Finding a Place You Belong: Addressing Sexuality as an OT

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Where to Find Tanya Peterson:

• Website 
• Instagram and TikTok: @tanyapeterson.me

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Inside Pelvic OTPs United you'll find:​

• Weekly group mentoring calls with Lindsey. She's doing this exclusively inside this community. These aren't your boring old Zoom calls where she is a talking head. We interact, we coach, we learn from each other.
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• Highly curated forums. The worst is when you post a question on FB just to have it drowned out with 10 other questions that follow it. So, she's got dedicated forums on different populations, different diagnosis, different topics (including business). Hop it, post your specific question, and get the expert advice you need.

More info here. Lindsey would love support you in this quiet corner off social media!

Transcript

Lindsey Vestal Finding a place you belong. Addressing Sexuality. As an occupational therapy practitioner. I am so excited to share my conversation with Tanya Peterson with you today. She truly carved out such a niche for herself as a result of experiences that she had during the pandemic. It is. Her story is so inspiring, and I know that you will find so much in it to let you up and inspire you today. Tonya has this incredible way of blending enthusiasm and her background in sexuality and relationship trauma to really help her clients evolve into their most passionate selves. What truly lights her up and it is so evident in this conversation, is empowering clients to rediscover intimacy, foster emotional connection, and really achieve a fulfilling, intimate life. As a sexuality and intimacy specialist with a knowledge in integrative couples and sex therapy, Tanya helps couples and individuals navigate the sensitive aspect of their intimate lives. Her approach is really rooted in empathy, understanding and a deep respect for the diversity of human experiences. Tanya was recently a guest on Pelvic OTPs United, which is my off social media community, and she was just so passionate. I couldn't help but think I want you on the podcast. I want to talk to you in more depth about how you got into this field. So pull up a chair. You're invited to join the conversation. Let's get into it now. 

Intro New and seasoned OTs are finding their calling in Pelvic health. After all, what's more ADL than sex, peeing and poop? But here's the question. What does it take to become a successful, fulfilled and thriving O.T. in Pelvic health? How do you go from beginner to seasons and everything in between? Those are the questions and this podcast will give you the answers. We are inspired, OTs. We are out of the box, OTs. We are Pelvic health OTs. I'm your host, Lindsey Vestal, and welcome to the OTs and Pelvic health Podcast. 

Lindsey Vestal Tonya, what a joy. I am absolutely delighted to welcome you to the OTs and Pelvic health podcast. Thank you for being a guest today. 

Tanya Peterson Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. This is honestly one of my favorite podcast. Listen to. So to be included as huge for me. 

Lindsey Vestal Oh my gosh. I'm honored. Thank you so much. So I am really excited about our conversation today. So I just I want to get right into it. You know, I've had the pleasure of hearing a little bit about your story before. You have been a guest on Publico TPP's United, which is my off social media community membership program. And you shared with us a little bit about a pivot that you had experienced during Covid that really landed you down this path of becoming a sexuality and intimacy specialist, which is what we're going to be talking about today. And I can't wait to hear about the day and day, day in and day out of what you do. But would you mind bringing us all in a little bit into that background of that pivot and sort of why you went down this path post-COVID? 

Tanya Peterson Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of a long and winding path. I think a lot of us have experienced that, especially as OTs, because there's so many different avenues and our scope is so big and really finding a place where we feel like we belong. So my background is varied. I started off an acute neuro, I did some skilled nursing, I did Pedes for a little bit. I eventually actually tore an occupational therapy assistant program. I was hired to teach at developmental Pediatrics and then brought on as full time faculty. In 2019, I decided that I wanted to venture off on my own, so I actually opened up a brick and mortar play cafe and as we all know, 2020 brought some massive change. And I opened originally in October of 2019, so I was only open for a few months when the pandemic hit and we were closed down indefinitely. And this was, you know, it's kind of like my dream project. I had used retirement money to fund it, and it was a, you know, just a lot of work, effort and resources that I put into that business. So I was in kind of a a funk, wasn't really sure what to do next, was exploring different options while I was home and, you know, homeschooling my kids. And I came across your course for particular therapy and I was like, that sounds kind of cool. So I dove into that and I ended up signing up for the Herman and Wallace Lab one, but ended up being canceled because of Covid. So that kind of put my pelvic floor plans on hold for a little bit. Eventually the world opened back up, and at that point, my business had changed. I had partnered with a therapy group who continues to use my space for an early intervention developmental program. So I have really nothing to do with that. They just use what I created, which is great because it was sitting empty for a bit with Covid. And so I decided that I wanted to start my own practice and focus on mental health. So I opened up and my goal was to treat trauma and just be a resource for so many who were suffering. And as I was kind of opening my practice, I saw this sexuality course and see, actually I was like. So I dove into that and then I was like, You know what? I could combine all the stuff I learned in Lindsay's course. And the sexuality stuff and kind of create a niche for myself around. Sexuality and relationship trauma and intimacy and connection because there's such a need for it universally. Like, everyone needs this and there's nobody really serving it in this way. So I took things that I knew and I created a space for myself and yeah, and that's how I kind of got to where I am. 

Lindsey Vestal I am. I, I just. I could hear that story a thousand times. There's so much to it, Tanya, that I find so inspiring. And I think it's no accident that during Covid, which was a time when I think a lot of us can relate to missing connection and feeling kind of a sense of belonging, that through that experience and that global pause that we all took, you found this and created this incredibly unique but incredibly O.T. niche that resonated with you. And I think that if if this wasn't created during this time, you know, I'm not sure that you would have found such a perfectly well equipped container for yourself, you know, to specialize in it. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like a confluence of a lot of events for you that kind of led you down this incredibly creative path. 

Tanya Peterson Yeah, absolutely. I never in a million years, you know, when I graduated or even within the first decade of my career, I would see myself actually, I had no desire to do psych or mental health. I was actually very vehemently against it because I had a really terrible clinical rotation in a psychiatric unit, so it was not even on my radar. So the fact that I am where I am today it's pretty is pretty crazy and ironic. 

Lindsey Vestal I love I love that I can I can relate to that. And so it's it's perfect. And then we end up feeling like if there's no other there's no other there's no other identity we could have like this. This was it. And we had to come to it in this way. 

Tanya Peterson Yeah. Like we had to learn what we needed to learn and had to navigate the challenges to get where we needed to get. Because like I said, of some of those things that never happened, and as hard as they were in the moment, if they had never occurred, I wouldn't be where I am. And this is probably the most. Comfortable then like I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. And I always felt not like that in traditional health care. I always felt unfulfilled and like I was doing my best, but also not really making a difference because I had to abide by the medical model. And I was just I never felt fully fulfilled or fully comfortable in any other medical setting. I had to create a space of my own. 

Lindsey Vestal Again, I can I can relate to that 100% authentically. That's that's beautiful. So I'd love to know a little bit more about like, what does a day in the life like for you as you support your clients with relationship trauma? Slash, you know, couples therapy. Before you give us that snapshot, though, can you just give us a sense like if you're working with individuals, if you are working with couples all the time and generally speaking, like what is their diagnosis or what is their reason for coming to see you? 

Tanya Peterson Yeah. So I work with individuals and I also work with couples. And the reason that they, you know, I do get some referrals because I work out of a primary care office one day a week. So I have a couple physicians there that refer. But overall, people find me on psychology today and they reach out if they're going through a breakup or, you know, they're on the brink of divorce and they've tried every other avenue and they kind of want something a little outside of the box. I have a lot like desire, discrepancy and, you know, like people are not on the same sexual plateau as their partner and they want to know if something's wrong with them. People exploring sexual identity and wanting to learn more about their bodies and talks now where they which is actually a social worker. But she does sexuality counseling as well. And we're talking about putting on a pleasure workshop for women. So anything within that room. And then I have this kind of minor niche that's completely not in line with any of this and ADHD. For some reason I get a lot of referrals for ADHD. So I also have like this kind of niche within a niche as well. 

Lindsey Vestal And do you take insurance, Tanya? 

Tanya Peterson I do not. I do not. And the reason for that is, is because I want to see my clients for as long as they need to be seen for. I want to. I want them to have more autonomy over their treatment. So I do provide a super. I do everything through simple practice so they get a super bill once a month that they can submit to insurance if they'd like to. But nope, I'm completely cash based. It's just easiest for me. It also allows me not to have to because I make my own schedule and make my own prices. I don't have to be, you know, trying to get people in and out like you do in traditional health care. I can spend time with them. They have access to me in between sessions, through the court, the client portal. I just have so much more freedom outside of the medical model. And I know that's scary for a lot of a lot of folks. They are, you know, are very reliant on insurance and that's great for them. It's just not something that I ever wanted to deal with and I didn't want to be restrained. 

I have some super exciting news for you. O.T. Pioneers ensured a pelvic floor therapy is opening for enrollment January 13th through the 17th, 2025. This is your chance to dive into a 100% online course. With lifetime access, you'll get five group mentoring calls with me and two free months inside our off social media private community Pelvic OTP's United. Plus, we're hosting an optional in-person lab in Cleveland on February 21st and 22nd. Please come join over 1500 other OTs who have already taken the leap. I can't wait to see you inside OT Pioneers Enrollment January 13th through 17th 2025. 

Lindsey Vestal Well, you are 100% speaking my language. You know, my private practice in New York City is also private pay. And I just want to do a super quick shout out to my husband, Doug Vestal, who runs Freedom of Practice. He actually helps start their own private pay practices, really tapping into sort of the values that you really mentioned here in terms of freedom for both themselves and their clients. Definitely making an incredibly real impact. And then let's let's also be really frank and say like there's so many upsides, such as less paperwork, you know, less restrictions. And Tanya, you really strike me as someone who is out of the box. You know, you really have a vision. And when you see something, you. Right. That's kind of the way you want it to be, execute it. And I personally, through my own personal experience and seeing the students at Doug support private pay is an incredible avenue for that. So anyway, I just I love that. I love your vision. It's very clear. And so, I totally get it. I love that. 

Tanya Peterson Shout to Doug. I love his content. I follow him on Instagram. 

Lindsey Vestal Thank you. Thank you. I'm a little biased, but yes. So will you will you walk us through kind of like what a day is like for you as you support your clients? 

Tanya Peterson Yeah, absolutely. So I have two offices. I have one in my local neighborhood, which I'm in upstate New York, some kind of, if you're familiar with New York at all, and halfway between Utica and Syracuse. So I have an office about literally less than a mile from my house and I treat out of there on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Wednesdays I try in Syracuse out of a general practitioners office. I say general practitioners, but it's it's a functional medicine and we're all independent and it's, it's just a really cool collaborative environment. Like we're all, we're all treating outside of the traditional medical model. So there's a lot of collaboration, there's a lot of cool stuff that happens there. So I love that. And then on Mondays I do telehealth and my days are whatever I schedule them to look like. I do have clients who come weekly who have their sessions scheduled every week, and I have clients who come once a month and. I just kind of create my schedule around whatever the needs are that week. You know, I get my kids on the bus every day. I try to get them off the bus at least three times a week. So I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule, which is really, really important to me. It's one of the things I struggled with when I was, you know, like working at the hospital full time. I felt like a caged animal. Honestly, I needed I need more flexibility in my day. So. And it could be anything from a couple who's she's trying to work on communication strategies and improve intimacy and connection to a woman struggling with her sexual identity, who is trying to find ways to express herself and dealing with a lot of societal trauma and religious trauma. Like it could be anything. I just I love it because I just get such a variety. I meet the coolest people with the coolest stories. Yeah. So it's a little different every day, but I have a lot of control over how much I make and my schedule, so. It works for me.

Lindsey Vestal It's a it's a dream. It's a it's an absolute dream. And do you find there are certain I mean, maybe it comes in waves, but are there certain periods of a person's life that you tend that you tend to be supporting? You know, is it before pregnancy? Is it post postmenopausal like are there. Do you find yourself attracting a certain type of client these days? 

Tanya Peterson I get a lot of recently, probably within the last month or two, I've had an influx of middle aged couples who've been together for a long time. And they're just either, you know, they're fighting a law or their sex life has dwindled, or they just need a little bit of support. And I also get a lot of couples who are actually have decided that they are going to separate and they just need help with navigating that and communicating and co-parenting and all that stuff. So a lot of role delineation, a lot of life transitions. I have a few younger clients who are, you know, like college age, who are navigating sexuality, who are wanting to learn about their bodies and how their bodies work, has their pelvic floor works. And so, yeah, I get I get a pretty cool neck. 

Lindsey Vestal I would love to hear a little bit more about, I guess, how, how you use pelvic floor knowledge. You know, like I, I know you had mentioned you took out you pioneers, you took a sexuality course. Like where where do you do you find yourself weaving in education? Are you giving them exploratory practices to do at home, whether it's alone or with their partner? Like, how do you bring in the Pelvic health piece to this? 

Tanya Peterson Yeah. So as we know, like Pelvic health is related to everything. I mean, trauma, stress, anxiety, sexual health at the center of all of those things is the pelvic floor. So I actually do have like a pelvic floor model. And even if I'm just working on working with somebody who is just trying to, you know, regulate emotions, they maybe have a history of trauma and they're just trying to not be so anxious all the time. We do a ton of psychoeducation on the pelvic floor and how it's related to anxiety responses. And I do a ton of on poly vagal and how all of the vagus nerve is connected to all of that and the different parts of the vagus nerve and how it all interplays with not only our brain but also our pelvic floor. And if, you know, like if I just I pelvic floor is also tight and a lot of people are have no idea the role that pelvic floor plays in mental health and overall physical health as well. So a lot of education, a lot of psychoeducation. I do a lot of breathwork, you know, my body techniques, progressive muscle relaxation. Grounding techniques, all of that. A lot of education on what the pelvic floor is, what the muscles are. You know, that the outside that you see is not your vagina, but it's actually your vulva. Like a lot of that to a lot of people just being comfortable with that part of their body and tending to it and being okay with sexual expression. There's so much interwoven taboo ness and a lot of people, they just like having a safe space that they can come and talk about All those things, like I'm experiencing vaginal dryness and my gynecologist kind of brushed it off, but it's really impacting my sex life with my partner, like stuff like that, all different stuff. So we talk about the pelvic floor and what happens to the pelvic floor when you're sexually aroused. And so, yeah, it's interwoven into pretty much everything. 

Lindsey Vestal Your clients are so lucky to have you. 

Tanya Peterson Thank you. I'm lucky to have them. 

Lindsey Vestal This is so awesome. Do you offer internal work to your clients, Tanya? 

Tanya Peterson I do not. Like I said, I was planning on it initially when I signed up for the Herman Wallace, but it was canceled and I never pursued it. And I really like the I really like the approach. Now, I do refer to pelvic floor therapists a lot. And there's one that works out of the office that I work out of in Syracuse. So I do refer to them and I educate clients on what they do, but I do not do a manual. 

Lindsey Vestal Okay. Awesome. Awesome. So I have kind of like more of a big picture question for you now, which is why. Can you share with us your perspective as to what qualifies us as O.T. practitioners to be sexuality counselors? 

Tanya Peterson Oh my goodness, this is such a good question. And I will also preface this by saying I have taken additional courses and coursework at Dr. Catherine Ellis as an O.T. actually who has a certified sexuality program. So I went through that and I'm currently enrolled in the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute to become a certified couples and sex counselor. But those are things I've chosen to do. You know, OTs already have so much knowledge around the body, the mind. You know how all of those things are incorporated. We're very holistic. We definitely are good communicators and collaborators. We're effective and interdisciplinary team members. And as you have said yourself, I've heard you say this so many times, that pelvic floor is involved in so many adls, so much basic functioning. OTs are just I feel like we're made for this. We're good at addressing trauma. We're good at all the sensory stuff. And we I think we kind of have a have an advantage over, you know, the traditional mental health counselor or social worker or therapist because we can do bodywork. Like we can incorporate somatic experiencing and that kind of stuff into our sessions where, you know, other therapists who are not manually trained can't. So even if you're not doing internal pelvic floor work, you can still do other types of manual work to help with muscle relaxation and facilitation and that kind of stuff. 

Lindsey Vestal Your your I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. That is. That is awesome. Yeah. So so just to reiterate, you know, there are courses out there certainly to kind of step more into that expertise. But do you think that when OTs graduate from OTs School that we are equipped to discuss sexuality and support our clients with their sexuality? 

Tanya Peterson I think we are generalists when we come out and we at least in my program and also the program that I taught and we did not get a lot of sexuality training. I think we're definitely well equipped. I think we have a great foundation. But I do think if this is something that you want to explore maybe in private practice or full time, that a little bit of extra information, a little bit more coursework would definitely be a good thing. But we do have enough knowledge about, you know, role delineation and communication strategies and that kind of stuff where we could create a practice around that aspect too. There's just so much that we can do. Like our scope is huge, so it can be a great thing, but it can also be kind of a a scary thing because we're like, What are we allowed to do? Why aren't we allowed to do all the time? 

Lindsey Vestal And I feel like it's very similar to what we hear when O.T. practitioners are exploring Pelvic health. It's kind of like we usually they call their state practice act and they're typically hearing something very similar along the lines of as long as you can demonstrate continuing competency, you know, as long as you've taken coursework that enabled that equipped you, that prepared you for it. And so I guess what I didn't ask the question very well I think. What. But you did you you helped me clarify a little bit exactly what I was trying to say, which is as a tease, it's in our scope of practice, right? We know it's in our practice framework. And so I do believe a lot of the mental health work we've done and really just kind of the way the what we're brought into into throughout school, we can step outside and then if we choose to continue to take additional courses like 100%, it is it is in our wheelhouse. Whether it's something you're pursuing full time like you are or because we're pelvic floor therapists, sexuality is absolutely part part of some of the trials and tribulations our clients might be experiencing. And so maybe taking a couple additional courses to be able to be more confident in supporting our clients in that area of their life. 

Tanya Peterson Yes, absolutely. And you know, just the fact that OTAs are they have such a deep understanding of function and dysfunction and physical and mental health. Those are all things that is so beneficial when you're talking about issues related to sexual function, overall, sexual wellbeing. We're also great at actively listening and emphasizing and facilitating open discussions, and sometimes that's exactly what clients need. They just need a safe space to discuss these things. And I always tell them right from the beginning, I'm here as a guide, like I'm not here to fix you. I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to liberate you because everything you need to heal or whatever your goals are, is already inside of you. And sometimes you just need a little help unlocking it. And that's what I'm here to do. 

Lindsey Vestal So beautifully said. I love that. Tanya, would you mind sharing with us kind of like how a few sessions would go with a client who is you're supporting, who might be experiencing vaginismus or maybe some other common diagnosis that that you treat a lot? But just to give us a little bit more of like a peek underneath the curtains of what progression looks like when they work with you. 

Tanya Peterson Yeah, absolutely. So of course I always start with assessment and evaluation. And step one is just creating safety. They're coming in, they're talking about things that are really intimate, that they're not things that they really talk about probably on a day to day basis. Some do. I definitely have clients who are very comfortable and talk about sexuality every day of their lives. But I also have clients who have like I've never I've never talked about this with anybody. It was a taboo topic growing up. I went to Catholic school. We weren't allowed, you know, I was very abstinence and fear based. So that one is always just like creating a safe space, creating a rapport, allowing them to know that you are not there to judge them or tell them what they're doing wrong. A lot of people think that's what like mental health therapy is. It's like they're going and somebody just telling them all the things that are wrong with them. So first of all, just addressing anything like that in the first session, like what do you expect this to look like or what do you need to feel safe? What what can I do to support you and make sure that we do everything you need us to do together? So that is like step one. So an evaluation I'm looking at. I'm looking at everything. I'm looking at mental health, I'm looking at physical health, I'm looking at the relationship health. If they're in a relationship, is it is it a supportive, healthy relationship? Is it kind of a not so supportive or healthy relationship? All of those things impact sexuality and sexual expression. So I'm looking at all of that and looking at physical health, like age, chronic illness, any diagnoses that they might have, any mental health diagnoses, alcohol, drugs, sexual history or, you know, history of abortions or miscarriages or unplanned pregnancy. Is all that all that stuff. I'm trauma. I give almost every single client I see ice and then the. Ace prior to our first session. It's very, very important for me to know if they have any history of trauma because I need to approach different topics in different ways so that they feel comfortable and they don't re trigger them. So all that kind of stuff. Let's see what else. And then we do a lot of psychoeducation like. What happens when during arousal, what physically happens, what mentally happens? What's desire? How does that work within our body? We talk a lot about hormones and I don't know if it's the time of year or because people are like more, I don't know, introspective right now, but I've been I've had at least five clients in the last two weeks bring up hormones and how their hormones and their menstrual cycle are impacting their relationships and their work and their partnerships. So I've been doing a lot of referring to diagnose and primary care physicians for hormone testing. Pain, definitely assessing pain if they have chronic pain or if they experience pain during intercourse. How often I have them treat their pain and what impacts in their day to day life. Yeah. And then we kind of create a treatment plan together. It's a very collaborative process. Again, I'm outside of insurance and outside of the medical model and I have a I have clients who, you know, they come in with one, they come in, would like vaginismus, and that's not really where they want to start, though. They want to just start with being comfortable talking to somebody else to even create a relationship. So very client centered, very much meeting them where they are. We talk about logical conditions. I also have a lot of clients who come in with no diagnosis. They're just going through a really bad breakup and they need somebody, they need support and they're trying to navigate transitions or they're going through a divorce and or they're dating for the first time in two decades because they've been married. And now they are you know, they have a life transition coming up and they don't even know where to start because the dating scene is so different than when they dated. So it's such a wide variety and it's really about being flexible and meeting them where they are and collaborating with them to what their goals look like so that we have a destination to navigate to. 

Lindsey Vestal It sounds like you barely have a dull moment in your day. 

Tanya Peterson It's good though. I like it. I like it that way. 

Lindsey Vestal I completely I completely agree. And and just to clarify, when you mentioned that Ace, were you talking about the adverse childhood experiences? Yes. Okay. Awesome. Yeah, of course. So to make sure that I was I was getting that right. Beautiful. And I know you had mentioned that you get some referrals from Psychology Today. How else are you getting most of your clients? 

Tanya Peterson I have to say Psychology Today is my number one referral source. I would say I mean, my statistics and there are thousands and thousands of views. So for anybody who's in the mental health realm, I highly recommend psychology Today. It has great echo. So and it's pretty much if anybody puts in my area and puts in like sex therapy, I'm like one of the top three clinicians that comes up. So word of mouth. I have a lot of clients who just say, Hey, I'm working with so-and-so and they do this, and then the physicians that I work with on Wednesdays in the Syracuse office, I get referrals from them. I have been kind of. Planning. I haven't done this yet, but reaching out to gynecologists gynecology offices just to kind of get in with them. So I have different ideas in place that I want to pursue eventually, but I've been so lucky with psychology today. I've really built a pretty good caseload. Just from that website alone. 

Lindsey Vestal That's incredible. You are not the first person I've spoken to. You know, practices and mental health who is who is touted that I'm in the middle of working on a public facing directory for OTAs and pelvic health, and my goal would be that it is that helpful with clinicians. 

Tanya Peterson I love that. 

Lindsey Vestal For connecting, you know, finding therapists with practitioner matches. So that's, that's also I'm so glad to hear that it's working for you. Tanya, is there anything that comes to mind in terms of like something that has surprised you along your journey, a particular client interaction and intervention? Just anything that kind of comes to mind that when you look over how your career has grown the last couple of years kind of kind of comes to mind as a pivotal point for you or yeah, just something that surprised you in your work. 

Tanya Peterson That's a really good question. Thank you for asking that. I got to think about that for a second. Being where I am with the type of diagnoses I work with and what people are looking for. Just the you know, what's really been surprising is the absolute lack of knowledge that we have about our own bodies and our sexuality. The fact that so many people don't know their body parts or even the basic mechanics of sex. Is. That has been extremely surprising for me. You know, I think we have an idea of what we think sex is supposed to look like. And if it doesn't look like that, we get very nervous. And one of the primary questions I have been asked this more than any other question is, is our sex life normal or is this normal? People are constantly wondering if what they're doing with their partner is is okay. They're questioning it. So that's been surprising. And I knew people are uncomfortable about sexuality, but I did not realize the lack of just basic knowledge around it is such a is so huge. 

Lindsey Vestal I know. And I mean, I may be misquoting this, but I think that there are only 13 states in the nation that require sex education to be medically accurate. And when you think about that, it's like, goodness, no wonder you know this. People aren't comfortable with their bodies and how that changes when you're in a relationship with someone. If you're not even understanding with the basic knowledge around yourself and your needs and your boundaries and kind of like your desires. And then when we merge with another person, it's like, well, you know, I, I am so passionate about that education getting into the hands of, of people so much sooner because I really think that it can we can create so much more connection to self, so much more availability to our partners and we're all seeking connection. That's how our conversation started off today with you even finding this this focus that you have. And it's like, let's facilitate and make that simpler. And what a basic way to actually start off by giving our children medically accurate information from the beginning. 

Speaker 2 Yeah. And I, you know, I can only speak for myself and the education I received growing up in a school. And it was. Medically accurate. But it was very, very basic and it was very, very fear based. Very abstinence based. So there's not a lot of knowledge around the opposite of that. Like, eventually you probably are going to have sex or what does that look like? You know, how do you approach it? Like we don't get this stuff. And a lot of couples that come in to see me, their primary issue is they don't know how to communicate about their needs. They don't know how to tell their partner what they want or what they desire, and they don't know how. And it leads to conflict. And they get stuck in this cycle of constantly arguing over the same thing over and over and over again. And it impacts everything, impacts their connectedness, it impacts their intimacy, it impacts their sex life. But like I always say that like, we didn't get this like we never learn this and we all communicate, especially men and women and so differently. So learning to communicate with empathy and active listening skills and validating and just mirroring back what your partner is reflecting to you, like all those skills, they seem so basic, but they're so integral to the entire partnership until, you know, sexual satisfaction, it's all incorporated. 

Lindsey Vestal Well, you're you're exactly right. And it reminds me just even what people think about OT, right? Because on the surface, OT seems quite, quite simple. But I always say simple doesn't mean profound, that it's not profound. Simple is profound. And so this idea that we have these two beings that have come together and aren't sure the basics around how to communicate needs, because there hasn't always been great models or we haven't made this a comfortable conversation. We're doing such a disservice, you know? And so I hope that anyone listening to our episode today is inspired in some small way to take a step in their own work, because as OTs, we know, this is in our practice. We know this is in our scope. And so it's like, what a beautiful way to add to quality of life by being able to hold a space to have these conversations with our clients like you are doing. 

Tanya Yeah, yeah. And there's so much anxiety in the world right now, you know, and all of us and, you know, anxiety restricts blood flow. It's. It makes you less responsive sexually. So a lot of people come in and they're very, very anxious and they're like, I think I'm asexual. And like, well, it's possible. But also, let's talk about your anxiety and how that interplays with your sexuality and your connectedness with your partner. You know, it reduces blood flow. And in order to be even aroused, you have to have sufficient blood flow. So let's start there. We talk a lot about, you know, are they on any made medications, that kind of stuff, to get the basic kind of history and then refer out as needed. So. 

Lindsey Vestal Awesome. Tanya, This has been so refreshing and such a delightful conversation. Of course, I'll have, you know, additional resources in our shownotes, but for anyone listening today, how can people find you? How can people connect with you? 

Tanya Peterson My website is Tanya Peterson that me and that's also my TikTok and Instagram handle. So that's where I am. 

Lindsey Vestal Fantastic. We'll be sure to check you out there. Again, I am so grateful for your time. Thank you for the work that you're doing out in the world. We really appreciate kind of stepping in to do a day in the life of Tiny Petersen today. 

Tanya Peterson As crazy as it is. And thank you so much for having me. It has been really fun and an absolute pleasure. 

Outro Thanks for listening to another episode of OTs and Pelvic health. If you haven't already, hop on to Facebook and join my group OTs for Pelvic health, where we have thousands of OTs at all stages of their pelvic health career journey. This is such an incredibly supportive community where I go live each and every week. If you love this episode, please take a screenshot of this episode on your phone and posted to IG Facebook or wherever you post your stuff and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode. This will help me to create in the future what you want to hear more of. Thanks again for listening to the OTs and Pelvic health podcast.