On The Couch

Join us as we host Tom (he/him) and Adie (she/her) to discuss sex, relationships and consent and their work in answering young people’s sticky questions.   

Tom and Adie talk about their experiences working at Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) and the inspirations that drove the production of the Sticky Q’s podcast as an educational tool. Sticky Q’s is a podcast where they answer anonymous questions, written on sticky notes fro...

Join Naomi as she chats with Jennifer Power, a Principal Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University.  

Jennifer explores her research focused on sexuality, sexual health and HIV with Naomi, discussing her work on the Secondary Students and Sexual Health Survey and other studies relating to LGBTQIA+ wellbeing, young people and sexual health, and digital sexual health literacy.   

This ...

Join Maddy as she sits down with Kath Albury to explore the digital cultures and sexual health of young people in Australia. 

Kath, an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow and Associate Investigator in the Swinburne Node for ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS), shares her Fellowship research which explores the impacts of digital transformation, ranging from enterprise technologies to...

“Awareness doesn't come about by silence”. Naomi is joined by Naomi Hoffman, a clinical sexual health nurse and HIV positive speakers Tasha and Mel. Listen as they discuss testing and treatment options available in Australia and the importance of raising awareness of women and HIV. 

Naomi shares her clinical experience working with and supporting women living with HIV in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Sexual Health Clinic. As a proud Kam...

Join Naomi as she chats with Rachel Wotton and Mohammed Samrah about the importance of people with disability’s access to sexual and reproductive health services. Rachel, a sex worker and academic in the field and Mohammed, a man of lived experience have a dynamic and eye-opening conversation about sex as a human right. 

Rachel shares parts of her PhD research and elaborates on the role the NDIS plays in the disability communities'...

In this special edition mini-episode, Maddy and Winnie sit down with Public Health Placement Student Jade Scott at the University of Wollongong recording studio. Listen as they reflect on Jade’s project that explored podcast production and how it can be better used as an innovative tool for sexual health education and promotion.  

This episode was recorded in October 2024 

Read transcript here 

Check out our webpage for more inf...

Join Winnie as she sits down with Tessa Opie and Kerrin Bradfield in a nuanced discussion on consent, sex education and porn literacy education for young people. Tessa and Kerrin are dedicated and passionate in empowering others to develop healthy attitudes toward relationships, consent and sex. Listen as they share their dynamic collaboration in creating the Respect Collective: Relationships and Sex Education for the Real World. R...

"Young people are experts in their own experiences." Maddy chats with Laura Crozier a victim survivor, passionate youth advocate, Affirmative Consent Project Officer, a podcast co-host and ice hockey enthusiast. Laura shares how our life experiences shape not only who we are, but how we can help others. In this episode we are reminded the importance of centering young people in our work and ensuring their voices are heard and respe...

People are not the problem, the problem is the problem. Maddy sits with mental health social worker Danyelle Mei Kaplan and massage therapist Egan Magee. They spend time sharing their coordinates of belonging and explore autonomy and dignity over their own fields of existence. A powerful conversation collating thoughts on collective holding, mutual aid and healing centered approaches. Working within the LGBTQ2IA+ community, they dr...

Have you ever wanted to know more about sexological bodywork? Together, Naomi and Stella Topaz from Abundant Body talk through the wheel of consent and the somatic therapy approach of sexological bodywork and how it varies from other types of therapy and sexology. Stella reveals the inside of a sexological bodywork session and walks us through how she works with compassion and gratitude.  

This episode was recorded in March 2024 

Spend some time and listen to an honest and open conversation about medical consent, consent culture, TransHealth, queer and disability healthcare with Axel Nathaniel Rose. Axel shares with Naomi his lived experience as a queer, transgender, and disabled man, reflecting on the life-long impacts of when medical consent is not given. An empowering episode challenging necessary system change and inspiring individual advocacy. 

This ep...

How can we include pleasure in the consent conversation? Listen as founder of Learning Consent Dr Joy Townsend goes beyond the traditional definition of consent and discusses effective role modelling and consent culture in todays society. Learning Consent delivers comprehensive relationships, sexuality and consent education programs for educational institutions and organisations. Joy shares with Naomi her passion for helping young ...

Naomi is joined by Maggie Smith, a Clinical Nurse Consultant from the T150 clinic at the Albion Centre in Sydney. T150 is an innovative specialist HIV and Sexual Health Service providing holistic care for the transgender and gender diverse community in a dedicated clinical space. Maggie provides clinical insight into TransHealth and unpacks the importance of community advocacy in ensuring accessible healthcare for the trans and non...

Join Maddy as she sits down with Ruiqi Fan, a clinical nurse specialist working at the Sydney Sexual Health Clinic. Ruiqi talks about being an international student to now working with international students in a clinical setting, providing insight into the experience. Listen as we better understand why having multilingual nurses and interpreters is important in delivering sexual health services for the Culturally and Linguisticall...

How can we treat ourselves with kindness when unexpected emotions arise? Naomi sits down with psychologist Chris Cheers and reflects on the mental health impacts of lockdown on the queer and creative community. His book, The New Rulebook is a practical game changing guide to embracing uncertainty offering radical, evidence-based solutions to improve wellbeing. Providing individual psychology services and workshops to artists and cr...

Maddy catches up with Kirli Saunders and dives into the importance of language, decolonization, feminism and queer space. Kirli is a proud Gunai Woman and award-winning multidisciplinary creator and consultant. Awarded NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year in 2020, Kirli is an experienced speaker and facilitator advocating for the environment, gender, racial equality and LGBTIQA+ rights. In this episode Kirli shares her passion for cont...

Curious about sexology and the difference between a sex therapist, body therapist, sex coach and sex worker? Maddy chats with Aleks from The Pleasure Centre to explore why an individual or couple may seek sex therapy. Offering a safe and inclusive place, Aleks' practice is guided by multiple evidence-based therapeutic approaches. Hear about the Sex Buffet and Queering Sex concepts and how to put pleasure and desire on the menu. 

Th...

Join Maddy in conversation with Frances Turner from Nurse Nettie, answering the most commonly asked sexual and reproductive health questions by young people. Nurse Nettie is an online service that provides qualified sexual health information to young people living in New South Wales, Australia. Fran provides a glimpse behind the curtain of how the team approach answering questions without judgement, making health information access...

Listen as Naomi chats with Liz and Jan from Relationships and Private Stuff about their lived experience of working with people with disability. People on the autism spectrum, with disability or brain injury face the same issues as other people when it comes to relationships. Friendship is important. And the desire to love and be loved, whether as a friend or an intimate companion, is a drive that defines a person in a way that no ...