“Such partners know each other so intimately that they can almost predict the other’s responses while also aware that if they play just the right notes at precisely the right moments, the chords they strike will create an entirely new melody–never heard before and never to be repeated in quite the same fashion. This combination of expectancy, unpredictability and heightened empathy provides the elements necessary for intensifying their erotic bond/intimacy. It is a high wire act, albeit with a net underneath.”

Kleinplatz, P.J. (2006). Learning from extraordinary lovers: Lessons from the edge Journal of Homosexuality, 50, (3/4), 325-348.

Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Ph.D.

Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Ph.D. is Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team at the University of Ottawa.

She is a clinical psychologist, Board Certified in Sex Education and as a Diplomate and Supervisor of Sex Therapy. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She was awarded the Prix d’Excellence in 2000 for her teaching of Human Sexuality. She has a particular interest in sexual health among older people, disabled and marginalized populations. Kleinplatz has edited four books, notably New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives, (Routledge, 2nd Edition), winner of the AASECT 2013 Book Award, Sadomasochism: Powerful Pleasures with Dr. Charles Moser (2006) and Sexuality and Aging (2015) with Dr. Walter Bouman. She is the author with A. Dana Ménard, Ph.D. of Magnificent Sex: Lessons from Extraordinary Lovers, winner of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research Consumer Book Award 2021. In 2015, Kleinplatz received the Professional Standard of Excellence Award from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counsellors and Therapists. In 2021, Kleinplatz received a Distinguished Sexual and Gender Health Revolutionary Award from the Medical School of the University of Minnesota. Her clinical work focuses on eroticism and transformation. Her research, writing, teaching and clinical work have been intended to challenge, expand and diversify the field of sex therapy.

Nicolas Paradis M.Ed

Nicolas Paradis (M.Ed, RP) is a registered psychotherapist who provides counselling services at the University of Ottawa. He has been a member of the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team since 2005 and has published research on Extraordinary Lovers and on couples group therapy. He has been integral to the development of couples group therapy for problems with desire/frequency and has been conducting/co-facilitating such groups with Kleinplatz since their inception.

paradistherapy@gmail.com
Emily Nagoski, PhD

EMILY NAGOSKI is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling Come As You Are and The Come As You Are Workbook, and coauthor, with her sister, Amelia, of New York Times bestseller Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. She began her work as a sex educator at the University of Delaware, where she volunteered as a peer sex educator while studying psychology, with minors in cognitive science and philosophy. She went on to earn an M.S. in counseling and a Ph.D. in health behavior, both from Indiana University, with clinical and research training at the Kinsey Institute. Now she combines sex education and stress education to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies.

Danielle Pratt, RMT

Danielle Pratt has been a registered massage therapist since 2007. She has also taught in the massage therapy program at Algonquin College. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, yoga and spending time outdoors with her family.

massage@daniellepratt.ca
Jessica Valade, BA
Research Coordinator

Jessica Valade joined our research team in September 2016. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Ottawa in 2018 and plans to pursue a Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology. Recently, Jessica has stepped into the role of Research Coordinator for the team.

lafr.jessica@gmail.com
Lianne Rosen, PhD

Lianne Rosen earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Victoria in 2018. She is a registered Clinical and Health Psychologist, and has been a member of this research team since 2009. Her specific research interests include sexual recovery and positive sexual experiences among survivors of sexual violence. Dr. Rosen also has a growing clinical practice in Ottawa.

drliannerosen@gmail.com
Maxime Charest, MA, MA

Maxime Charest, MA, MA, is currently a graduate student in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa. He has been a member of the Optimal Sexual Experiences Research Team since 2014, completing his honour’s thesis, guiding other students in their research and assisting with the group couples’ sex therapy clinical trial. His research interests include various facets of human sexuality, in particular sex education, sexual minority health, sex as it intersects with religion and HIV prevention and care.

maxime.ja.charest@gmail.com
Shannon Lawless, M.Sc.

Shannon Lawless is a Registered Psychotherapist and a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist working in private practice in West Ottawa. In working with clients she has a special interest in issues and goals pertaining to sexuality. Shannon has been part of the research team since 2006 (minus a few years while away for graduate studies), and considers it an honour to learn lessons from extraordinary lovers to help others improve their sexual experiences.

shannonlawlesstherapy@gmail.com
Tim Ramsay, PhD

Dr. Tim Ramsay has a PhD in biostatistics and is a Senior Scientist with the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, as well as an Associate Professor with the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health. He is Scientific Director of the Ottawa Methods Centre, a group of statisticians, information technology specialists, epidemiologists, and health-care economists that supports clinical research at The Ottawa Hospital and across Ontario through the CIHR-funded Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR).

tramsay@ohri.ca
Hailey DiCatia, MA

Hailey DiCaita holds an MA in Psychology from Carleton University and has been a member of the research team since February 2017. Her master's thesis studied knowledge and attitudes associated with positive psychological adjustment to genital herpes. Along with her research, Hailey has worked in community safety, with a focus on gender-based violence. Her broader research interests include sexual health, sex education, gender, and sexuality

haileydicatia@cmail.carleton.ca
Myddryn Ellis, B.Sc.

Myddryn R. Ellis, BA is a Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at McGill University. His research interests are broad and include the study of personality, schadenfreude, jealousy, optimal sexual experiences, consensual non-monogamy and food insecurity (with a specific focus on improving food banks in Canada). He completed and published his Honours thesis, "How Contingencies of Self-Worth Influence Reactions to Emotional and Sexual Infidelity" with Dr. Kleinplatz at the University of Ottawa in 2016-17.

myddryn.e@gmail.com
Diana Scamolla, BA

Diana Scamolla holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ottawa. Her undergraduate research centered on themes and messages conveyed in sexual health advertisements. She is a practicing artist, has a special interest in qualitative research methods and has been a member of the research team since 2017.

dscam015@uottawa.ca
Charles Moser, PhD, MD

Charles Moser, PhD, MD received his PhD in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco in 1979 and his MD from Hahnemann University (now known as Drexel University College of Medicine) in Philadelphia in 1991. He is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California and maintained a private psychotherapy practice specializing in the treatment of sexual concerns prior to his medical career. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Board Certified in HIV Medicine by American Academy of HIV Medicine, and is a Fellow of the European Committee of Sexual Medicine (FECSM). Currently, Dr. Moser is President of the Diverse Sexualities Research and Education Institute (https://dsrei.org ). He practices Internal Medicine and Sexual Medicine (the sexual aspects of medical concerns and the medical aspects of sexual concerns) in San Francisco. His complete CV can be accessed at https://docx2.com/charles-moser-phd-md/.

docx2@ix.netcom.com
Alyssa Malizia, M.Ed

Alyssa Malizia is a Registered Psychotherapist who obtained her MEd in Counselling Psychology at the University of Ottawa in 2020. She has been a member of the Optimal Sexual Experiences team since 2017. Alyssa's clinical interests include couples and sex therapy, as well as individual therapy focussing on mood and personality disorders. She has most recently started co-facilitating a Dialectical Behavioural Therapy program in her growing clinical practice in Ottawa.

alyssamalizia1@gmail.com
Emily Rice, BSc, RP (Qualifying)

Emily has been a member of the research team since 2017. She completed her honours thesis in 2019 which explored sexual communication and satisfaction among gay, straight and bisexual men in monogamous and non-monogamous relationships. She is currently completing her Master’s thesis where she is exploring the lived experiences of those with post-SSRI/SNRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD). Emily is also a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) working in private practice in Ottawa, ON. In her therapy practice, she is interested in supporting people with trauma, PSSD, anxiety, emotional regulation and life transitions.

ericecounselling@gmail.com
Paul MacPherson PhD, MD, FRCPC

Paul MacPherson began his career as a basic scientist and obtained his PhD in molecular biology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. Witnessing at that time the height of the AIDS crisis, Dr MacPherson then went on to complete his MD at McMaster University followed by a residency in internal medicine at the University of Toronto and subspecialty training in infectious diseases at the University of Ottawa. Dr MacPherson is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa with cross appointments in the Dept of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology and in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health. He is a Royal College certified specialist in infectious diseases at the Ottawa Hospital and a clinician-scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He has an active medical practice with a clinical and research focus on gay men’s health including HIV care and prevention. Dr MacPherson views health as not the absence of illness but as a positive life experience encompassing physical, mental, sexual, and social wellbeing. Challenging a medical culture that typically views sex between men as potentially harmful, Dr MacPherson encourages gay and other men who have sex with men to celebrate their bodies, their minds, and their social and sexual interactions.

pmacpherson@toh.ca
Dana Ménard, PhD

Dana Ménard received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Ottawa in 2013 and has worked at a variety of clinical settings (e.g., the University of Western Ontario, Detroit Receiving Hospital). In addition to her research on optimal sexual experiences, she has also conducted studies on representations of sex, sexuality and gender in lifestyle magazines, romance novels and slasher films. She currently works at the University of Windsor and at McGill University.

dana.menard@gmail.com
Mark Schoen, Ph.D

Over the last forty years Dr. Schoen has produced more than fifty films focusing on sexual education, research and therapy. He produced many of the popular, early sex therapy films, wrote the children’s book, Bellybuttons Are Navels (and produced the award-winning film of the same title). Dr. Schoen is the Founder of SexSmartFilms.com (http://www.sexsmartfilms.com/), an online resource for streaming 615 sexual health films worldwide. His documentary TRANS was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show on September 29, 2010. Since its release in 2012 TRANS has won nine Best Documentary Awards.

drmark@SexSmartFilms.com
Caitlin Hart, MA

Caitlin is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Feminist and Gender studies at the University of Ottawa. She holds a Masters of Arts in Women's and Gender studies from Carleton University. Her master's thesis titled Born this Way? Is kink an orientation or a preference? focused on whether or not kink should be considered a sexual orientation. Her research interests surround kink, sexuality and sexual education.

chart060@uottawa.ca
Hannah Richardson, BA

Hannah Richardson received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2018. She will be starting at the University of Ottawa in 2020 to pursue a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. Hannah’s research interests include various facets of human sexuality, including couples and sex therapy, the impact of chronic pain on sexual and relationship well-being, and optimal sexual experiences. She is thrilled to be joining the OSE research team.

hrich006@uottawa.ca
Klehr D’souza, MACP, RP

Klehr D’souza is a Registered Psychotherapist who completed an MA in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University in 2018. She has been a member of the Optimal Sexual Experience Research Team since 2020. Klehr has extensive clinical experience with sexual trauma within minority groups. She also has five years experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis in various research fields. Outside of clinical and research work, Klehr enjoys travelling to places where she can surf and scuba dive.

klehrdsouza@gmail.com
Marlene (MSW, RSW) and Bob Neufeld (M.Ed.)

Marlene (MSW, RSW) and Bob Neufeld (M.Ed.) are a couple who help couples create closer loving relationships, connecting intimately and playfully. They have been married since 1970 and have been collaborating in a two-on-two counselling practice, workshops, and retreats since 2003. Their therapeutic and group approach is based on the values of collaboration and a non-judgmental environment. They focus on people’s strengths and resources, respecting people’s experience, and helping them move to where they want to go next. They bring their own experience as a couple and as survivors of the cancer journey in service of others.

marlene.neufeld.msw@gmail.com