SPFPP 322: The SPFPP Conference
Join us for a groundbreaking virtual conference hosted by Something Positive for Positive People (SPFPP), themed "Sexual Health is Mental Health." This momentous event, celebrating SPFPP's five-year anniversary as a non-profit organization, is scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 2024, from 10 AM to 4 PM Central Time.
The theme of this conference, "Sexual Health is Mental Health", which offers a different lens on STD Prevention than what we're taught in early sex education. Analyzing the lived experiences of people navigating herpes stigma shows us there is so much to learn from the populations of people who have in fact tested positive for an STI. We listened to them and we've come up with a need to speak to the crippling psychological impacts of herpes stigma in a way that can alleviate much of the suffering people living with herpes experience by addressing the undercurrents of the experience people shared with us.
Speakers include:
Dr. Evelin Molina Dacker, Family Physician on the topic of stigma in healthcare offering insight on how providers can best support HSV patients
Nikita Fernandes, Sex Therapist and Psychotherapist covering the topic of how one’s mental health status can be impacted by herpes stigma
Courtney W. Brame, Founder & Executive Director of Something Positive for Positive People presenting solutions via the SPFPP STI Minimization Program
Dakota Ramppen,Tough Love Relationships Coach and Sexuality Educator (and Massage Candle Maker) presenting on STIgma Minimization in Sex Ed
Keynote Speaker:
In partnership with Megan Rosa Tijerina, a Public Health Graduate of Utah Valley University and Principle Investigator of the latest herpes survey, Something Positive for Positive People collected more than a thousand individuals’ responses about their experience navigating a herpes diagnosis. The data collected from these individuals supports our efforts to minimize the negative psychological impacts of stigma which directly can impact both sex education and STD Prevention efforts. Our keynote will provide a data analysis based on the responses of participants which we can use to support the lived experiences of people living with herpes and who may be diagnosed in the future. The keynote will highlight what most of us don’t understand as “Symptoms of Stigma” and see how there’s such an opportunity to expand the impact of sex education and STI prevention programs by looking at the lived experience of people with them. We will introduce our proposed intervention program, STIgma Minimization for the first time at this conference as well.
About the organization: www.spfpp.org/about
Something Positive for Positive People empowers those living with herpes by offering holistic support, including yoga, as a crucial wellness tool. Using their real-life shared experiences, we educate health professionals in stigma-free communication and are committed to integrating our interventions into sexual health education and STI prevention efforts. Our mission is to foster a supportive environment where individuals can manage their condition through Yoga, improving their physical and emotional well-being, and advocating for a more inclusive, well-informed approach to sexual health and relationship dynamics.