The team at Sex Life Life Therapy would like to introduce each of our therapists. This blog we will focus on Christopher Brett-Renes. Christopher is a Sex Therapist at Sex Life Therapy. He joined the practice in the second half of 2019. He specialises in all sexual issues, and is a socialist in sexual health (STIs, HIV) and working with people from sexual and gender diverse backgrounds. I asked Christopher a few questions.
Why did you want to be a sex therapist?
I don’t consider myself a sex therapist, but a therapist that specialises in sexuality and gender diverse issues as well as issues around sexual health particularly HIV. During my twenties I worked in the LGBTIQ press and on a week bases I was exposed to all the issues that members of the queer community experience, and as a gay man I could either relate or knew someone that was going though these issues. These where my community, my friends, my family and I wanted to be able to provide an affordable professional service that understands the issues that they go through from relationships, sex, issues with family and coming out/transitioning, as well as anxiety and depression and understanding how it interacts with their sexuality/gender identity. When I started psychology in my late 20s’ I found that I would do my assignments on topics that impacted the LGBTIQ community, for example in my three-year undergrad I did five major assignments on the psychosocial aspects of HIV alone.
What is one of the most significant life moments which informs your practice?
This is a hard one to answer as so much of my life I think has gone into informing my practice. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a bit of a colourful life, and that a lot of my work has allowed me to have some really amazing experiences that have informed and built on my pre-existing knowledge.
What do you do with your spare time?
In my spear time I work on my PhD which is looking at how PrEP impacts on sexual pleasure, I work on other research looking into HIV and other STIs from a psychosexual point-of-view, I read (I love LGBTIQ history, practically the years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic), and I watch TV (sports and sci-fi).
Tell us something that make people go WOW!
Now, now, a therapist has to have his secrets lol [ED: Spoil sport!]
Where is your favourite place to holiday?
I have two: Tokyo and Paris
Tokyo – great food, amazing culture (the art scene there is amazing), its got a lot for adults, even just a walk around a suburb is amazing, you’ll find great little shops, or cafes, or bars or galleries etc and the gay scene is amazing. The last time my Husband and I were there we went to a LGBTIQ youth drop-in centre and it was amazing, and the recourses that they had were mind blowing beautiful (I still have them)
Paris – like Tokyo the it has great food and amazing culture. My husband and I once went there to cover Paris pride for the publication I was working for at the time, and I was really amazing, like Sydney during Mardi Gras there was this amazing energy throughout the whole city.
You can read more about Christopher on his Bio.
