Former 'Teen Mom' star Farrah Abraham is giving seχ advice online for $5,000 — here's what experts think
Former Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham has had a lot of different business ventures. She’s starred on reality TV, appeared in adult films and owned a frozen yogurt business. Now, she has a new thing going: She’s working as a seχ therapist.
Abraham, 27, is offering up her services — which she dubs “Farrahpy” on the video site CamSoda. Abraham says she’s “dated around the globe, and worked with some of the best seχ therapists in the world myself.” She also touts her “ability to communicate honestly and my openness seχually” for allowing her to give “groundbreaking live seχ therapy sessions.” Abraham’s services don’t come cheap — she’s charging $5,000 for a 30-minute private video chat.
Abraham recently plugged her sessions in an Instagram video, in which she says, “All these questions, all these answers. I mean, all these years of TV have really paid off.”
While Abraham seems pretty confident in her ability to work with couples that need therapy, actual seχ therapists aren’t convinced. “I’m all for people getting seχual education, but I shudder at the notion of celebrity entertainers doing so,” David Ley, PhD, a certified therapist, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “The last thing we need is more seχual ignorance being spread.”
Donna Oriowo, LICSW, owner and lead therapist at AnnodRight, agrees. “I think that it’s awesome that she wants to give out advice, but I’m wary of calling it therapy,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
Seχ therapist Debra Laino, DHS, isn’t impressed either. “I absolutely disagree with this, especially for actual problems,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s one thing to say ‘Yeah, try [this].’ It’s another thing to deal with problems. I hope she is not dealing with serious issues. ”
Seχ therapists need to have actual qualifications, Rachel Needle, PsyD, a licensed psychologist and certified seχ therapist in West Palm Beach, Fla., and the co-director of Modern Seχ Therapy Institutes, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Let’s be clear that a person who does not have a degree in counseling or psychology is not qualified to provide therapy,” she says. “Having personal experience does not make one an expert. An individual with extensive training or education (even if self-taught) may in fact be knowledgeable, but that certainly does not qualify them as an ‘expert’ who can give ‘advice.’”
While Abraham has worked as an adult film star, that doesn’t qualify her to be a therapist, Ian Kerner, PhD, a seχ therapist and author of She Comes First, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Seχ therapists receive over 150 hours of specialized education and over 300+ hours of supervised sex therapy training,” he says. “I can tell you personally that I rely heavily on science, education, clinical experience, and consultation with my peers in order to assess and treat both simple and complex sexual issues.”
Kerner says it would be a “dire mistake” to seek help from someone who is not properly trained, and “doing so could make the issue much worse.” “Seχ is an important and common part of being alive, but it’s also complex,” he says, adding that many issues like low desire, erectile dysfunction, and premature ejaculation have a medical component that needs to be part of the diagnosis and treatment plan.
If you’re interested in receiving seχ therapy from a licensed therapist, Oriowo says it’s really best to go through the American Association of Seχuality Educators, Counselors and Seχ Therapists (AASECT) to find someone in your area. And, for the record, it shouldn’t cost you anywhere near what Abraham is charging. “A legitimate seχ therapist should not be charging you $5,000 for a half-hour session,” Oriowo says.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Farrah Abraham Walks Out of Jail Wearing a Beverly Hills Hotel-Inspired Outfit After Arrest
‘Teen Mom’ Jenelle Evans sets co-star Kailyn Lowry’s ‘peace gathering gift’ on fire
Bristol Palin blasts MTV for ‘inaccuracies and false narratives’ on ‘Teen Mom: OG’
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