What's new this month among our members? First of all, Certified Sex Therapist Yvonne Makidon recently earned a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Michigan State University.
AASECT members Alexandra Milspaw and Nancy Fish are two of the founders of the Alliance for Pelvic Pain. The organization held its first annual retreat in April of 2013, composed of providers who host educational retreats for people with chronic pelvic, genital, and sexual pain disorders. This year's retreat is scheduled for March 8 and 9 in New York City, NY. More information is available at www.allianceforpelvicpain.com.
Certified Sex Therapist Lori Schwartz contributed a chapter titled "Inhibited Sexual Desire in Women" to the book Translating Psychological Research into Practice. The book, edited by Lisa Grossman and Steven Wallfish, was published by Springer in November, 2013.
On a more somber note, Hugh E. Chavern, MD, board-certified psychiatrist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, died November 22, 2013. Chavern received part of his training as a sex therapist from William Masters and Virginia Johnson and, along with AASECT Diplomate in Sex Therapy Catherine Ravella, practiced their co-therapist model in the 1970s and 80s. He was married to Certified Sexuality Educator June Harnest Chavern, the creator of Teach-A-Bodies anatomical dolls, and the two of them were frequent presenters at early AASECT meetings. Chavern spent a great deal of time traveling in his retirement and managed to visit all seven continents. Hugh Chavern was 90 years old.
