Dr. Janet Brito

Why We Need More Latinx or BIPOC Sex Therapists

Many patients of the Latinx or BIPOC community view sex and sexuality as taboo topics that can only be discussed in hushed whispers or mulled over silently in one’s own mind. 

When households and public-school systems fail to properly educate individuals on sex and sexuality, people often turn to healthcare providers to learn about these topics. 

As Latinx and BIPOC sex therapists, we have a unique responsibility to care for the sexual wellbeing of the patients from our respective racial and ethnic communities. Here are 3 advantages to being a sex therapist of color in a modern and diverse world. 

1. Cultural Empathy 

As a sex therapist of color, you relate to your patient beyond a superficial level. Having lived through many shared cultural experiences, you are equipped to discern which aspects of your culture may be affecting your patient’s sexual wellbeing in a way that a non-provider of color simply cannot. 

Essentially, you have the ability empathize with your patients and see things from their perspective with their emotions as if you are the patients themselves. In a world where 86% of psychologists are white, cultural empathy gives you a comparative advantage for treating Latinx and BIPOC patients. 

2. More Opportunities for Latinx and BIPOC Patients to Seek Help 

A study by Penn Medicine that surveyed more than 117,589 patients found that patients who went to physicians with the same race or ethnicity as them reported having a higher satisfaction rate than those who went to physicians of a different race or ethnicity as them. 

Patients who have had a more positive experience with physicians who share their background are likely to seek out sex therapists of a similar caliber. Increased diversity among sex therapists means increased opportunities for more Latinx and BIPOC patients to find doctors who can draw on their lived experiences and empathy to meet their needs.

3. Closing the Representation Gap

When you take into consideration the fact that 19% of the U.S. is Hispanic and 13% is Black while only 5.8% of healthcare physicians are Hispanic and 5% are Black (according to the AAMC), the discrepancy in representation becomes strikingly clear. 

We need more sex therapists of color because so long as this discrepancy exists, there will be patients who do not feel their cultural and ethnic identities are taken into consideration when it comes to having their sexual needs met. Turning a blind eye (whether deliberately or in-explicitly) to such a valuable and essential aspect of a patient could potentially lead to patient frustration and even misdiagnosis.  

Rewriting the narrative starts with education. That is why 75% of the human sexuality CE courses at the Sexual Health School are taught by Latinx and BIPOC expert-level instructors. 



Interested in learning sex therapy? We specialize in providing AASECT and APA human sexuality CE courses that you can complete from the comfort of your home.

Visit our courses page to learn more. 



References:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latina-researcher-breaks-sexual-taboos-effective-hiv-prevention-program-n1064476

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201505/the-difference-between-empathy-and-sympathy

https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2020/november/study-finds-patients-prefer-doctors-who-share-their-same-race-ethnicity

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI725221

https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/interactive-data/figure-18-percentage-all-active-physicians-race/ethnicity-2018

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