Surrogate
Partners
The ICASA
Ten-Step Recovery Programme has enabled many people to gain control of their
sexual responses and lead a full, satisfying sex life.
This is made
possible through a skilled and highly sensitive professional team
including the Principal together with Surrogate Partners
who are distinguished by their genuine desire to help people together with a
deep connection with their own sexuality. The School of ICASA is a member
of IPSA. Surrogate partners are very special people; defined by their ability to give of themselves emotionally and physically in order to help and unleash others.
ICASA
Surrogate Partners are highly trained in developing and encouraging intimacy in
order to help clients through this sensitive and vulnerable stage of their life,
and are an invaluable part of the therapy team which is totally committed to the
client's sexual health.
The
relationship with a Surrogate Partner is a time-limited relationship with
identified boundaries. It is, however, an authentic relationship for the
purposes of resolving the client's presenting complaint and the range of
emotional feeling and connection between two people at an intimate level will be
potentially experienced, and is an integral part of the healing process.
Both client and Surrogate Partner are aware of the eventual closure to the
therapeutic relationship and are prepared well in advance for the closure
session, which remains a precious and very positive experience.
A
Surrogate Partner may, or may not, be a client's ideal in terms of age, physical
appearance, background or personality. In order to fully benefit from
therapy it is not necessary for the client to feel attracted to the Surrogate
Partner as would be expected in a 'dating' relationship. Equally, a
Surrogate Partner is not intended to be a substitute for a steady partner or a
'lover'. Clients discover that a genuine connection will easily and
quickly develop through the environment of acceptance and genuine intimacy
through which the sexual healing and other therapy goals can be experienced.
Although
there are no specific academic qualifications required of a Surrogate Partner,
there are some very specific qualities and life experiences which are essential
to Surrogate Partner Therapy. These include comfort and a positive
relationship with one's own body and sexuality, warmth, compassion, empathy and
trust. Non-judgmental attitudes towards choice of life-style and sexual
orientation are also important. Great care goes into the selection of
Surrogate Partners and training is continuous.
IPSA
(International Professional Surrogates Association) write: "A
Surrogate Partner is a member of a three-way therapeutic team (supervising
therapist, client and surrogate partner) who acts as a partner to a sexually
dysfunctional client in the therapy programme and participates in experiential
exercises involving sensual and sexual touching as well as social and sexual
skills training"
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