Providing Competent Therapy for Sex Workers
Because of the unique challenges and obvious stresses that come with their line of work, therapy specifically for sex workers can assist in better understanding and coping with these internal and external factors. Therapy for sex workers is a type of counseling that helps people who engage in sex work deal with the psychological and emotional challenges of the job. Therapy can help them cope with the stigma, the dangers, and the challenges of working in the sex industry in other areas of their lives. Sex workers may feel they can’t talk about their job with anyone. They might feel like telling a therapist about their job because they fear they will be judged by the therapist. But it is important for sex workers to find someone to talk to about their job. Therapy can be a safe place where one can freely talk about their feelings to a therapist without hiding those feelings as a sex worker.
So, why do sex workers need therapy?
Just like anyone else, sex workers sometimes need someone to talk to! Regardless of their profession, they may have experienced trauma or difficult situations that they need help processing. Therapy can provide a safe space for sex workers to talk about their experiences and explore their feelings.
Therapy can also help sex workers manage their stress and anxiety. Many sex workers face stigma and discrimination, which can take a toll on their mental health. Therapy can help them cope with these challenges and improve their overall well-being. Reflect on how as a therapist you can transform your practice to be more helpful to sex workers.
How can you provide competent therapeutic services to sex workers?
The complexity of how sex work can impact mental health whether the issue or trauma can arise from previous or related experiences that are not associated with sex work. Obtaining a professional certification through the Sexual Health Alliance (SHA), or the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) a sex therapist, is a great way to start expanding your practice to include sex workers. Sexual Health Alliance (SHA) offers a sex therapy certification for professionals and students who are in a Master’s Degree program in counseling or mental health.
A brief from The European Sex Workers Rights Alliance (ESWA) provides an introduction to the intricacy of mental health for sex workers and the myriad of impacting factors. ESWA also compiled a toolkit for supporting the mental health and well-being of sex workers. This toolkit provides tools and recommendations to organizations that can also be applied to therapy practices to ensure services for sex workers can be provided competently and safely. Until recently there were no guidelines for mental health practitioners that have clients that engage in sex work, resulting in sex workers not wanting to engage in therapy due to stigma, and discrimination. However, in 2019, Antebi-Gruszka et al. created guidelines that were informed by current literature on how to make your practice more competent and safer for sex workers.
Aside from professional training and certification, what else can you do to provide safe and competent therapy for sex workers?
While we all have personal thoughts and feelings that surround sex work, as professionals, those thoughts and feelings must be pushed aside as not to let our personal bias impact the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client. However, maintaining ethical standards does not indicate the use of mandatory reporting unless indicators are given. When a client discloses that they are a sex worker, validate that sex work is a valid form of work, affirm their lived experience with compassion and understanding, not judgments, preconceived notions, or other biases, diminish, nor pathologize the client for their choice to engage in sex work.
An additional factor to consider is learning the difference between consensual sex work and sex trafficking because the two are often conflated. Decriminalize Sex Work (DSW) has created a brief that clarifies the differences between sex work and human trafficking. DSW (2023) reports that in 2020 sex work-related offenses outnumbered sex trafficking offenses 38 to 1. Becoming familiar with the risks that sex workers encounter (police violence, substance use, HIV, STDs/STIs, sexual violence) and the diversity within sex, gender, sexual orientation, sexuality, and alternative relationship styles are other areas that greatly impact sex workers’ mental health.
Connecting with local, regional, and national sex worker support and advocacy group(s) or organizations, researchers, and other therapists that work with sex workers can enhance your practice and make it more welcoming to sex workers.
The importance of therapy in helping sex workers cope with stigma, dangers, and other difficulties that can impact their mental health and well-being. Therapists play a vital role in creating a safe and supportive environment for sex workers to freely discuss their experiences and emotions without fear of judgment. By acknowledging sex work as a valid form of work and practicing compassion, understanding, and empathy, therapists can significantly contribute to improving the lives of those engaged in the sex industry. It is essential for mental health professionals to continually adapt their practices to cater to this population’s needs effectively, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and supportive therapeutic landscape.
By John Coberg II