The Sexual Alarm System

Women's Unwanted Response to Sexual Intimacy and How to Overcome It

By (author) Judith Leavitt

Publication date:

07 June 2012

Length of book:

183 pages

Publisher

Jason Aronson, Inc.

ISBN-13: 9780765709158

The Sexual Alarm System: Women’s Unwanted Response to Sexual Intimacy and How to Overcome It by Judith Leavitt explores the shield that develops around many women’s bodies to protect them from real and perceived sexual intrusions and dangers. From a young age, women are socialized to regard their sexuality as something that puts them in danger. However, the Sexual Alarm System interferes with a woman’s ability to be sexual when she wants to be. Leavitt discusses how the Alarm functions, how it develops, what triggers it, and how it interferes with a woman’s ability to be sexual in an intimate partnership. In addition, this book presents specific body exercises for therapists to give to women to work through this Alarm and to develop the ability to enjoy their sexuality.

Introduction
Part I: Understanding the Sexual Alarm System
Chapter 1: What is the Sexual Alarm System
Chapter 2: What Triggers the Sexual Alarm System
Chapter 3: Physiology
Part II: Background of the Sexual Alarm System
Chapter 4: History of Women’s Sexuality
Chapter 5: History of Sex Therapy and Working with Women’s Sexual Issues
Chapter 6: Sexual Development of Girls and the SAS
Chapter 7: Women’s Fear of Sexuality: Additional Issues
Part III: Ways of Working with the Sexual Alarm System
Chapter 8: Going Around the Sexual Alarm System
Chapter 9: Addressing Men
Chapter 10: The Exercises: An Overview
Chapter 11: Experiencing All the Dimensions of Sexuality without the Arousal: The Ingredients Chapter 12: The Progressive Exercises
Part IV: Beyond the Basic Exercises
Chapter 13: Couples Exercises
Chapter 14: Adding Subjective Arousal
Chapter 15: Working Through the SAS
Chapter 16: Summary and Other Approaches for Dealing with the SAS
Bibliography

Judith Leavitt has identified a new phenomenon in human sexuality and sex therapy known as the sexual alarm system. Therapists, particularly sex therapists, and women alike will gain informative, useful, and therapeutic information from this text.