With a background in organizational change and expertise in the sexual well-being of older adults in senior living communities, Jane has helped hundreds of clinical and administrative leaders create an environment of joy, compassion, and inclusion for residents and staff. Her core and advanced courses can be used in a variety of settings:
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Assisted Living
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Independent Living
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Nursing homes
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Rest Homes
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Councils on Aging
Each level of training offers insightful, up-to-date research along with a fresh and honest way to discuss difficult topics with ease. You can start with the basics and advance through the coursework, with the goal of training your staff to train themselves. Before long, your organization will become a model for best practices, leading to referrals and an enhanced reputation in your region.
I’m on a mission to promote the sexual well-being of older adults.
Sexuality is often overlooked as a topic in the training of staff who work with older adults. Yet, research shows that older adults are being sexual, staying sexual, and considering themselves sexual beings up into their 70s and 80s as their longevity increases.
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WHY TRAIN YOUR STAFF ABOUT THE SEXUALITY OF OLDER ADULTS?I understand if it’s hard to imagine love, intimacy, sex, and connection for older people across the lifespan. Add the prospect of dementia, and that complicates the conversation even further. But if we can’t imagine this life for our elders, if we can’t talk about the possibility of sex and romance between older adults, then we’re denying them lives of dignity and pleasure at a time when they need every positive reason to live.
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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OLDER ADULTS MAY EXPERIENCE?Many people believe that the most significant challenges to sexuality at an older age are physiological. For women, the inner lining of the vaginal canal may become thin and less lubricated, causing pain with friction. For men, erections may be slow or non-existent. Dementia and other cognitive impairments can drastically alter personality. Other challenges may be directly related to stigma. A family member may be fearful that their mom’s new boyfriend is out to swindle her even though she seems head over heels in love. An unmarried interracial couple may want to deepen their relationship, but the residents in their building look askance at them when they’re holding hands. A transgender woman may be afraid to be herself because her senior housing facility was bought out by a conservative religious organization. Lack of information can be another problem. One woman wanted to know how to have sex with her husband when his penis no longer gets erect. She asked, “How do I even begin to think about bringing a sex toy into my bed after 50 years of marriage?” Another woman, who recently lost her husband of 67 years, asked whether she might be able to have a relationship with another woman because of the scarcity of men in her facility. I offer the latest research and most accessible resources. For painful intercourse, I like to use the term ‘outercourse,’ which refers to sexual behaviors that can create pleasure without penetration. For dementia, we need assessments, consults, and conversations in each senior living community –which means training about sex, boundaries, and consent.
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WHO NEEDS THIS TYPE OF TRAINING?Clinical, administrative, nursing care support staff, and other professionals who provide direct care to residents and their families.
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WHAT ARE THE COMMON QUESTIONS I DEAL WITH IN MY TRAININGS?When I speak to older adults who live in assisted living or other types of senior housing, I often get questions like this: Am I normal if I still want sex at my age? Why am I attracted to someone younger than me? What if I can’t get an erection? These questions remind me that we know very little about the sexual lives of older adults. Most people consider there to be an “expiration date” on sex, and that mindset is negatively affecting the way our seniors are living. When I speak to elder care professionals at workshops and conferences, I often address physiology, intimacy, cognitive impairment, sexual health, gender identity, sexual orientation, drug interactions, protection, new models of consent, and more.
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HOW CAN WE TALK ABOUT SEX MORE COMFORTABLY?Many of us were taught not to talk about sex in public, especially when it comes to old people having sex. In my classrooms, I do things differently—because old people do have sex. And if they aren’t having it, many are still thinking about it, longing for it, and desiring some kind of intimacy and connection. When adults are living in a senior living community, staff need to feel comfortable addressing the issues affecting those in their care. My training offers practical information based on medically accurate research to do just that. When we talk about sex and older adults in an honest way, it’s refreshing and readily applicable to your work the very next day.
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WHAT'S TRAINING ON SEXUALITY AND AGING LIKE?I create an environment where learning about delicate issues is done in a frank, humorous, research-based, and compassionate manner. I include both didactic and activity-based segments. Prior to the class, I meet with management to learn about your unique environment in order to tailor training that is applicable to your work. With adequate time for questions and discussion, participants leave a class better able to cope with a whole range of challenges. (Don’t just take my word for it, check out the testimonials here.)
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Can I insert an image, video, or gif in my FAQ?Yes. To add media follow these steps: 1. Enter the app’s Settings 2. Click on the “Manage FAQs” button 3. Select the question you would like to add media to 4. When editing your answer click on the camera, video, or GIF icon 5. Add media from your library.
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How do I add a new question & answer?To add a new FAQ follow these steps: 1. Click “Manage FAQs” button 2. From your site’s dashboard you can add, edit and manage all your questions and answers 3. Each question and answer should be added to a category 4. Save and publish.
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How do I edit or remove the “FAQ” title?You can edit the title from the Settings tab in the app. If you don’t want to display the title, simply disable the Title under “Info to Display”.
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What is an FAQ section?An FAQ section can be used to quickly answer common questions about you or your business, such as “Where do you ship to?”, “What are your opening hours?” or “How can I book a service?” It’s a great way to help people navigate your site and can even boost your site’s SEO.
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CONSENT IS SEXY: ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN SEXUALITY + AGING (2-hour class, 2 CEs)Sexuality educators have declared that consent is sexy, offering a new view of communication and sexual pleasure. Yet many older adults have not received adequate sex education about communicating their wants, desires, and boundaries. Consent involves clear communication, cognitive acuity, and enthusiastic affirmation; in their absence, sexual expression is not consensual. In this interactive training, we discuss ethical dilemmas and tools to navigate consent as it pertains to participants’ work with older adults.
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THE STONEWALL GENERATION: INCLUSIVITY FOR LGBTQ ELDERS (2-hour class, 2 CEs)For many LGBTQ elders arriving at a senior living community can evoke fears and concerns about “coming out” that they hadn’t dealt with in years. This program presents the shared voices of LGBTQ elders expressing their fears, hopes, and desires in a unique environment of inclusion.
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SEX, AGING, + DEMENTIA: TACKLING INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL BEHAVIORS WITH OLDER ADULTS (2-hour class, 2 CEsA common concern shared by senior living clinicians and administrators is dementia and its relation to sexual expression. In this program, Dr. Fleishman discusses the importance of understanding the incidence and consequences of sexuality and dementia with a clear focus on the assessment and prevention of abuse.
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THE FINAL TABOO: SEXUALITY + END-OF-LIFE CARE (2-hour class, 2 CEs)What do we know about sexuality for people in palliative care and with end-of-life trajectories? Rarely do we discuss sexuality for this population, yet their need for intimacy continues. This program reviews the latest research and the spectrum of sexuality issues that you can offer residents and patients as they consider their own sexual choices and desires at this time of their lives. With humor and compassion, we talk about topics many consider taboo.
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I’LL HAVE WHAT THEY'RE HAVING: INTRODUCTION TO SEXUALITY + AGING (1-hour class, 1 CE)Research informs us that older adults are having sex into their 60s and 70s, they’re enjoying sex, and sex is good for their health. So who are we to be in denial about older adult sexuality? In this fast-paced and exciting program, Dr. Fleishman discusses the current research in the field of sexuality and aging, including basic terminology, and offers tips for talking to seniors about sex.
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LET'S GET PHYSICAL: BIO-PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF SEXUALITY + AGING (1-hour class, 1 CE)While we may be having sex in our advanced years, the human body doesn’t function the same way it did when we were younger. Questions about painful penetration, hormonal changes, and erection dysfunction are explained in this honest look at sex over 60. With frank discussion, Dr. Fleishman covers the biological, medical, and psychosocial parts of getting physical!
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LOVING OUR BODIES: SEXUALITY AND OLDER ADULTS (1-hour class, 1 CE)What does aging mean for us as older adults? Many of us are critical about our bodies. And it affects us sexually. For all of us who have ever felt too fat, too short, too dark, too light, too curly, too straight, too nappy, too tall, too small breasted, too big assed, too big a belly, too ANYTHING – your body is beautiful. Join us as we talk about loving our bodies as we age with practical tips, recommendations, and resources that can help you start loving your aging body today.