DATE: December 1, 2005
Our Topic Was: FOR ADDULTS ONLY: ADD & SEXUALITY
PRESENTERS: Kate Kelly, MSN, personal/professional coach; lead
author:
-- You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! (Simon & Schuster, 1995)
-- The ADDed Dimension (Simon & Schuster, 1997)
-- For ADDults Only (forthcoming)
Paul Ravenscraft, personal/professional coach;
co-author, For ADDults Only (forthcoming)
Kate Kelly Paul Ravenscraft
ADD has a way of following us around: into the classroom, the
conference room, or the waiting room. Or -- sometimes -- into the
bedroom. On December 1, we discussed how ADD can present itself
behind this closed door.
We looked at how hyperactive-ADD traits (energy, wildness) can
boost sexual attraction --and frustrate intimacy. We reviewed how
ADD symptoms -- impulsivity (the "oops!" factor); distractibility
("Why am I thinking about the grocery list NOW?"); or time
mismanagement ("You're done already???") -- can play out in this
arena. We explored how some with ADD respond differently to
sights, sounds, and tactile sensations; and how this can make a
difference. We delved into related issues like sex addiction,
cultural inconsistency, and the sometime impact of medication on
sexual desire or sexual performance.
Our discussion was led by coaches and
co-authors Kate Kelly and Paul Ravenscraft.
Kate Kelly -- known for her best-selling You Mean I’m Not Lazy,
Stupid or Crazy?! -- helped pioneer the field of adult ADD. She has
worked as a psychiatric nurse, a nurse/therapist, a professor of
nursing, and a leader of focus groups on the topic of ADD and
sexuality. An ADD coach since 1995, Kate has since trained in
tantric yoga, using that to bring mindfulness and meditation to
issues in sex therapy and life coaching in general.
Paul Ravenscraft also teaches yoga -- the Ipsalu system of Tantric
Kriya Yoga -- to individuals, couples, and groups. (His take: "“Tantra
gives us specific tools, helping us to slow down and be present in
the current moment. It also gives us a powerful system for managing
sexual energies in a healthy manner, in a framework of ultimate
respect for both our partners and ourselves.”) In addition, Paul
works as an ADD coach and mentor; and as a licensed minister
presiding at weddings and other milestone ceremonies.
Kelly and Ravenscraft, who live in Cincinnati, can be reached
through the Internet-based group practice ADDCoaching.com. This was their first appearance before
our Support Group.
We
were thrilled by our turnout... estimates ranged as high as 73
people.....(we had a constant of about70 in attendance)... |
