Presenter: SHAWN LARE BRINKLEY, MS, LMFT

Course meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.  Registrants must attend the full 2 hours to receive CEs..

Descriptive Narrative:

PTSD, Sexual Dysfunction, and the Couple System: Clinical Interventions for Military Veterans is a dynamic and thought-provoking training designed to help Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists better understand the often unspoken intersection of trauma, intimacy, and relationships.

This presentation brings to light how PTSD impacts not only the individual, but the couple system as a whole—shaping communication, emotional safety, and sexual connection. Participants will gain clarity on the differences between erectile dysfunction, low libido, and delayed ejaculation, and how these challenges uniquely show up in veterans at different stages of life.

Through a relational and attachment-based lens, this training moves beyond symptom management to explore the deeper “why” behind sexual disconnection. Clinicians will learn how patterns of avoidance, shame, and miscommunication develop—and more importantly, how to interrupt those cycles in ways that foster safety, understanding, and reconnection.

Attendees will leave with practical, trauma-informed tools they can immediately use in session, including strategies to support nervous system regulation, improve communication, and guide couples toward more meaningful, pressure-free intimacy. The presentation also highlights when collaboration with medical providers is appropriate, ensuring clinicians feel confident navigating both the psychological and physiological aspects of sexual health.

Designed to be both informative and clinically relevant, this training equips therapists with a deeper perspective and a more compassionate approach to working with veterans and couples impacted by trauma.

In successfully completing and attending this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate erectile dysfunction, low libido, and delayed ejaculation in veterans with PTSD.
• Describe two age-related differences in presentation (younger vs older veterans).
• Conceptualize sexual dysfunction within a systemic, attachment-based LMFT framework.
• Apply at least three trauma-informed, couple-based interventions.
• Identify two instances when referral or medication consultation is indicated.

About the presenter:

ShawnLaRé is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist and Transformational Performance Coach. She owns and operates a group private practice, Living Loved Pathways to Holistic Healing, where she specializes in trauma recovery. In addition, she is the owner of the William Joseph Brinkley Center for Cultural Affirmation, a nonprofit contracted with multiple colleges and universities as a practicum site for master’s-level therapist trainees and a training site for psychiatric nurse practitioner students.

ShawnLaRé is a multi-passionate therapist whose work is rooted in both clinical excellence and creative, holistic healing. She holds a certification in the Psychology of Trauma from Antioch University and completed advanced study at the Tavistock Institute in London, where she explored trauma from a psychoanalytic perspective. She is also certified in Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

(ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Brainspotting. Her approach is integrative and dynamic, incorporating both traditional and non-traditional modalities.

Shawn uses art as a healing tool and integrates movement, music, and other expressive practices to support clients in accessing deeper emotional processing and restoration. Her work reflects a commitment to meeting clients where they are while helping them reconnect with themselves in meaningful, transformative ways.

Active in the therapeutic community, ShawnLaRé is a past president of San Fernando Valley CAMFT and has returned to her first role on the chapter’s board as the Vice President of Program. In July, ShawnLaRé will participate in TEDx Larchmont Village, “The Transformation Talks.” Her speech entitled, “Joy is my Defiance: From Crowns to Crutches and Back, aligns with ShawnLaRé’s resilient spirit.

Inland Empire Chapter of CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCS, AND/or LEPs. IE-CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. CE Provider # 62278