The
Pleasure
MOVEMENT
WHAT IS THE PLEASURE MOVEMENT?
The Pleasure Movement is an organization dedicated to helping women find pleasure in their bodies and empowering them to spread it around the globe.
What is Pleasure?
Pleasure is both physical and emotional enjoyment. It can be experienced either alone or with other people. It’s about joy, satisfaction, and personal fulfillment. And it’s good for you – it makes you smile!
Simply put......
the more pleasure you experience,
the less room there is for the pain.
We believe pleasure is not only an intimate experience to be enjoyed but also a vital component in the journey toward a healthy, fulfilling, and pain-free life.
Combining our experience in physical therapy, sex education and coaching, we facilitate experiences that empower and guide women on a path toward discovering the healing potential pleasure can have in all aspects of life.
Whether you're seeking personal relief from unwanted pelvic, vulvar or vaginal pain or looking to enhance your professional skills, the Pleasure Movement is here to support you every step of the way.
Pain with intimacy
impacts millions of people
As many as 3 out of 4 people with vulvas and vaginas report having had pain with intercourse at some point in their lives. And, studies tell us that 16-20% of those, when asked about experiencing unwanted pain with sex, told researchers they had been experiencing it for longer than 3 months.
That’s literally millions of vulva owners, in the US alone, whose chronic pain interferes with their sexual intimacy.
schedule a consultation
If you are a healthcare provider treating these women…
Learn the Pleasure Prescription Way
As a clinician who helps women manage and heal their unwanted pelvic, vulvar or vaginal pain, you understand there’s no one-size-fits-all treatment plan. The Pleasure Prescription method goes beyond traditional treatments by incorporating pleasure as an integral part of the healing journey.
Courses & Retreats
Relax & discover innovative strategies to improve patient outcomes
Rest assured, our courses and retreats are unlike the sit-at-a-table, take notes and get on with your day continuing ed courses you’ve attended in the past.
From the settings we select to the china we serve lunch on, every detail is thoughtfully curated to provide a sensual and engaging environment for you to learn, share and connect with like-minded professionals.
Take your Practice to the Next Level
- Broaden your understanding on how to treat overall pain and dysfunction throughout the pelvis and surrounding musculature, viscera, and fascia.
- Identify the preventive use of pleasure and how to prescribe it confidently and comfortably to your patients.
- Learn the impact of trauma on female sexual health and why full-body strategies can help.
- Develop the skills and language to discuss sexual anatomy, the arousal network and how they work functionally with your patients to encourage healthy sexual behavior.
Come join us at our Next Retreat
Exploring the Complexities of
Chronic Vulvar Pain
& Trauma's Impact on
Female Sexual Health
An All-Inclusive Retreat:
October 4-6, 2024
We designed our course as a retreat, allowing us to spend time together learning, observing, and sharing information relating to women’s sexual health and well-being.
The topics covered with include, but are not limited to:
- Instruction of manual assessment and treatment techniques to address contributors to pelvic floor muscle overactivity
- Overview of vulvar diseases
- Introduction to the arousal network—including detailed anatomy of the clitoris, how it works, and how to address it when it doesn’t
- Discussion of Big ‘T’ and small ‘t’ trauma and how they impact our patients’ lives
- Introduction of full-body strategies designed to assist in trauma and tension release
- Understanding the inverse correlation between pain and pleasure
- Discussion of the integral and essential relationship between sensuality, sexuality, and pleasure
- Exploring the preventative use of pleasure and how to prescribe it confidently and comfortably
- Introduction and demonstration of Sexological Bodywork
If you are interested in becoming part of a professional community
focused on the complexities of chronic vulvar pain and trauma and their repercussions on sexual function, come join us and learn to embody pleasure as healing tool.
The retreat is limited to 6 practitioners with a practice minimum of 5 years in the field of women’s health. All physical therapists are required to have at least 3 years experience with intervaginal assessment and treatment.
The cost of the retreat includes extensive learning, observing, demos, exercises, and small group discussions. Two night's single-occupancy accommodations, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included in the fee. Coffee/tea/water and snacks provided. Alcoholic beverages are NOT included.
Continuing Education Units (17) will be presented at upon completion from the State of Illinois. Out of town attendees can submit this form in their home state.
PLEASE NOTE: We have instituted a two-step application process that includes a short Discovery Call with us. Our goal is to confirm that the material offered in the retreat matches your learning objectives.
"I would join Dee and Elizabeth for another course in a heartbeat! They not only created a beautiful learning environment but a space for everyone to truly be able to take care of themselves all weekend long. I left the retreat feeling refreshed, which is usually unheard of after a full weekend course and travel, so excited to bring new strategies and ideas back to my client."
Lauryn Beecher
"It's not every day you get to live AND learn with such gurus in their fields as Dee and Elizabeth. They both teach from a place of humility and gratitude for the work we do. A beautiful safe space was created for learning, exploring, questioning, and practicing. The pace was lovely, with down time to snack, exercise, process, and connect. I loved every minute. Already this week I've used one of the techniques on three women seeing drastic decreases in vulvar pain. Can't wait for more. Thanks D and E!"
Jen Vande Vegte
"This retreat style course was a phenomenal format to delve into a more complete understanding of pleasure, sensuality and pain. A very safe environment was established that allowed for an in depth discussion of vulnerability, shame, empathy and trauma. Dee and Elizabeth compliment each other so well as they present some difficult topics at times. This experience was an opportunity to grow both professionally and personally in a very safe space. I highly recommend this course to all pelvic health physical therapists."
Anonymous
"Excellent advanced workshop in advanced knowledge and treatment to women's vulvar pain and provoking pleasure."
Anonymous
"Retreat was informative with aha moments, relaxing, with opportunity to be kind to self and others, accepting and flexible environment where each flower could bloom ❤️!"
Barbora Vystejnova
"One of a kind immersion for female sensuality and female sexuality education and application toward the PFPT population."
Anonymous
Dearest Dee and Elizabeth, thank you for this amazing learning opportunity where curiosity, care, courage and bonding with one another was ignited for the sake of all women who deserve support and pleasure.
Pany Nazari
Dee and Elizabeth bring an enlightening approach to pelvic pain. Their expertise and experience is beyond measure. The class atmosphere is enjoyable and educative on a multitude of levels. I would strongly recommend their course to any pelvic floor physical therapist wanting to improve their approach.
Leah Passalacqua
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT OUR UNIQUE RETREATS?
Private Offerings
If you are a woman suffering alone and in silence, we can help
Addressing pain is at the forefront of all we do. Whether it's private coaching, immersions or hands-on work, we're here to compassionately guide you through the pain and toward a path that expands your capacity to feel pleasure, be it sensual, sexual, or emotional.
Are you ready to explore new avenues of pleasure and break through the barriers keeping you from enjoying life?
Gain the tools, skills, and knowledge to journey fully into the depths of your body to experience all the pleasure and possibilities life has to offer.
Our Approach
Weaving together our expertise in pelvic health, sexuality, trauma healing, and somatic coaching, we empower and guide women to embrace their own sensual and sexual pleasure as a pathway to overcome unwanted pain in intimacy.
We work with women who have been diagnosed with conditions such as vulvodynia, provoked vestibulodynia, vaginismus, dyspareunia, vaginal atrophy and more that interfere with sexual pleasure or cause pain during intimacy. This includes women currently experiencing pain with sex and those who suffer with pelvic pain that has been difficult to diagnose.
It's never too late to change the story around your own pleasure.
If you are currently struggling with unwanted pain during intimacy or are looking for ways to add more pleasure to your life, we invite you to explore our private coaching and immersion programs!
3 out of 4 women experience unwanted sexual pain some point in their lives
of the women who seek help visit 3 to 4 doctors on average before receiving a diagnosis, and even then, only 40% receive the right diagnosis
16-20 %
of women have experienced unwanted pain with sex for longer than 3 months
Benefits
- Using the Pleasure Prescriptions to decrease pain while increasing sensual and sexual pleasure
- Embodying a sense of safety allowing a greater freedom to express pleasure
- Connecting to your sensuality by exploring pleasures related sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch
- Releasing tension and moving trauma through your body
- Gaining practical tools to help you feel comfortable with any type of penetration
- Knowing exactly who you are, what turns you on, and having the confidence to ask for it
- Creating a fulfilling sex life for yourself or with a partner that includes play, exploration, and continuous discovery
Pleasure Coaching
Private coaching sessions help you heal unwanted sexual pain by bringing pleasure and joy to the forefront of your life. Pleasure coaching provides a safe space to speak honestly and directly about your experiences and empowers you to become more aware of your body’s capacity for pleasure.
Pleasure coaching is customized to meet your individual needs and may include topics such as:
- Getting to know your body
- Understanding your pain
- Awakening your sensuality
- (Re)Discovering your intimate pleasure
- Designing a self-pleasure practice
- Improving verbal communication
- Creating consent in relationships
- Exploring partnered touch
Pleasure Immersions
Pleasure is a powerful healing tool. Our immersions offer you the unique opportunity to harness this power working one-on-one with Elizabeth and Dee. You’ll learn a diverse set of skills that empower you to heal yourself. Each offers you the ultimate experience of discovering true pleasure in your body and life. You’ll experience breakthroughs and emotional releases resulting in a clear path forward on your healing journey.
The
Pleasure
Prescription
A Surprising Approach to Healing Sexual Pain
by Dee Hartmann, PT, DPT and Elizabeth Wood, MSW, CSSE, BC
ORDER HERE
This Amazon # 1 best-selling book is aimed at women readers who experience unwanted pain with sex who:
- Suffer with pain that has been difficult to diagnose
- Are interested in resolving their pain
- Want to enjoy pain-free sex
- Desire more pleasure in their bodies, lived, and relationships
- And are searching for ways to help themselves
Coauthored by Elizabeth and Dee, The Pleasure Prescription outlines an approach that many women may find counterintuitive: that their own sexual pleasure may be a pathway to overcoming pain. Research shows that decreasing pain allows for more pleasure; conversely, the stories highlighted in this book suggest that increasing pleasure can help diminish a woman’s experience of sexual pain.
The Pleasure Prescription is the culmination of more that fifty years of the authors’ combined experiences with women in their respective practices. It includes case studies, diagrams, and the latest scientific research. Each chapter ends with “prescriptions” designed to guide readers through the healing process.
“As a tool of treatment or a stand-alone resource, The Pleasure Prescriptions is a beautifully written, easy-to-read book that contains real-life relatable examples that help the reader understand the strategies and how they help.
It takes you step by step through the strategies that will bring back the pleasure and enjoyment of sex. These strategies are clearly explained and achievable. The book allows for plenty of self-reflection, with easily understood goals and explanations to facilitate self-pacing.”
-Megan Bergman, Physiotherapist
Anatomy Models
Clitoris Model
Vulva Model
The female genitalia consist of a complex system of various closely interconnected and interacting structures, the integrity of which is a prerequisite for fulfilling sexuality and thus for women's sexual health.
The Clitoris model was developed to explain and illustrate the inner structures of the female sexual organ including the vulva and the clitoral hood.
Dimensions: width approx. 5" (12.5 cm), height approx. 4 3/4" (12 cm), depth approx. 2.5" (6.6 cm)
The Vulva is a complex system of various closely interconnected and interacting structures, the integrity of which is a prerequisite for fulfilling sexuality and thus for women's sexual health.
The Vulva model was developed to explain and illustrate the inner structures of the female sexual organ including the vulva and the clitoral hood.
Dimensions: width approx. 4 1/2" (11.5 cm), height approx. 5 1/8" (13 cm), depth approx. 2 3/4" (6.8 cm)
These models can be used for youth and adult sex education as well as in schools and family planning centers. These models are an invaluable tool for any healthcare practitioner working in the field of sexual health.
The corresponding product sheet (included with purchase) explains in detail both the structure and the function of the individual parts.
Cost per model: $110.00 (includes shipping & handling within the US excluding Hawaii and Alaska).
For shipping to Hawaii and Alaska, please contact info@pleasuremovement.com
Manufacturer: KESSEL medintim GmbH
Kelsterbacher Str. 28 - 64546 Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany
ABOUT US
Together, Elizabeth and Dee are revolutionizing the conversation
around pleasure, pain, and female sexuality.
Elizabeth Wood, MSW, CSSE, BC
Dee Hartmann,
PT, DPT
Elizabeth holds a master’s degree in social work and was a sex therapist for many years. She is a sought-after speaker and guest lecturer at multi-disciplinary medical meetings who infuses pleasure into all of her talks. She is a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) and the Association of Certified Sexological Bodyworkers.
Elizabeth is a Certified Tantra Educator, Somatic Sex Educator and Sexological Bodyworker allowing her to work masterfully with her clients utilizing a hands-on approach.
Her passion lies in exploring the world of human sexual behavior so as to make an impact on the lives of those who want an authentic connection to who they are as erotic beings. As a comprehensive sexuality teacher, she is dedicated to supporting, conducting, and delivering research-based information regarding arousal, pleasure, and how the body was designed to function.
Dee earned a degree in physical therapy from Northwestern Medical School of Physical Therapy followed by a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from St Ambrose University. As part of her participation in American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) Section on Women’s Health, Dee served as the originating chairman of the task force responsible for creating the Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy (CAPP-Pelvic). She also served on the Vulvar Pain Task Force and co-authored their findings.
A pioneer in her field, Dee is or has been a member, fellow, president, and board director for a vast array of organizations dedicated to women’s sexual health and pelvic pain, including the International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS), International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD), and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). Her research and findings are widely published in journals and books, and she has been a lecturer and instructor at numerous schools, universities, workshops, and conferences around the world.
As a sole practitioner, Dee used a functional perspective to help patients decrease pelvic pain and restore health.
