Sex Positive Families The Podcast

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on a podcast called Something Positive for Positive People hosted by Courtney Brame. His podcast offers a safe space for people living with or affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like herpes and HIV to share their experiences as a way to shake the shame and stigma that exists around these diagnoses. He originally invited me on his podcast to talk sex ed and SPF but little did he know, I too am a person living with HSV2 (herpes simplex virus type 2), and I’m not at all ashamed. So on this episode, I chat with Courtney about his journey toward the great work he is doing shaking stigma around STIs. Our chat touches on why accurate and open talks at home about sexual health are so important, some tips for managing herpes diagnoses, and he shares a really innovative connection he made between the horror film IT and social stigma around herpes.  For additional information about herpes and other sexually transmitted infections, visit the CDC's online info here or Planned Parenthood here. Want to connect with Courtney? Check out the Something Positive for Positive People podcast on your favorite podcast platform such as iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, Podchaser or Podbay. Follow on Instagram here, Twitter here, Reddit here, Tumblr here or follow Courtney on Facebook here. If you'd like to connect with Courtney one-on-one about herpes resources and support options, you can contact him via email at courtneywbrame@gmail.com. And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Join our Patreon community to access monthly live videos, interactive activities and exclusive resources for parents and caring adults, to support your sexual health talks. Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking} Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  Melissa Carnagey: "Hi Families, I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on a podcast called, "Something Positive for Positive People" hosted by Courtney Brame. His podcast offers a safe space for people living with or affected by sexually transmitted infections like herpes and HIV to share their experiences as a way to shake the shame and the stigma that exists around this diagnosis. He originally invited me on his podcast to talk sex ed and SPF, but little did he know I too am a person living with HSV2 and I'm not at all ashamed! So on this episode, I chat with Courtney about his journey toward the great work he is doing shaking stigma around STI’s. Our chat touches on why accurate and open talks at home about sexual health are so important, some tips for managing herpes diagnosis, and he shares a really innovative connection he made between the horror film, ‘IT,’ and social stigma around herpes. Let’s check it out!” M.C.: “Hey Courtney, so I am excited to have you on the SPF podcast!” Courtney Brame: “Melissa thank you very much for having me, always nice to connect with other people who are doing positive things.” [Laughter] M.C.: “Yes.” C.B.: “Pun intended.” M.C.

In this episode, we dive into the gender spectrum exploring how parents and caring adults can support transgender youth. I chat with Ryan Dillon, a licensed professional counselor in private practice at Pride Counseling Austin, who specializes in working with trans, LGBQ+ youth and their families. Ryan offers an empathetic safe space for folx to explore their identities and also teaches comprehensive sex ed classes to middle school-aged students with an organization and curriculum called Unhushed. This episode offers empowering perspectives on how we can support gender identity and expression for the children in our lives. Want to connect with Ryan? Check out Pride Counseling Austin and sign up for the monthly newsletter here. Follow on Instagram here and like on the Facebook page here. Learn more about the Unhushed organization and comprehensive sex education curriculum here. For additional Austin-area and national resources for transgender and queer youth: OutYouth in Austin, Texas Central Texas Transgender Health Coalition  National Center for Transgender Equality Gender Spectrum And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Join our Patreon community to access monthly live videos, interactive activities and exclusive resources for parents and caring adults, to support your sexual health talks. Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking} “Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!" {Same Person Speaking}  “Hi families, in today's episode we dive into the gender spectrum exploring how parents and caring adults can support transgender youth. I chat with Ryan Dillon, a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice at Pride Counseling Austin who specializes in working with Trans, LGBTQ+ youth and their families. Ryan offers an empathetic safe space for folx to explore their identities and also teaches comprehensive sex ed classes to middle school age students with an organization and curriculum called, Unhushed. This episode offers empowering perspectives on how we can support gender identity and expression for the children in our lives. Let's have a listen.” M.C.: “Hi Ryan it is amazing to have you on the SPF podcast. How are you? Ryan Dillon: “I’m doing well. Thank you for having me!” M.C.: “Thank you so much. We are excited to learn from you and to get us started; what has your journey been to the work that you're doing now?” R.D.: “Of course! I grew up in a very accepting family, and I feel very privileged to have done that. I had parents that were always encouraging when I wanted to express my selves in something that was out of societal norms, which happened quite a bit since I was a very expressive young child and then a very, let’s say, handful as a teenager. And I was always expressing myself very feminine and wearing traditional women's clothing, and not once did they bat an eye at it. It set me up for a lot of confidence going forward, and when I say confidence I don’t mean like chest puffed up being able to walk into a room being ...

On this 10th episode, I talk with Kevin Patterson- educator, speaker and author- about polyamory.  For those new to this, polyamory is the state or practice of maintaining multiple romantic and/or sexual relationships at the same time, with the awareness and consent of all folx involved. Kevin is the creator of an online forum called Poly Role Models and has authored a newly released book called Love's Not Color Blind: Race and Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities. Kevin shares his own journey toward polyamory, why this is not just "white people shit," and what parenting in a polyamorous family can look like. Want to connect with Kevin? Check out Poly Role Models here. Follow on Instagram here and like on Facebook page here. To grab your copy of Love's Not Color Blind: Race and Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities, find it on Amazon here. And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Join our Patreon community to access monthly live videos, interactive activities and exclusive resources for parents and caring adults, to support your sexual health talks. Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft Instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  Melissa Carnagey: "Hi Families, we have made it to the tenth episode and I want to thank you so much for joining us on this journey. The support and response has been so positive as we're having conversations that shine a light on diverse experiences and strategies as they relate to sexual health within families and this episode is no exception. I talk with Kevin Patterson, educator, speaker, and author about polyamory. And for those new to this, polyamory is the state or practice of maintaining multiple romantic and/or sexual relationships at the same time with the awareness and consent of all folks involved. Kevin is the creator of an online forum called, Poly Role Models and has recently authored a book called, Love's Not Color Blind: Race and Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities. Kevin shares with us his own journey toward polyamory, why representation is so important in this community and what parenting in a polyamorous family can look like. Let's have a listen."  M.C.: “Hi Kevin, how are you?” Kevin Patterson: “Hey! I’m doing good. How are you doing?” M.C.: “I’m doing well. We are excited to have you on the SPF podcast! So just want to get started with telling us a little about the journey toward polyamory and toward the work that you’re doing now.” K.P.: "My journey with polyamory started with my then-girlfriend now wife, we just sort of stumbled into like some group activity let's say and it turned into, a lot of like really meaningful conversations about what we wanted to do with the exclusivity in our relationship or whether we wanted exclusivity at all. And we decided not to! Basically, we found ourselves open and decided to stay open and that looked a bunch of different ways over the course of several years before we ...

Recently, NPR (National Public Radio) ran a story on the importance of sex education, particularly for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID). One alarming reason is the higher rate of sexual abuse and assault within this community versus folx without ID. To help us explore this issue, and how parents, caring adults and educators can approach sexual health talks with young people living with ID, I chat with Nick Winges-Yanez who is a researcher and the Project Coordinator of the Texas Sibling Network at the Texas Center for Disability Studies at the University of Texas. Nick shares her personal connection with ID, which catapulted a career in service, research and advocacy around sexual health for folx living with intellectual disabilities.  Want to connect with Nick? Follow her on Instagram here. Check out her live streams on O.school here. Read her Op-ed published in the Austin-American Statesman here. Learn more about her Sexuality & Developmental Disabilities workshops here. Contact her via email here.  For additional resources on sex education for all abilities: Sexuality and Developmental Disabilities Workshops with Katherine McLaughlin Teen Vogue: Why Sex Education for Disabled People Is So Important Article: #Metoo Must Include the Most Vulnerable People in Texas  UT Austin's Texas Center for Disability Studies And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Join our Patreon community to access monthly live videos, interactive activities and exclusive resources for parents and caring adults, to support your sexual health talks. Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction} {Person speaking} Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us! {Same person speaking} Melissa Carnagey: “So recently, NPR ran a story on the importance of sex education particularly for young people with intellectual disabilities. One alarming reason is the higher rate of sexual abuse and assaults within this community vs. folx without I.D. To help us explore this issue and how parents, caring adults, and educators can approach sexual health talks with young people living with I.D. I chat with Nick Winges-Yanez, who is a researcher and the project coordinator of the Texas Sibling Network, and the Texas Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Texas. Nick shares her personal connection with I.D. which catapulted a career in service, research and advocacy around sexual health with folx living with intellectual disabilities. Let's check it out!" M.C.: “Alright, well welcome to the SPF podcast! Nick, we are so excited to have you and to dive into the topic today. I’d love for you to share with our listeners what your journey to the work you’ve been doing has been.” Nick Winges-Yanez: “My journey seems to me is kind of long-winded. I grew up with a sibling, a sister who is labeled with an intellectual disability. And often went to her school meetings and I was always surprised by the curriculum that was being presented because it kinda seemed different from my own curriculum. So,

What were your earliest experiences with pleasure? Do you remember being in the womb or those first cuddles with a caring adult? Probably not that far back. Some of us may recall a little further down the road when we discovered pleasure in the context of our own bodies and masturbation and there may or may not have been shame associated with those experiences. In this episode, we are exploring pleasure in the early years of a child’s life, and how parents and caring adults can best support their child’s understanding of pleasure, without taboo, especially before it’s even about sex. Helping me explore this important topic is Lydia M. Bowers, a sex educator who is passionate about helping families and other educators understand and appropriately support sexual development in individuals from birth to adulthood. She is a Pleasure Professional with O.school and an American Sexual Health Association Ambassador with over 15 years as an Early Childhood Educator. Want to connect with Lydia? Visit her website here. Follow her on Instagram here,like her Facebook page here and become a Patron here. Check out her live streams twice a month on O.school here. If you'd like additional resources on fostering pleasure in children, read this. And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  Hello families, I have a question for you. What were your earliest experiences with pleasure? Do you remember being in the womb? Or those first cuddles with a caring adult? Probably not that far back, right? Well some of us may recall a little further down the road, when we discovered pleasure in the context of our bodies, in masturbation, and there may or may not have been shame associated with those experiences. Well in this episode we're exploring pleasure in the early years of a child's life and how parents and caring adults can best support their child's understanding of pleasure without taboo, especially before it's even about sex. Helping me explore this important topic is Lydia M. Bowers, a sex educator who is passionate about helping families and other educators understand and appropriately support sexual development in individuals from birth to adulthood. She is a pleasure professional with O.school and an American Sexual Health Association ambassador with over 15 years of experience as an early childhood educator. Want to know how to foster a healthy understanding of pleasure? Let's have a listen. Melissa Carnagey: “I’m so excited to have you with us, especially for this topic. How are you?” Lydia Bowers: “Good. How are you?” M.C.: “I’m doing well!” L.B.: “Thank you.” M.C.: “Yes, so glad to have you! Before we get started, if you can share with us, what has your journey been like to the work that you’re doing now?”  L.B.: "I was in the early childhood education field for about fifteen years. I spent time as a classroom teacher for infants, toddlers.

Along our sexual health journeys we come to moments where we wonder if what we are experiencing is truly 'normal.' With so much taboo and shame within our sex-negative society, it can be difficult to decipher openly. In this special Valentine's week episode, I collaborate with Sex Positive Educator Erica Force (aka Sexuallectual) to answer your "Am I normal?" questions. Followers submitted their curiosities, from multiple orgasms, penis curves to sexual fantasies, and we had a blast answering them and sharing our personal and professional perspectives. This Valentine's week, we hope you do something special to honor your sexual health and celebrate the unique beauty of you. Want to connect with Erica aka Sexuallectual? Follow her on Instagram here. Check out the classes she teaches at Sexology Institute here. Contact her for one-on-one coaching here. And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! TRANSCRIPT {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  " Alright so this is a special event, families, normally when I have a guest on the podcast it is done remotely, but this time I am staring… " {Another voice interrupts}  "In-person!!!" (laughs)  Melissa Carnagey: "Yes!!! I am staring at Erica Force, AKA @s.xuallectual which many of you know, and many of you may not, and so I would love to allow you to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the journey that brought you to the work you're doing."  Erica Force: "Beautiful. Thank you for having me, and I'm very excited for you to hear my voice, which doesn't happen often over Instagram so, this is good. Yeah, I started this journey into sex-positivity about 2 ½- 3 years ago. I came from a background of a health career, always looking into the health aspect of being human. I worked for a while in corporate health settings with my undergrad in health administration with a concentration on management. I wasn't feeling fulfilled and happy in that setting, and it took away a lot of my creativity, and who I was as a person, which is a people person, and a healing person. So I jumped from that and went into finding Sexology and the study of what makes us this dynamic, sexual being which is very misunderstood and under-educated in the field I was working in and exposed to. So finding this when I came to San Antonio, Dr. Melissa Jones who owns Sexology Institute, I showed up and I said: "You're giving me a job, this is where I'm supposed to be." And she did, and it flourished from there and she introduced me to Dr. Patty Britton and Sex Coach U, and that's where I've spent the last two years gaining that base of knowledge and education and how do I be a sex-positive educator and ally, and it's been quite a journey into this. I'm teaching sex-positive education classes at The Sexology Institute in San Antonio, and then in my everyday life influencing whoever I can." M.C.:    "And many of you may be connected to Erica's platform on Instagram @s.xuallectual,

In this episode, I talk with Adam Maurer, LMFT, LPC. Recently while on Instagram, I came across a post that spoke about the Myths of Monogamy and offered an alternative of Modern Monogamy. I was so intrigued by the points made that I shared it on the SPF Instagram and it very quickly got a lot of engagement from our community. Many folks seemed to connect to or be curious about the comparison of these two constructs. So I thought, we need to get the author of this post onto the podcast. Well that author is Adam, a licensed therapist in private practice in the Austin, Texas area who works a great deal with couples and individuals around relationships, especially folks within the LGBTQ+ community. Adam believes that therapy is a place to explore strengths and challenges with acceptance and an open mind and Adam’s work focuses on empowering clients to thrive in a world that is not always understanding. So this episode explores the myths of monogamy and offers insight into modern monogamy.   Want to connect with Adam and Moontower Counseling's services and content? Visit the website here. Follow Moontower Counseling on Instagram here and on Facebook here. To connect with Sex Nerd Trivia follow along via Instagram here and Facebook here.   And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  "Hi, Families, recently while on Instagram, I came across a post that spoke about the myths of monogamy and offered an alternative of modern monogamy. I was so intrigued by the points made that I shared it on the SPF Instagram and it very quickly got a lot of engagement from our community. Many folx seemed to connect to or be intrigued by the comparison of these two constructs. So I thought, we need to get the author of this post onto the podcast.  Well, that author is Adam Maurer of Moontower Counseling. Adam is a licensed therapist in private practice in the Austin, Texas area who works a great deal with couples and individuals around relationships, especially folx within the LGBTQ+ community. Adam believes that therapy is a place to explore strengths and challenges with acceptance and an open mind, and Adam's work focuses on empowering clients to thrive in a world that is not always understanding. So this episode explores the myths of monogamy and offers insight into modern monogamy. Let's check it out." Melissa Carnagey: "I am very excited to have the SPF community hearing your perspective, and especially on this topic of exploring the concept of monogamy versus modern monogamy, because some of this relationship stuff can make people's heads spin. It can get a little too close to home. But before we get into that I would love to hear, and have you share what your journey has been to the work that you're doing." Adam Maurer: “Yes, so I kind of grew up in a chaotic family, with parents who didn't get along. Mix that with being a young,

This week, I talk with Reverend Lacette Cross, affectionately known as Rev L, about the intersection of sexuality and faith.  Rev L describes herself as a God-loving, justice-worker who is a black, bisexual woman and ordained baptist minister. Her work via the Will You Be Whole platform offers a space for people to "wrestle with" and unpack how to be sexually faithful and faithfully sexual. Rev L shares with us her unique, personal journey toward this work, explores the reasons behind the taboos around sex and faith, and some actionable steps to strengthen your personal relationship with spirituality and sexuality.     Want to connect with Rev L and Will You Be Whole's services and content? Visit her website here. Follow Rev L on Instagram here.    And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft Instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  Hi families. So what comes to mind when you think of faith, religion, and sexuality? I've spoken to many adults on this SPF journey thus far who have shared about an upbringing with religious foundations and what I have found is that it often contributed to less open, less sex-positive environments. There seems to be a block on what is considered appropriate sexually within many faith-based communities. So I'm excited that on this episode we are deconstructing this just a bit with our guest Reverend Lacette Cross, affectionately known as Reverend L. She describes herself as a God-loving, justice worker who is a Black, bisexual woman and ordained Baptist minister. She believes in the power of intersectionality as it is the lens and grounding of her work around sexuality and faith. A self-identified womanist she has the deepest commitment to the liberation of all people. Her work in ministry and coaching creates space for conversation, learning and change around sexuality and spirituality, working with anyone who wrestles with how to connect sexual behavior and attitudes with their beliefs about God, self, others, and the Bible. This episode will make you think, so let's wrestle with it, with Reverend L. Melissa Carnagey: "We have with us today Reverend L. That's Reverend Lacette Cross with Will You Be Whole. How are you?" Reverend L: "I'm doing good. How are you?" M.C: "I'm doing really well. I'm excited to dive in. We are going to be talking about the intersection of sexuality and faith. Which I know for the Sex Positive Families community, especially within the group that we have, this is a topic that comes up a lot. It seems to have some deep roots for a lot of people in terms of their upbringing and how they then shape their ideas about sexual health and perception of their sexuality. So I'm excited to dive in with you, but I'd love to start by having you share with us what your journey towards the work that you're doing in faith and sexuality has been." R.L: "I love telling this story because it is always a reminder that we are the sum total of our experi...

In this episode, I talk with Noelle Ward who is a Teen Life Skills Coach, Occupational Therapist, founder of Life Skills 4 College, and parent of two.  Noelle shares with us a host of strategies for communicating more effectively, both verbally and non-verbally, with our children especially when approaching sexual health discussions. She explores how parents can cultivate their children's curiosities, how to read body language and how to foster healthy communication skills in our children.     Want to connect with Noelle and Life Skills 4 College's services and content? Visit her website here to sign up for free downloadable tools and online courses that support communication and life skills for the young person in your life. Follow Life Skills 4 College on Instagram here.    And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! TRANSCRIPTION {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  "Hello, Families! Today's episode is all about communication strategies when talking with our children and teens. For this one, I had to bring on Noelle Ward founder of Life Skills for College as well as the award-winning LifeLabs. These are two programs that teach children life skills for success. Noelle is a Licensed Occupational Therapist, working with diverse individuals of all ages and abilities. She is also the Director of Rehabilitation for a large home health and hospice organization. She is responsible for the therapy programs and quality of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy throughout the state of Alabama. Alongside her profession, she's married with two kids, so she knows a bit about this parenting thing. Noelle is breaking down barriers for verbal and non-verbal communication while offering actionable strategies for parents and caring adults, so they support sexual health talks with the children in their lives. This episode is packed with helpful tips, so let's get to it!" Melissa Carnagey: “Noel, how are you?” Noelle Ward: "I'm great, thanks! How are you, Melissa?" M.C.: “I'm doing very well. So let's get started with you telling us just a little bit about your journey.”  N.W.: "Great! Well, I'm an Occupational Therapist by background, and I have been working in leadership roles the majority of my career, for about 20 years. And I noticed over the past, about the past 10 years, I was working with a lot of new graduates, college students and I was noticing... I was mentoring and coaching them a great deal because they didn't have the life skills they needed to navigate not only the workforce but just their lives in general. I was seeing this on a regular basis, and I was seeing people that were not happy in their current role in work or life and they were blaming this on their situation but it wasn't their situation. It's because they didn't know how to navigate the situation, especially with communication, which we’ll be talking about today. So I thought of this and I thought,

In this episode, I talk with sex-positive pelvic health physical therapist, sex educator and counselor, Dr. Uchenna 'UC' Ossai. UC demystifies the correlation between pelvic health and sexual health, defining for us what the pelvic floor is, why it is so important to sexual health and functioning, and discusses some common issues men and women can experience. We also learn some background into what ignited the work she is doing in the medical field as well as in her sex education work for grown folks via her platform, YouSeeLogic.   Want to connect with UC's services and content? Visit her website here and follow her on Instagram here to catch the Bourbon Talez and Swagger Tips series. Catch Dr. UC live-streaming as a Pleasure Professional every Tuesday at 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern to learn more about pelvic health and sexual health.   Additional resources : To find a pelvic health practitioner near you, visit pelvicrehab.com. And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction} {Person speaking} Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}            Hi Families, so an important part of being a sex-positive family is maintaining the sexual wellness of the adults in the equation. Parents or caretakers can model attention to our sexual health, which sets a living example and gives our children permission to follow suit.  So on this episode, I had the pleasure of learning about the connection between pelvic health to sexual health from Dr. Uchenna Ossai who is a pelvic health physical therapist and AASECT certified sexuality counselor. Alongside her work in the medical field, she also has her own business called "You See Logic" which is a platform that focuses on improving the sexual intelligence of adults through innovative content and honest discussion that is free of judgment. That's actually how we became connected, I watched her ‘Bourbon Tales' series that she does on Instagram, so make sure you go follow her @YouSeeLogic so that you can get some grown and sexy sexual health information. So get comfy, and get ready to learn about sexual health and pelvic health because the doctor is in! Melissa Carnagey: “Alright, so we have with us Dr. Uchenna Ossai, or better known as You See Logic, thank you so much for joining us today.” Uchenna Ossai: "Thank you, I am so happy to be here with everyone. I've been a pelvic health physical therapist for about 7 years now, and really what started my journey was an internship when I was about 15 years old, a summer internship, with a wonderful woman named Kathy Tesco in Dallas, TX. When I interned with her I thought originally that it was just a regular orthopedic physical therapy job. But it was actually a pelvic health physical therapy job. She saw women and men with pelvic floor issues, so I thought: ‘Wow, this is amazing', it ignited something deeper in me. I thought I wanted to either do business or med school, I was one of those nerdy kids who did Med School Camp and Math Cam...

Keeping our children safe is a top priority of parents and caring adults especially in the context of sexual health. In this episode, I talk with licensed clinical social worker and sex therapist, Kristin Hambridge (aka 'SexStuffwithKristin'), about strategies caring adults can use to promote body autonomy, self-awareness and a sense of safety within our children. Kristin explains the concept of 'tricky people,' why it is important to allow your child choice, fostering healthy body boundaries, and teaching your child how to connect with their gut instincts. She emphasizes that these strategies are not about being scared but being prepared. Want to connect with Kristin's services and content? Visit her website here and follow her on Instagram here. Be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel for sex-positive videos here.   Resources referenced in this episode: Safely Ever After, Inc by Pattie Fitzgerald 'Do You Have a Secret? (Let's Talk About It!) by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos RAINN (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network)- Safety Support for Parents Additional resources for families And as always: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you’re enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Transcript {Soft instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I'm your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex-positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Person speaking} Hello families! So since starting Sex Positive Families, one of the most requested topics parents and caring adults seek consultation on is safety. How can we raise sexually healthy children and keep them safe from harm?  Because this is such an important piece of parenting in a sex-positive way, I decided we should start here and give you some knowledge and strategies to approach this aspect more confidently.  So on today's episode, I have Kristin Hambridge who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Sex Therapist working toward her board certification from AASECT.  If you're on Instagram and follow sexual health content, then you may know her already as @sexstuffwithkristin. Kristin is a blogger and contributing writer for a number of online magazines as well as a YouTube vlogger covering a myriad of sexual health and sex-positive topics.  Alongside her professional passions, she is a parent of a three-year-old son, so she is living sex-positive parenting every day. This episode has a wealth of safety tips and strategies for parents and caring adults, so let's get started. Melissa Carnagey: “We are on today with Kristin Hambridge. Some of you may know her as @sexstuffwithkristin (now @sexstuffwithkris). Kristin, how are you?” Kristin Hambridge: “I am good. Thanks for having me! I'm really excited to be on your podcast! This is awesome.” M.C.: “We are so excited to have you and we are excited to pick your brain because you do a lot for the community in terms of sexual health messages and really getting creative, or as you coin at your shop, ‘a little snarky with it’, and so I'm excited to have you in this space.  I've been a follower for a while now and I love your content and I know that there are a lot of listeners who feel the same wa...

SPF is now podcasting! This first episode of the Sex Positive Families podcast welcomes parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates to join us as we dive into topics that strengthen sexual health talks in families. Get to know the host and founder, Melissa Pintor Carnagey, how SPF got its start, what sex-positivity and parenting have to do with each other, and what you can expect from this community moving forward. Melissa also shares some shout-outs to those that have supported SPF's launch and mission, because it definitely takes a village! This podcast will challenge you to shake the shame and trash taboos around your sexual health and help you see the amazing role you can play in influencing healthier outcomes for the children in your life. We're so glad you're joining us! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for regular sex-positive content and updates. Sign up for our email list and receive your free download of 'Preparing for the Sex Talks: An Action Plan for Parents & Caretakers.' Leave a review in iTunes to let us know how much you're enjoying the podcast. This gives us great feedback from our community as well as expands the reach and visibility so we can serve more families! Shop sex-positive swag and merchandise for parents, caring adults and sexual health advocates here. Transcript {Soft Instrumental music plays as introduction}  {Person speaking}  Welcome to Sex Positive Families where parents, caring adults, and advocates come to grow and learn about sexual health in a supportive community. I’m your host, and the founder of SPF, Melissa Carnagey. Join me, and special guests, as we dive into the art of sex positive parenting. Together, we will shake the shame and trash the taboos to strengthen sexual health talks with the children in our lives. Thank you so much for joining us!  {Same person speaking}  Hey Families, it’s Melissa Carnagey with Sex Positive Families, and I am excited because this is the introductory episode of the podcast. We are transforming the platform and bringing information, knowledge, strategies, perspectives, and sex positivity in parenting, straight to your ears. Thank you so much for tuning in.  This introductory episode is going to be all about calibrating all of us. Who am I, how did Sex Positive Families get it’s start, what is sex positivity and how does it relate to parenting and children, some topics that we’re going to be covering this season, and lastly some shout-outs because nothing is done truly alone. There are a lot of folx that have been along this path with me in these last six months and have contributed to the success of Sex Positive Families, so I want to shine light on them.  First, who am I? I am a licensed social worker in the state of Texas. I have been working in the field of sexual health for the last ten years. I’ve had positions in direct services, so in case management, and then in program management and then I transitioned to macro level, so working for the state government as a consultant in the realm of HIV, STD and sexual health.  In 2017 I received my certification as a life coach. My focus is on parent empowerment coaching. I was able to tie these two pieces together of sexual health  and of parenting and coaching. That’s really kind of the foundation and focus of Sex Positive Families and the services that we offer.  But the biggest role that I have and the most relevant and my real “why” is in my role as a parent. I am a parent to three children: I have an eighteen year old daughter who is a freshman in college, an eight year old son, and then a four year old “bonus” son with my partner, Ryan. So our family is rich, when it comes to the love and the support and the levels of communication that we share between us.  We use a lot of strategies regularly with all three of our children that really speak to ensuring that they have the knowledge, the autonomy and the confidence to approach the...