Dr. George Turner and Lisa Meyers, sexual health experts, speak at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) conference in DC

Lisa Myers and Dr. George Turner
Turner Professional Group

Local sexual health experts, Dr. George Turner and Lisa Meyers of Turner Professional Group, spoke on Sexuality and Disability in Washington DC at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) conference. George and Lisa are clinicians and researchers with over 50 years between them working with adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Partnering once again with Dr. Mary Rita Weller, they spoke to over 30 social workers on increasing their skills working with people with ID.


 The three-tiered presentation shared with participants the experiences of three disability professionals who also have the unique vantage point of being licensed social workers involved in research, therapy and education around sexuality and persons with intellectual disability. Dr. Turner shared, “A mother and social worker came up to me after our presentation near tears thanking us for our work. She acknowledged that she had had no training in this area during her graduate education and as a mom to someone with ID, she is frustrated with so little support for her daughter around sexuality.” Turner added, “This is why our work is so crucial. This is a call for social workers to get more education on sexuality and people with disabilities. We need to get better trained mental health practitioner out there, and social workers are perfectly positioned to take up this challen

 



Dr. Mary Rita Weller, Dr. George Turner & Lisa Meyers

The trio of disability advocates highlighted case vignettes to make the case for social workers to engage in better research, education and mental health counseling in the area of sexual health. Lisa Meyers noted the lack of mental health professionals with the expertise to work with people with intellectual disabilities who are also trained in sexual health. “People with disabilities need to be sexually literate if we are going to facilitate full community integration with the promise of a quality life”, shared Meyers. “Sometimes that means I work with the parents to help them see that their ‘baby’ is no longer a child, but an adult with the desire for companionship, romance… a meaningful life of love”.