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Policy & Procedures for the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education

ISSSE Vision Statement

ISSSE – Training leaders in the world of somatic sex education: learning, practicing, integrating and teaching trauma-informed touch and embodied pleasure.

Mission of Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education (ISSSE)

The ISSSE is committed to providing high-quality, transformational learning experiences both online and in a group setting. We are committed to operating as an exceptional learning institute co-creating communities of lifelong learning, joyful accountability and critical pedagogy for students, staff and faculty alike. ISSSE actively aspires to play a role in personal/political liberation, ending sexualized violence and creating and supportive cultures of embodiment and pleasure.

Welcome to the ISSSE!

The ISSSE is committed to providing quality courses regardless of the delivery format. As such, this policy focuses specifically on the best practices and strategies for online/distance learning and in person courses.

This policy is additionally designed to assist ISSSE in the fulfillment of its educational mission and role in accordance with all applicable laws.

Curriculum and Instruction

The curriculum and instruction of online/distance courses will be fully comparable in rigor to the in-person courses. The following principles will apply to both:

Course Overview and Introduction

The overall design of the course will be made clear to the students at the beginning of the course.

Learning Goals

Learning goals will be clearly stated. These goals will clearly describe what students are expected to know or should be able to do by the end of the course.

Student Agreements

Students are asked to review and sign a Student Agreement at the beginning of each course. These agreements outline what our program offers, how students are evaluated, the process for working toward certification, and Institute policies and procedures.

Click here to review the Student Agreement for Core Coure 1

Instructional Materials

Instructional materials will be sufficiently comprehensive to achieve stated course goals.

Learner Interaction & Engagement

Various forms of learning materials and interaction incorporated in the course will be designed to motivate students with different learning styles and to promote learning.

C.A.R.E. Community Agreements

The intention of our C.A.R.E. Community Agreements is to create a safe-enough environment for our students to learn, share and grow.

Read them here:

Accessibility

The courses will demonstrate a commitment to accessibility for all students. ISSSE will joyfully receive and act on accessibility requests in a timely, supportive manner within our abilities and budgets. When accessibility requests are outside our knowledge and skill base ISSSE will consult with folks with said knowledge with the intention of making the courses and school more accessible. ISSSE will also maintain awareness of best practices in providing accessible learning environments.

Evaluation

Evaluation is voluntary for students who are not proceeding to the next level. Willingness to make mistakes and learn from them, and to reach out for help are considered as valuable assets in this program. Evaluations will be made according to accessible, transparent and clearly stated criteria. Students will have a chance to discuss their evaluations and have input.

Student learning is assessed at the formative level using course evaluations, and also summative at the end of the program.

ISSSE Generative Conflict Policy

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to create a flexible, adaptable structure for addressing issues of conflict and potential harm within the Institute’ learning community. Institute policy is guided by the framework of Transformative Justice, which is a non-punitive, abolitionist* philosophy and practice that is descended from Indigenous forms of governance world wide as well as contemporary Black and racialized queer feminism. Transformative Justice does not seek to assign blame and punishment, but rather to transform the conditions that lead to harm in the first place.

Guiding Principles: The Institute strives to address conflict through the following principles, which were collectively generated in a staff workshop in Spring 2021: Belonging, Loving Reflection, Navigating the feelings, Ritual, and Discernments. However, each person involved in a conflict may also bring their own principles, values, and practices to a generative conflict process

Scope: The Institute will work to address conflicts within our community of SSE learning and practice. For the most part, this includes: students, Institute staff, field mentors, and graduates and guests who attend Community of Practice calls. In some cases, clients and practice partners of SSE students and staff may also bring conflicts to the Institute.

However the Institute cannot get involved in every conflict in the fields of Somatic Sex Education and Sexological Bodywork and does not play a role in the ethical oversight of every student or graduate’s practice. Some conflicts may be more appropriately addressed through contact with the ACSB, the SSEA, or other associations, and some may be better addressed privately. The Institute reserves the right to decline to get involved in a conflict when it is not sufficiently related to our mandate of providing a safe-enough, anti-oppressive SSE learning and teaching environment.

Generative Conflict Process

The process below outlines a series of steps that can be taken when conflict arises within the Institute. The steps do not have to be taken in order, and you can skip steps.

This policy was adapted by Kai Cheng Thom from the Generative Conflict Map by Caffyn Jesse, with support from Tricia Bowler and Kai Cheng. For more of Caffyn’s writing on the process see HERE

Power Dynamics: It is important to acknowledge that power dynamics within any community have an enormous impact on the ways that conflict occurs and is resolved. For example, a student in conflict with another student may feel much safer directly addressing that conflict directly than if the conflict was between a student and an ISSSE Faculty Member. Similarly, systemic issues of race, class, gender, and ability also impact the relative safety of conflict resolution processes. Although power dynamics can never be fully removed, the Generative Conflict Process seeks to balance and reduce the potential power abuse in the following ways:

Transparency: The process should at all times be as transparent as possible to the parties involved. Anyone involved in a conflict has the right to know what the Institute’s policies, procedures, and values are, and to ask questions about them.

Support: Everyone involved in a conflict at the Institute has the right to access both formal and informal supports. Formally, the Institute is committed to providing Conflict Supporters to any person involved in a conflict. Conflict Supporters can be Institute staff, students, or associates, and their role is to provide emotional support and information about Institute policy and procedure to folks in conflict. Conflict Supporters do not try to mediate or tell the people in conflict what to do. Their job is to provide a safe-enough, confidential space for individuals in a conflict to receive support and not feel alone. In some cases, the Institute may also bring in an external mediator or facilitator whose job is to act as an impartial third party while holding a restorative process or ritual.

Informal supports can include talking to friends and peers about what is going on in a conflict – because conflicts do not have to be a secret. However, depending on the situation, it may be important to consider the confidentiality of others.

Empowered Choice & Voice: Empowered choice and voice is a key skill and value of the SSE profession, and it applies very much to conflict situations. All parties in a conflict have a right to express their needs, wants, boundaries and limits. Anyone at the Institute can refuse to participate in a conflict resolution process, and anyone can ask that a process be changed so that it better meets their needs.

Honoring Endings: Normative understandings of conflict resolution in the dominant culture often mandate relationship repair in order to preserve false harmony. The result is that employees can be forced to work with exploitative bosses, individuals may be forced to endure abuse from family members for the sake of “getting along.” Sometimes, the best form of conflict resolution is ending a relationship and seeking to reduce or avoid future harm. The Institute encourages all participants in conflicts to make the choices that are best for them, and to provide support for both relationship repair and relationship endings where appropriate.

Check out this step by step guide to using the Generative Conflict Policy

Curriculum Concerns Policy

This process is meant to be used when a student has a concern or complaint about the SSE training curriculum.

Address your concerns by speaking, either through live discussion or email format, with any of the following people:
1. Your assigned Faculty Mentor
2. Another Faculty member
3. The administrative staff person
4. The BIPOC Faculty Liaison (for concerns related to race, racism, and cultural appropriation) and/or other staff at the Institute
If your concern or complaint is not resolved in these discussions, you may send an email to request further consideration at a meeting of the partners of the Institute, consisting of Corinne Diachuk, Katie Spataro, and dr. liam captain snowdon. Send this email to info@somaticsexeducator.com. Your email will be responded to within 7 days.
The Institute will ensure that a record of all curriculum-related concerns/complaints made in writing is maintained. The Institute will furnish a report to the Somatic Sex Educators Association board with information regarding the totality of complaints received, reasons for complaints, and an assessment of how any underlying or ongoing problems can be resolved. This report will be available for consideration during the association’s annual program review on whether or not to endorse the ISSSE training.

Student Evaluation Policy

This policy outlines the Institute’s expectations regarding student evaluation. We understand that disputes about evaluation may co-occur with interpersonal conflict with staff. If this is the case, then the Generative Conflict Process may be used simultaneously with the Student Evaluation Policy.

Student Evaluation Disputes

If you receive an evaluation that you do not agree with, you can take the following steps to address it:

Speak to your assigned Faculty Mentor and/or one of the Faculty who did the evaluation and explain why you disagree with the evaluation. Ask for clarification on the feedback you received. Ask for a re-evaluation if you would like one. If you prefer to explain your disagreement in written format, you send your Faculty Mentor an email instead.
If you are not comfortable addressing the evaluation with one of the Faculty who did the evaluation, you may request a discussion with another Faculty member.
If your concern or complaint is not resolved in these discussions, you may send an email to request further consideration at a meeting of the partners of the Institute, consisting of Corinne Diachuk, Katie Spataro, and dr. liam captain snowdon. Send this email to info@somaticsexeducator.com. Your email will be responded to within 7 days. You may also take complaints to the SSEA

The Institute will ensure that a record of all evaluation disputes made in writing is maintained. The Institute will furnish a report to the Somatic Sex Educators Association board with information regarding the totality of complaints received, reasons for complaints, and an assessment of how any underlying or ongoing problems can be resolved. This report will be available for consideration during the association’s annual program review on whether or not to endorse the ISSSE training.

Scolarships

BIPOC Scholarships

In recognition of the leadership of Black, Indigenous,and People of Colour (BIPOC) in creating counter-normative sexual culture, and of the impacts of sexualized violence that is targeted at BIPOC, ISSSE works with the Somatic Sex Educators’ Association to contribute to the movements for economic justice. At present our model is to make funds available to people who identify as BIPOC in attending the program by offering funds to cover 50% of the cost of Core Course 1. ISSSE applies monies from program income as well as working with SSEA to do additional fundraising. ISSSE commits to continued learning and allyship with BIPOC students in bringing more anti-racist and decolonial awareness and presence to the profession of somatic sex education. This includes welcoming ongoing input on how our current model of funding support is working for folks. Please contact us in writing, short audio or video recording (2 or 3 minutes) stating your interest in the funding, desired course start date and anything else you would like us to know about you. This is not an adjudicated process funds will be provided as they are available. info@somaticsexeducator.com

Read more about our BIPOC Scholarship program here:

Other Scholarships

Other scholarships are not available at this time, but we hope to make them available in the future.

Refund Policy

No refunds are available for the online courses.

Refunds for the embodiment intensives are available as follows:

Up to 2 months before the program begins: full refund minus $350 administration fee
Up to one month before the program begins: full refund minus $700
Closer than one month to when the program begins: No refund available

Program & Course Evaluation

Students will be asked to evaluate their learning experience at the completion of their program of study. The following questions will be asked. Annually these data will be analyzed and used as gauges in assessing how to improve the overall quality of the courses or programs.

Intake Form & Liability Waiver

Students of the ISSSE embodiment intensives (core course 2 & 4) will complete an Intake form and liability waiver before arrival at the program.

Relationship With Somatic Sex Educators Association

The ISSSE is a partnership of somatic sex educators Corinne Diachuk, Dr. Liam captain Snowdon and Caffyn Jesse. The ISSSE is responsible for designing, delivering and administering the Somatic Sex Education Professional Training curriculum and delivery. The training offered by the ISSSE is sponsored by the Somatic Sex Educators’ Association (SSEA). Certifications are issued by the ISSSE. The SSEA is a non-profit society of certified somatic sex educators. It offers public education, professional trainings and ongoing professional development in support of Somatic Sex Education and Sexological Bodywork in Canada and around the world. The sponsorship of the SSEA represents their endorsement (in that they have reviewed and approved our proposal to teach and administer the professional training, with an eye to our teaching skills and reputation in the field, and our management of previous years training.) The decision to endorse our training is made from year to year through a vote of voting members.Our graduates are qualified and welcome to become members of the SSEA and the World Association of Sex Coaches (https://worldassociationofsexcoaches.org/ ), as well as the Association of Certified Sexological Bodyworkers http://sexologicalbodyworkers.org/ We invite SSEA members to contribute ideas on curriculum development once a year. The SSEA administers a Scholarship Fund in cooperation with ISSSE and awards the funds to qualified students of this program.

Laws, Marketing & Insurance for Somatic Sex Educators

Somatic sex education is not a licensed or regulated profession. Some tools and practices of somatic sex education may be illegal in some jurisdictions. Practitioners may have difficulty obtaining professional liability insurance. All students or potential students concerned about these issues can read more on these topics in the freely accessible e-book in our library, “Law, Insurance and Marketing for Somatic Sex Educators.”

https://school.somaticsexeducator.com/courses/library/lectures/17157156

Somatic Sex Education & Psychedelic* Medicines

This is an exciting moment in history for psychedelic* medicine, therapy and healing, and the use of psychedelics in somatic practice is evolving and gaining popularity. We understand that there is growing interest in the development of “..medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana”, as articulated in the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies mission statement. (https://maps.org/about-maps/mission/)

At the ISSSE, we are training students in somatic sex education and sexological bodywork, not in the use of psychedelics. There are other qualified and accredited programs that train students in psychedelic assisted therapies. Your time at the Institute is your opportunity to learn and embody the principles and practices of SSE. The intersection of SSE and psychedelics is complicated, and the ethics of combining these modalities are not clear.

Therefore, prior to certification, while students are under the supervision of the ISSSE, they may not use psychedelics in their SSE practice sessions. The ISSSE does not accept projects, reports, or assignments that include the use of psychedelics in combination with SSE practice sessions.

Post-certification, we hope that new graduates who do have training in psychedelic work will engage in dialogue with other such practitioners in the field, to explore the nuances of ethical practice at the intersection of SSE and psychedelic support. We also acknowledge that many SSE tools and values may be of benefit to psychedelic practice and practitioners in creating safe enough containers for psychedelic work, embodied consent, cultural humility, and “choice and voice” practices, and to support integration post-journey. We are excited for our certified graduates who are also a part of psychedelic research and practice communities to bring these unique and invaluable skills to those communities.

*The term psychedelic as used here refers to substances including but not limited to MDMA, LSD, ketamine, psilocybin, DMT, 3MMC, ayahuasca, San Pedro, ibogaine, and marijuana.