Drawing on his experience as a licensed clinical psychologist, USC professor, and author of Human Sexuality: A Well-Being Approach, Theodore R. Burnes offers psychology educators practical, inclusive strategies for navigating difficult conversations, shifting language, and institutional or curricular restrictions while keeping student well-being at the center. Summary Dr. Theo Burnes, Professor of Clinical Education at the University of Southern California and author of Human Sexuality: A Well-Being Approach, joins PsychSessions’ Garth Neufeld for a wide-ranging conversation about teaching human sexuality in psychology. He discusses how LGBTQ+ language continues to evolve, why some traditional acronyms and categories may not fully reflect how today’s students understand identity, and how gender identity has expanded well beyond binary systems. Theo makes the case that avoiding hard topics does learners a disservice. He offers practical ways for instructors to point students toward external resources when institutional or curricular restrictions limit what they can teach in the classroom. He also shares strategies for infusing focused pieces of sexuality and gender research into standard courses like developmental psychology, making the subject accessible even outside dedicated electives. He describes his textbook, Human Sexuality: A Well-Being Approach, a seven-year passion project built around cultural inclusivity and diverse life stories that he felt existing texts overlooked. Theo walks through his portfolio assignment, where students complete experiential activities outside of class instead of a final paper, and his use of small group work to spark peer conversation in classes of 50 to 200 students. He explains the chapter-by-chapter instructor manuals he developed to help teachers create classroom safety during difficult conversations, paired with the Sage Vantage online platform and its expert videos. Throughout, he returns to a clinical framework for teaching: seeing the instructor’s role less as imparting knowledge and more as facilitating an internal process of reflection. What We Talk About Here’s what’s covered in the episode: The evolution of LGBTQ+ language: How LGBTQ+ terminology continues to evolve, and how gender identity has grown beyond binary systems.Navigating educational restrictions: How instructors can share external resources when they’re limited from teaching certain topics, and why skipping difficult subjects shortchanges students.Integrating sexuality into broader curricula: Practical ways to fold focused pieces of sexuality and gender research into standard psychology courses, such as developmental psychology.A well-being approach to human sexuality: The thinking behind Human Sexuality: A Well-Being Approach and its focus on cultural inclusivity and diverse life stories.The portfolio assignment: Replacing a final paper with five to six experiential activities, from visiting a youth center to watching a relevant film, paired with reflective, criteria-based writing.Small group work in large classes: Breaking undergraduate classes of 50 to 200 students into small groups to make sure peer-to-peer conversation happens.Instructor manuals and the Sage Vantage platform: Chapter-by-chapter teaching notes built around classroom safety, supported by an online platform with expert videos and comprehensive questions.A clinical framework in the classroom: Reframing teaching as facilitating an internal process of introspection rather than simply delivering content.Teaching mentorship: How the apprenticeship and mentorship models Theo experienced in his doctoral program shaped his own passion for academia. About the Author Theodore R. Burnes, PhD, MSEd, LPCC, is a Professor of Clinical Education at the University of Southern California. His work centers on inclusive representation and creating space for honest, challenging conversations in the classroom. That commitment shows in his writing. Theo spent seven years on Human Sexuality: A Well-Being Approach, a passion project born from a simple observation: the textbooks already on the market didn’t do enough to represent diverse cultures, histories, and life stories. He credits much of his love for teaching to the rich mentorship he found during his doctoral training, and he brings that same clinical, people-first sensibility to how he thinks about educating the next generation. This episode brought to you by Sage Vantage. Learn more at collegepublishing.sagepub.com/vantage.
