Adolescence & Sexuality:
An Attachment-Based Developmental Approach
Sexuality is one of the most powerful and complex aspects of human development, touching every stage of life. Yet, when it comes to adolescence, the subject of sexuality often raises particular concerns. In this course, Dr. Gordon Neufeld walks through the landscape of sexuality through the lens of attachment and development, offering a deeper understanding of how sexualization impacts attachment, identity, and intimacy.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is designed for parents, educators, and professionals who want to make sense of sexuality - in adolescence and beyond. This course is usually taught as a sequel to Making Sense of Adolescence, and thus for maximum benefit to the participant, is best taken in this order. Dr. Neufeld does assume some familiarity with the Neufeld approach in delivering this material, whether through the Adolescence course, the Neufeld Intensives, or his book: Hold On to Your Kids.
A personal invite from Gordon Neufeld
Today's adolescents live in a hypersexualized culture. Most have received a school-based sex education where safe sex typically refers to physical intimacy that is free of sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancy. Despite their greater exposure and education, current evidence suggests that many youth are in trouble sexually and that their sexual development is not unfolding as it should.
How is sexuality meant to develop?
What is happening today that is different than in previous generations?
How does sex affect the brain and bonding?
In this course, Dr. Neufeld examines sexuality through the lenses of attachment, maturation and vulnerability. He sheds light on why adolescents are losing their timidity, why sexual interaction is on the rise, and why sexual bullying is becoming a problem. He explores the meaning of safe sex from an attachment-based developmental perspective and provides suggestions for contributing to the healthy unfolding of sexuality in our youth.
Watch a short video preview of this course
Join Us Online for Adolescence & Sexuality
Scheduled Class format
~ includes weekly faculty-facilitated support sessions starting April 10, 2025 ~
We invite your participation in this Scheduled Class offering of Adolescence & Sexuality - an enriched learning experience with support from Institute faculty members Robin Brooks-Sherriff and Lisa Weiner.
The Scheduled Class format combines Dr. Neufeld’s video lectures and supplementary course material with live faculty-facilitated support sessions. These interactive weekly classes are designed to deepen your understanding of Dr. Neufeld's teachings. It is a unique opportunity to join our experienced faculty and other students online to ask questions, discuss key insights, and explore practical applications.
All of the classes are recorded. If you miss a class, you can keep pace with the group by viewing the recordings at your own convenience during the week.
Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, educator, or professional, this course offers invaluable insights into the complexities of adolescence and sexuality, helping you foster stronger connections and provide the guidance adolescents need to thrive.
Please note: you will receive access to the course one week before the start date. There will be some material to review before the first class.
We hope you can join us!
📌 Course Start Date: April 10, 2025
⌛ Duration: 4 weeks
🗓️ Thursdays 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific
🏷️ Tuition: early bird save 10% until April 3, 2025 ($135). Regular rate $150 CAD.
A note for those familiar with our Neufeld Virtual Campus: This course will be delivered on Simplero. If you're looking forward to Neufeld Virtual Campus access, please read the information on our Adolescence & Sexuality Event page.
Meet our experienced faculty members, who will support you in this course.
Robin Brooks-Sherriff
Robin is a Neufeld Institute faculty member and Registered Nurse in Calgary where she has worked in various capacities with families and clients for over 29 years. As a nurse, mother, wife, sister and daughter she has been tremendously impacted by Dr Neufeld’s paradigm since she happened upon it many years ago. In particular the Adolescence material has informed her current work with teens and young adults in regards to their sexual health. The insight into the emotionally intense adolescent years gained through Dr. Neufeld’s approach is immensely helpful when offering a guiding hand through the maze our teens and their families face.
Lisa Weiner
Lisa is a nurse practitioner, parent consultant and Neufeld Institute faculty member based in Portland, Oregon. She loves helping parents, teachers and helping professionals make sense of the children in their care through both her classes and her private parent consulting practice.
Since Lisa first found the Neufeld Institute she has immersed herself in Dr. Neufeld`s attachment-based developmental paradigm and has found that it has deeply enriched her parenting, her understanding of herself and other adults, and her appreciation of the wonders of human development.
Lisa’s style is warm, supportive and down-to-earth. She is the mother of two boys, ages 17 and 20. She is available for parent consulting via Zoom.
Includes access to:
✔ Dr. Gordon Neufeld’s video lectures
✔ Faculty-facilitated scheduled online classes: live & interactive (+ access to class recordings)
✔ Discussion Forum to ask questions
✔ Study guide
✔ Supplementary course resources
✔ Four months of course access
✔ Course completion certificate
This course is also available as a SELF-PACED COURSE.
To register, visit our neufeldinstitute.org course page. The Self-Paced Study format is currently delivered via the Neufeld Virtual Campus. It includes the same main course components as the Scheduled Class format (Dr. Neufeld's video lectures, supplementary course materials, study guide, Discussion Forum with course assistant, and a course certificate). Instead of participating in the weekly online faculty-facilitated support sessions, students view previously recorded support classes and study at their own pace.
Suitability/Applicability
This material is relevant to anyone who is involved or will be involved with teenagers: parents, grandparents, teachers, counsellors, youth workers, family workers, therapists, social workers, psychologists.
This course can be used for professional development for teachers, continuing education for helping professionals, and staff training for youth programs.
This course is also appropriate for parents of preteens to prepare them for the transition.
This course is highly recommended for ALL who are involved in the sexual education of our youth, whether formally in school or more significantly at home.
Topics/Objectives
The objective of this course is to make sense of sexuality in the context of adolescence. Every adolescent is an individual of course, but there are some common dynamics that affect all adolescents. Understanding what these dynamics are can provide the keys for knowing how to deal with the problems that may arise.
Some of the topics addressed include:
How healthy sexuality is meant to unfold
The sexualization of the six modes of attachment
The sexualization of the alpha and dependent instincts
The sexualization of shyness
The sexualization of the chemistry of attachment
Cultural practices most congruent with natural design
Problems with the sexualization of attachment before puberty
Problems with superficial attachments
Problems with peer orientation
How sexual interaction increases vulnerability
The relationship between vulnerability and defense
The depersonalization of sexual interaction
The dynamic of sexualized bullying
The role of individuation and integration in the development of sexuality
The signs and symptoms of insufficient individuation
Implications for parents and teachers
Course Outline
This course is formatted into four one-hour sessions on the following topics:
Session 1 - Sexualization of Attachment: The Design
Session 2 - Sexualization of Attachment: The Deviations
Session 3 - Adolescent Sexuality and Vulnerability
Session 4 - Sexuality, Maturity and Morality
