Background and Founding Members

AASECT, the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT), and other international professional bodies have made important contributions to advancing and legitimizing the fields of sex education, therapy, and counselling. At the same time, Canadian professionals work within a distinct social, cultural, legal, and historical landscape shaped by evolving conversations around gender diversity, sexual rights, harm reduction, reproductive justice, intersectionality, and decolonization. These realities create an opportunity to build on international approaches while developing professional practices and standards that are responsive to the people, communities, and histories of Canada.

​

The idea for a Canadian association grew from recognizing the need for greater inclusion of perspectives and professional communities that have often been underrepresented within established professional networks, including:

​

• Indigenous knowledges and histories of sexuality, relationships, gender, and embodiment, alongside recognition of the ongoing impacts of colonization;

• Grassroots collectives and community-based organizations that provide vital, culturally grounded sexuality education, care, advocacy, and support; and

• Bodyworkers and touch professionals—including somatic sex educators, sexological bodyworkers, sexual surrogates, and sex workers—whose knowledge and contributions have frequently been excluded or marginalized within dominant professional structures.

 

As the field continues to evolve and diversify, the need for a Canadian association became increasingly clear: an organization that reflects the breadth of sexuality professionals across the country while fostering ethical, intersectional, inclusive, and decolonizing approaches to sexuality education, therapy, counselling, research, and practice. CASP offers an opportunity to bring these diverse perspectives into conversation, strengthen professional community and collaboration, and contribute to a more equitable and distinctly Canadian sexuality profession.

​

In the early stages of conceptualization, Dr. Reece Malone reached out to Dr. Markie Twist, an Alaskan-based sexuality educator and therapist, licensed in the United States as both a family therapist and mental health counsellor, and registered as a psychosexual and relationship therapist (PRT) with the United Kingdom (UK)-based College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT)–who had noted the same concerns as Dr. Malone originally in 2019 when they began their post as Session Instructor with the AASECT organizational provider University of Guelph Professional Sexuality Practices Training Program–to collaboratively explore the structure, values, and strategic benefits of forming a Canadian Association for Sexuality Professionals. Together, in the summer of 2025, they began envisioning an association that would be expansive, inclusive, and rooted in justice-oriented values.

​

The Canadian Association for Sexuality Professionals (CASP) is being formed to bridge these critical gaps. It aims to serve as a unifying body for Canadian-based sexuality professionals—including educators, therapists, researchers, policy advocates, touch and body-based practitioners—while prioritizing professional recognition, community accountability, and cultural and systemic relevance.

​

CASP is committed to fostering a national community where innovation, integrity, and care intersect.