Our Better Half

Our guest today is Tyler Buchiero. Tyler is a licensed clinical social worker and AASECT certified sex therapist. He earned his master's degree from the Greater Rochester Collaborative program and currently also works for the University of Rochester in their older adult service.

He has a particular interest in working with individuals struggling with sexual functioning problems, as well as intimacy issues and LGBTQ related concerns. Tyler works through the lens that the understanding and intervention in these complex life experiences is driven by the strength of the therapeutic relationship; as he says in the episode, "What is shame but the story that we're telling ourselves?" To that end, safety is foundational to all treatment, as is the pursuit of the emotional truth of the situation.

He uses multiple therapeutic approaches and discusses one that he has developed an interest in while working with older clients -- acceptance and commitment therapy. If you'd like to learn more about Tyler, check out his website here.

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As always, thanks for listening!

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Gretchen Frey back to the podcast. We first interviewed Gretchen right after she retired from her specialty in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She practiced Gynecology from 2010 until 2021.

She is now completely retired from clinical practice focusing primarily on sexuality education. ​Sabitha and Jane taught a pre-conference seminar with Gretchen a few years ago with another colleague and had a great time working together! During her years of working as a physician, she developed special expertise in treating older adults and saw many patients with formerly undiagnosed sexually transmitted infections or STIs.

A number of our listeners have asked us to focus more on this area so we asked Gretchen to come back and talk with us about STIs. She talks with Sabitha and Jane about STIs and focuses specifically on Herpes Simplex Virus. She provides us with a common sense approach to testing, treatment, and the difficult issue of shame. If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Frey, check out her website.

If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Our guest this time is Dr. Pebble Kranz from the Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness. She is a Family Medicine doctor with a background in theater who now specializes in sexual medicine.

Mentored by a beloved sex therapist, the late Gina Ogden, she has been trained in sexual medicine through the European Society of Sexual Medicine and became a Fellow of the European Committee on Sexual Medicine (FECSM) in 2018.

Because one training program is never enough, she also has trained with the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH), the American Association of Sexuality Counselors Educators and Therapists (AASECT), and the World Professional Association on Transgender Health (WPATH) where she is pursuing certification in gender-affirming medical care.

Dr. Kranz founded the Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness with her husband Dan Rosen, a sex therapist and supervisor in 2017. They see patients and clients of all genders and also do training for therapists interested in becoming sex therapists and sexuality counselors. Since 2021, she has been honored to serve on the board of the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer.

Pebble talks with Sabitha and Jane about seeing her patients as whole people, exploring their life stories, asking what sex means to them in their own bodies, and enjoys teaching about so many areas of sexual health and wellness.

If you're interested in more information about Pebble Kranz, please check out her page on the Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness website.

If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Our guest this time is Rev. Jennifer Brower, Certified Life Coach, semi-retired Unitarian Universalist minister, and Fellow in Thanatology. We talk with her about death, dying, and bereavement and their links to sexuality.

She works with people who are navigating significant life transitions. Some are joyful, like marriage, and others, like mourning a death or loss, are not. Rev. Jennifer Brower is a native of Manhattan, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City and, with her one child off to college, she has just become an empty nester. Rev. Jennifer Brower was also one of the ministers in Rosara's home UU congregation and she performed the ceremony where Rosara chose a godmother, Rosara's wedding, and both of Rosara's children's naming and dedication ceremonies. Join us for an enlightening conversation on death and sex.

Listeners, check out our Rev. Jennifer Brower's website, Instagram, and Facebook pages. And if you are interested in end-of-life choices in New York State or Associations for Death Education, you can find more information here.

If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Erica Berger-Hausthor is a native New Yorker who practices Elder Law in New York and Florida. She assists clients with planning, preparation, and execution of estate planning documents, drafting petitions and motions for probate and estate administration, and long-term care asset protection planning. Erica is committed to supporting people with their unique needs and concerns by providing personalized, caring, and holistic counsel.

Erica is a member of the New York State Bar Association Elder Law and Special Needs Section and Trust and Estates Law Section as well as the Florida Bar Elder Law Section and Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section. She received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Binghamton University and earned her JD degree from the City University of New York School of Law.

You can learn more about Erica and her work on her website, and if you would like to learn more about SAGE and the resources they offer, check out their website as well!

If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Our guest this time is Carrie Baker, the Baumann professor of American Studies and Chair of the Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College. Dr. Baker is a lawyer and has a Ph.D. in women's studies from Emory University.

She teaches courses and writes on gender, law, and public policy; feminist social movements; reproductive justice; sexual harassment, and feminist public writing. She is also a co-founder of the Five College Program in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice. Dr. Baker is a regular writer and contributing editor at Ms. Magazine, has a monthly column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and a monthly radio show, called Feminist Futures, on WHMP in Northampton. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Baker's work you can read her articles in Ms. Magazine here!

And if you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Dr. Adrienne N. Williams is a Colorado native living in Atlanta, GA by way of Philadelphia, PA. She is a licensed clinical social worker and an AASECT-certified clinical sex therapist and in private practice, her goal is to dismantle stigma and shame about mental health and sex in our society. Using an intersystems approach, she provides individual therapy, couples counseling, sex therapy, workshops, and life path mapping. Her clinical philosophy is rooted in developing authentic relationships with the people she serves by providing an open and safe therapeutic environment.

Dr. Williams is a lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work, teaching courses in Human Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality, Racial Identity Development, and Power, Race, Oppression, and Privilege. Additionally, she teaches graduate students in the School for Health and Human Services at Widener University teaching Sexual Dysfunctions.

Dr. Williams facilitates weekly wellness groups – one for Black folx, one for LGBTQIA+ folx – for MusiCares, the nonprofit charitable arm of The Recording Academy (Grammys).

Dr. Williams is a dedicated and driven clinician with over fifteen years of diverse work experience as a therapist, educator, social justice advocate, community activist, and social worker. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, cooking, and traveling.

Dr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts from Clark Atlanta University, a Master of Social Work from Widener University, a Master of Human Sexuality Education from Widener University, and a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality from Widener University.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. Williams' work, check out her website, and if you would like to get in touch with her, you can send her an email at [email protected].

And if you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Our guest this time is Tiff Cagle, MD, CSC. Dr. Cagle is a board-certified family medicine physician, sex educator, sex counselor, and certified coach from Durham, North Carolina. She is the founder of Sensate Health, a virtual clinic providing medical consultations for sexual concerns at sensatehealthnc.com. She received her medical degree from UNC, where she first discovered her passion for sex-positivity while providing HIV testing and counseling.

She went on to complete her residency training at Duke University Hospital with a concentration in Law, Ethics, and Health Policy, and she now holds a consulting position providing resident education in Duke's Department of Community and Family Medicine. She chose to specialize in family medicine because of her desire to provide care through the lens of each person's mind, body, relationships, and community, and she's delighted to bring this holistic approach to her work in sexual health.

If you're interested in Dr. Tiff Cagle's information on how to avoid getting an STI, check out her blog and if you'd like to book an appointment with her, click here.

And if you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Our guest today is Dr. Abel Knochel! Dr. Knochel (they/them pronouns) is an Associate Professor in the University of Minnesota Duluth Social Work Department. Abel teaches undergraduate and graduate students about socially just, anti-oppressive practice with groups, organizations and communities. They research aging among transgender and nonbinary people and co-facilitate a monthly online Trans, Nonbinary, and Bigender (TNB) Elders Social Club.

While the Social Club is based in Minnesota, they welcome all gender expansive people aged 55 and above. Contact [email protected] to join in!

And if you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!

Hey listeners! It's Jane here with great news.

We got picked up for Season 9! Can you believe it? And starting in just 2 weeks, we've got a line-up of guests who will educate you, entertain you, and inform you on everything you'll need to know about sex in the second half of life.

We've also got a new sponsor this year, Hot Octopuss, and you'll be hearing from them and a few of their products for older bodies along with a whole team of remarkable sponsors supporting us all the way:

• The Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University

• Gazebo

• Sex Coach U

• That Drawer

• Uberlube

We couldn't do it without them either! So find us wherever you get your favorite podcasts or subscribe today at www.ourbetterhalf.net.

See you in season 9!

And if you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!

As always, thanks for listening!