyelids, feel how they are so relaxed they just won’t want to move, and then go ahead and give them a check, and then stop testing, and just let yourself melt again into the feeling of soothing, relaxing warmth.

    [DEEPENING]

    Every part of you is filling with a very slow ebb and flow of glowing, relaxing warmth. It is flowing into your cells, and nerves, muscles, bones, and every organ, filling every part of you, even the parts that feel cold or tense. That warmth is just melting away any tension in your body or mind, melting any resistance. You feel so relaxed, so relaxed…

    As I count now from 5 down to 1, you’ll be letting yourself go even more deeply into this warmth, relaxing twice as deep, or maybe even ten times as deep with each number.

    5… this warm glow is taking hold, soothing you and relaxing you, twice as deep
    4…it’s almost like a warm sun or star inside yourself, glowing with just the right amount of warmth, reaching your toes, your fingertips, every part of you, inside and out, letting you go twice as deep
    3…knowing that you can retain this warmth, glowing inside of you, knowing you can relax, twice as deep
    2…you may even be so warm and toasty that you begin to radiate like a heater, glowing and warming and glowing and warming six or even twelve inches outside your body, allowing for complete relaxation, twice as deep
    1…feeling so good, so comfortable, so relaxed, so comfortably warm.

    [CREATE A HYPNOTIC “SANCTUARY”]

    In this wonderful, deep hypnotic rest, I’d like you to now imagine go to a beautiful sanctuary of your own choice, a place of healing, power, and peace. Imagine yourself resting in this beautiful spot, feeling and sensing everything around you – the air on your skin, the sounds, smells, and colors. Imagine yourself resting in this spot and focusing only on the sound of my voice. Take my voice, my words, deeply into your mind and your imagination. Let these words drop into your heart and melt into the warmth that you are already feeling in your body. Let your subconscious mind enjoy these words, and all the feelings of love and affection they convey.

    [NOW: SHOWER WORDS OF LOVE, PRAISE, AFFIRMATIONS, ETC. OR READ THAT LOVE POEM. MAKE SURE ALL SUGGESTIONS ARE EGO-STRENGTHENING AND KIND.]

    Thank you for listening to these words so beautifully, and I feel gratitude for being able to say them to you while you are in this restful, peaceful state.

    [EMERGENCE]

    Now I’m counting you up from 1 to 5.
    Completing the integration of words of love with your subconscious.
    Beginning to allow yourself to come up out of trance, easily and gently.
    Eyes still closed, but bringing your awareness back into the room.
    Wiggling fingers and toes, stretching, feeling relaxed and refreshed.
    Eyes open, feeling good!

    [END]

    There, it’s really that easy. And please do try this at home! And don’t forget to take turns! If you like it, this is only the beginning of an erotic hypnosis adventure you can enjoy together.

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  • Catching My Breath After Catalyst Con West

    Catching My Breath After Catalyst Con West

    speaker3

    I came (well, not literally, unfortunately). I saw. I presented. Yes, it went well.

    Erotic hypnosis workshops taught by Dr. Amy Marsh
    Erotic hypnosis workshops taught by Dr. Amy Marsh

    But you know, I wish I had attended the entire conference. I arrived on Saturday morning, a day after the festivities had started, and never did lose my “new-girl-at-school-trying-to-catch up-and-fit-in” feeling. But with all the urgent confusion in my personal life (divorce finalizing, home sale coming up…), I didn’t feel I could be away more than a night. Plus, I’ve got some chronic fatigue and chemical sensitivity issues that require a certain amount of pacing.

    Still, I wish now that I’d gone for a couple more days – attended a pre-conference workshop on Thursday (so I could bond with a few strangers) as well as Friday’s opening plenary, networking events, and so on. It would have given me time to adjust, meet and talk with people, and relax!

    CatalystCon West was a rich mixture, and there were too many good workshops to see. There were always at least two in each time slot that beckoned to me. Hard to choose! My favorite presentations were from Anna Randall & Richard Sprott (Black and Blues: When Bruises Become Bruised Feelings), Robin Wilson-Beattie & Bethany Stevens (Toys for a Sex-Abled Life), and Alex Morgan & Monique Darling (Yes, All Genders…). Carol Queen & Shar Rednour were erudite and amusing (Writing Sex & Pleasure…) and Samantha Manewitz was also very good on the topic of abuse in kink communities (Breaking Silence…).

    My Sunday morning presentation, Hot & Hypnotic – Five Ways Erotic Hypnosis Can Rock Your Sex Life, was a lot of fun. I felt very well taken care of by the conference assistants and tech support. I also had a brief chance to say hello to Dee Dennis, whom I’d never met before. And then my room filled with mostly unknown faces and I was off and running. I truly love talking about hypnosis and sex! I like to work the floor, move, and enjoy myself when I present. People seemed to mostly enjoy what I did, though a couple of ropes enthusiasts challenged me on my caution about mixing hypnosis and actual bondage (a caution mostly for newbies, I admit – and mostly founded on trust issues). I also did a group hypnosis script on consent, which people also seemed to appreciate.

    Tweets comments for my presentation hashtag #cconhot included “excellent presentation” (from @TantrikaVanessa) and an exhuberant “2 min power pose!” with a happy face (from @MissHelena007). Others tweeted about certain aspects of content – myths and benefits (@car_ireland), using hypnosis without realizing it (@Desire_Guru), and so on. @car_ireland and @MissHelena007 tweeted that they felt “excited” and @MissHelena007 kindly said I brought “a wealth of knowledge and experience to the party.” I am very grateful to these lovely people who took the time to say a few words about my workshop on Twitter!

    After my presentation, energizing as it was, I felt in need of something restorative: a nap, or a shower, a cup of cocoa, or something! But I’d had to check out of my room early that morning, due to the timing of my workshop, so there was no place to go and recover. Alas!

    After attending a couple more workshops, I was exhausted and socially saturated by the time Sunday afternoon’s grand finale rolled around (Tea with Joanni Blank). I’d had some great meals with colleagues, some nice interactions in passing, and now I was ready for home. I decided to leave without saying good-byes, and just get myself over to the Bob Hope Airport so I could collapse into an uncomfortable airport chair for an hour before take off.

    I was at the airport for several extra, unexpected hours due to the horrible fires in Lake County, which had caused flight delays and cancellations throughout California. While in my little sex conference bubble, I was unaware of what was happening in Northern CA.

    Immediately upon my return I was unexpectedly plunged into a friend’s local political campaign, designing his website, Facebook page, and so on. It’s consumed the last week and a half of my life, even in the midst of divorce and home sale details. Today is the first day I’ve had a chance to reflect on my experiences at CatalystCon West.

    Would I do it again? Probably – but only on the West Coast. I’m less and less inclined to travel at all, unless it’s to Hawai’i!

  • Respect for Diversity Important In New Sex Ed Teacher Standards

    Respect for Diversity Important In New Sex Ed Teacher Standards

    The new National Teacher Preparation Standards for Sexuality Education are hot off the press, and have just been issused by the Future of Sex Education, along with SEICUS, Answer – Sex Ed, Honestly, and Advocates for Youth.

    If you haven’t done so already, you can download the PDF by clicking the National Teacher Preparation Standards link above.

    Because cultural appropriation and intersectionality are so important, I am delighted to see that the new standards include respect for “diversity and equity” as described below. I am not surprised by this. Helping professionals and their organizations know that these are key elements in any successful and useful interaction with clients, patients, consumers, and students. The excerpt below is taken from the PDF:

    <<Standard 2: Diversity and Equity

    Teacher candidates show respect for individual, family and cultural characteristics and experiences that may influence student learning about sexuality.

    There is tremendous diversity represented in US classrooms. Often, “diversity” refers to race, culture and ethnicity. Within sexuality education, however, there are other forms of diversity to consider as well, such as family structure (e.g., single parents, step parents, teen parents); religious affiliation; social, emotional and physical developmental level; sexual orientation; gender identity and expression; sexual history; and relationship abuse. These visible and invisible diversities are present in every classroom and affect how students learn. Effective teachers are respectful of multiple dimensions of diversity and tailor instruction appropriately.

    Indicators

    Successful teacher candidates will:

    2.1 Demonstrate the ability to create a safe and inclusive classroom environment for all students.

    2.2 Describe how students’ diverse backgrounds and experiences may affect students’ personal beliefs, values and knowledge about sexuality.

    2.3 Demonstrate the ability to select or adapt sexuality education materials that both reflect the range of characteristics of the students and community and respect the visible and invisible diversities that exist in every classroom.>>

    When sexual health and education products are created in either conscious or unconscious violation of respect for diversity, the learning (and therapeutic) environment is affected. It is no longer safe or inclusive for the person or group who is disrespected. Learning will be less likely to occur. In a clinical environment, there can be no therapeutic value either.  In fact, in both of the above situations, disrespect is likely to produce a negative experience rather than a neutral one.

  • Five Great Ways to Use Personal Erotic Hypnosis

    Five Great Ways to Use Personal Erotic Hypnosis

    Erotic hypnosis workshops taught by Dr. Amy Marsh
    Erotic hypnosis workshops taught by Dr. Amy Marsh.

    I predict that erotic hypnosis will be the hot new erotic trend of 2014. There are so many great things you can do with it, for yourself and with your lovers. 

    Consenting adults use personal erotic hypnosis to enhance and enrich their sexual relationships. Erotic hypnosis is so versatile you can adapt it to any scenario: romantic;  tantric; edgy; and even kinky. Erotic hypnosis can help you increase (or decrease) all kinds of sensations, boost your fantasy life, and add multiple dimensions to any sexy role play. Use erotic hypnosis as foreplay or to intensify the hottest parts of your sexual encounters. Use it alone (erotic self-hypnosis), with a partner, or in a group. Like a trusty vibrator, erotic hypnosis can go just about anywhere… 

    Here are just five of the many great ways you can use erotic hypnosis:

    1. Getting in the Mood. If you’re too stressed to even think about sex, ask your partner to indulge you with a long, soothing progressive relaxation induction that gradually shifts into sensual, arousing imagery. This is as simple as reading a script, though you can certainly ad lib as you learn more about basic hypnotic techniques.

    2. Getting in the Groove. In order to become aroused and sustain that loving feeling, you need to stay on the right side of your parasympathetic nervous system (until you’re close to orgasm, which is when your sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear). You can use hypnotic relaxation techniques to increase your sexual self-confidence and banish performance anxiety.

    3. Getting in Touch. When you’re “entranced,” it’s easy to experience an increase in sensual awareness and sensation by simply listening to your lover’s suggestions and succumbing to the power of your imagination. Trust me, your body will respond. Hypnosis plus touch is also a potent combination.

    4. Getting Hot! Deepen your sexual experiences on all levels – sensations, fantasies, variety, role play, and even hypnotic orgasms. Basic hypnotic skills can take you there.

    5. Getting Kinky. You can create wild and elaborate fantasy scenarios without spending a dime on equipment and toys. Use hypnosis to imagine and rehearse something you might want to try in the future, or to provide an extra dimension for your present fun and games.

    Erotic hypnosis also has a lot to offer people who have chronic illnesses and/or physical impairments that might make some sexual activities difficult. With erotic hypnosis, you can take your mind – and your sexual responses – where you body might not physically follow.

    Of course, erotic hypnosis should only be used in a responsible way, with a lot of trust and a lot of talking beforehand – working out most of what you want to try and experience, in advance, and getting clear consent for every part of it. There’s much more to be said on this topic – and about the basic hypnosis skills you must acquire – but for now, this is a glimpse into the benefits and uses of recreational, erotic hypnosis.

    Gustav Klimt Judith I, 1901 Öl auf Leinwand 84 x 42 cm

  • Why Do I Teach Erotic Hypnosis to Lovers?

    Why Do I Teach Erotic Hypnosis to Lovers?

    The short answer is: it’s another part of my sexological “bag of tricks.” But I think this question also requires a longer explanation.

    All sexologists, sex counselors, sex coaches, and sex therapists develop a menu of therapeutic strategems, tips, techniques, and recommended products, books, and media to share with our clients. Most of us give classes and workshops on everything from orgasms, oral sex, erotic massage, tantra, coping with pelvic pain, aging and sexuality, and so on. We’re always looking for new, effective ways to assist our clients and students with their sexual concerns.

    We also often give our clients “homeplay” exercises to do between sessions. For couples, there may be a sensate focus series, non-demand touch exercises for building trust and somatic awareness, first used by sex therapy teams like Masters & Johnson and Hartman & Fithian, and still in wide use today. For a man with rapid ejaculation, there may be a program of mindful masturbation exercises designed to build his capacity for “lasting longer.”

    As a sexologist, I often use hypnosis in my practice, and I teach self-hypnosis and other mind-body skills to my clients. And this is good. But there’s more that can be done!

    For the last couple of years I’ve envisioned a well-designed mini-course in erotic hypnosis techniques which could be just as helpful as many of my other sex counseling staples. I’ve been working on the design of this course and have now refined it so that it is user friendly, based on wisdom culled from both the hypnotic world as well as the sexological one.

    I am convinced of the value of this endeavor. Hypnosis is so versatile! For example, lovers could use hypnosis to:

    • help each other relax before lovemaking (especially helpful in dropping the stresses of the work day or family life);

    • restore and renew that new relationship sensation of being entranced with a lover; and

    • to shower each other’s subconscious with ego-strengthening, affirmative, appreciative suggestions that promote confidence in each other and in the relationship. Can you imagine anything more nourishing than relaxing in a light trance state while being showered on a daily basis with words of love and appreciation, pouring right into your mind and heart?

    I suggest that these are great additions to an expanded erotic hypnosis repertoire – which includes the ability to heighten sensation, enjoy “hypno-gasms,” create variety through hypnotic fantasy, explore power play, and so on. In other words, lovers can empower themselves and their relationships through the skillful, consensual use of erotic hypnosis.

    Erotic hypnosis can also be a valuable tool for people who have some kind of physical impairment or disability, but who’d like to enjoy the fullest possible sex life. Think about it!

    I believe too that erotic self-hypnosis is a powerful tool for understanding one’s own erotic nature and core themes. Too often people are as disconnected from this awareness as they are from their own, and their lover’s, bodies. Why not explore your own eroticism through a combination of self-hypnosis and self-pleasure, for example?

    This is the potential I see – and I would like to alert my colleagues in the sexology field about this. I am launching my extended Erotic Hypnosis for Lovers courses (first one on August 17th), and am hopeful that people will realize their value. Yes, there are plenty of people exploring and enjoying erotic hypnosis and doing very well on their own – but I’d also like this modality, as a structured program, to make its way into the hands of sexologists, counselors, and therapists – as well as clients.

    Klimt-IntimateHypnosis

  • Erotic Hypnosis Events and Resources

    Erotic Hypnosis Events and Resources

    Many announcements.

    1) I am particularly pleased to be offering a full-day workshop on Saturday, August 3rd, called “Erotic Hypnosis for Lovers” and we will cover the cosmos with regard to sensual, sexual, intimate, and edgy things you can do with hypnosis and a partner(s). You’ll get a good grounding in basic hypnosis skills in the morning, and then by afternoon, begin to play!

    Gustav KlimtJudith I, 1901Öl auf Leinwand84 x 42 cm

    You’ll also get a range of sample scripts, tips, and techniques to take home, that will enable you to get started. Please check out the link above to enroll and purchase your ticket. Individuals, couples, and multiples of all persuasions are welcome. Our class is limited to 14 people, however, so don’t hesitate!

    Erotic Hypnosis for Lovers will be held at LSI, 2015 Center Street, Berkeley, located across from Berkeley City College and just down the block from the downtown Berkeley BART. We’ll have a ground floor classroom, and as usual, please attend fragrance free.

    2) My 1-hour, introductory class, Beginning Erotic Hypnosis, has been available online at Creative Sexuality for a couple of years. For only $20 you can get a nice little intro to the basics.

    3) I am also in the process of creating a 6-hour, online course in Erotic Hypnosis, also through Creative Sexuality. This will be easily accessible and a convenient way to – again – get the info and ideas you need. I’ll announce it when it’s ready!

    4) Entrancing: Handbook of Sexological and Erotic Hypnosis (Revised) is a booklet I’ve created through MagCloud.com. You can download a PDF copy for $2, or buy a glossy printed booklet for $7.

    Also:

    —Intimate Hypnosis: Sexological Hypnosis Skills is the course I teach through the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, a private graduate school in San Francisco. This is a professional course for people who want training in sexology and training in the use of hypnosis to help clients with sexual problems. This 300-hour course (over 15 weeks) gives you TWO certificates for the price of one, as well as the option of getting your hypnosis certification through the National Guild of Hypnotists. This is a $9,000 value for only $3,750! This is mostly a distance-learning course, online, with an optional one-week intensive in mid-October, at IASHS.

    —National Guild of Hypnotists 100-hour Hypnosis Certification training. $2,100. Two ways to learn – either a two-month training with 30 hours of home study and five weekends in class, or an “Easy Pace” option where you drop in to get your hypnosis practice hours one Saturday a month. (Payment plans and an “early bird” discount available…).

    Please feel free to get in touch with me at dr.amymarshsexologist@gmail.com if you have questions about any of the above.

  • Glowing Testimonial!

    Glowing Testimonial!

    Last Thursday, Sept. 13th, I taught my Easy Mind-Body Skills workshop at Tutu’s House in Waimea, Hawai’i island.  This is a collection of several simple things that people can do to release stress in their lives. These techniques are so simple, parents can teach them to children. I originally created this workshop for the Gender Spectrum Conference held last summer in Berkeley, but realized that it could be helpful for any community. So I’m taking it on the road!

    A few days after the workshop I received the following glowing testimonial from the program director, who made it a point to take my class:

    “You are one of my all-time FAVORITE PRESENTERS! Absolutely the BEST at active listening & letting people “FEEL HEARD”, taking just enough time to let an individual’s comment resonate, be noticed, identified with by others, while bringing focus back to the material you intend to cover within perfect connection with your audience ! ! ! Really, you could do a Train-the-Trainers just on that skill that you have mastered & so graceful at it ! ! ! ! ! !  I… absolutely hope that you will return with ANYTHING you would like to share with the Community at Tutu’s House.”  Lorraine Urbic, Tutu’s House Program Leader, Kamuela-Waimea, Hawai’i Island.

    This is super-gratifying to me, as I have been spending a lot of time and energy in this last year, trying to be a better and more effective teacher and presenter. This was my second time doing a program at Tutu’s House, a community  health and education center. (A couple of years ago I presented an abbreviated version of my Secrets of Successful Couples course.) I particularly value Lorraine’s comments as her program relies on a constant stream of guest presenters, with new offerings every month, and so I know she has a good basis of comparison.

    You can bet that next time I come back to Hawai’i island that I’ll bring another workshop to Tutu’s House. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to offer something back to at least one community in Hawai’i!