LOVE & ROMANCE
Let’s Talk
About Sex!
THERAPIST HELPS COUPLES, FAMILIES, PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES
By Vi c k i Fr e n c h B e n n i n g t o n
44
GAZELLE STL
Missouri, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in French,
and earned a master’s in marriage and family therapy from St. Thomas
University in Miami.
In 2005, she held her first workshop focusing on The Impact of
Disabilities on Life, Sex and Families at a university conference in
Canada.
After that, she held workshops in local community agencies and
hospitals. Five years ago, she opened her own practice in Richmond
Heights - Tiffany Sidney Therapy Inc. - where she holds the workshops
and provides therapy services, focusing primarily on relationship
counseling.
As one of the few licensed marital and family therapists in Missouri,
Sidney said she saw a need in the community.
“We talk about everything, including intimacy,” she said. “A lot of
people who come to the workshop are still coming to terms with their
disability, but feel empowered to hear conversations about sexuality.
“For many, it has helped them realize that yes, they can have a
relationship,” Sidney added. “And it gives them hope when they realize
there are so many doors they can still open, once they acknowledge to
themselves that they can be sexual beings.”
And while there are many different types of disabilities, Sidney said
Louis
AdeBoy
W
hen Tiffany Sidney was born in the 1970s,
doctors told her parents that she might never
walk, would have a hard time navigating life,
or even finding a career.
Born without her right leg (at the hip), at
age 6, she underwent surgery to correct the alignment of her hips. She
also had scoliosis. There were obstacles, sure, but Sidney’s father and
mother (who was a neonatal nurse) knew that she would live a happy
life. They would make sure of that.
“People have the misconception that you can’t live a full life if you
have a disability, but that’s not the case,” Sidney said.
She had lots of physical therapy, she used leg braces, a walker and
a prosthetic at different times while growing up. Her prosthetist, Kirk
Pils at Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, has helped make things easier,
always willing to lend his assistance when needed.
Sidney had her ups and downs, and remembers overhearing two
teenagers in high school talking about her: “She’s pretty; too bad about
the leg,” they said. Sidney was taken aback.
Back then, dating wasn’t her primary focus. She knew, even as a
young child, that she needed to work toward independence.
“I had a close, supportive family, but I knew that I would need to be
able to take care of myself someday,” she said. She set out to prove she
could do it, even studying in France during her college years, which
many people feared she couldn’t physically handle. But she did.
Often, Sidney said, people with disabilities (of all kinds) are dealing
with other obligations or issues – some a matter of life and death – and
consequently, don’t date much. Open conversations can help with
overcoming the hurdles that might stand in the way of relationships.
Sidney graduated from William Woods University in Fulton,