I won’t tell you I’m healed or fully free or perfectly whole, but I will tell you that I have learned to face the things that have tried to kill me.
I have been in and out of therapy for 20 years (longer if you count the stint when I was too young to remember it). I recently wrapped up sessions with a s*x coach (although I’ll be meeting with her from time to time in the future). I read counseling books as a hobby and I start my grad training in Counseling in a couple of weeks. I’ve also gone through Jay Stringer’s “Unwanted” training.
And here’s what I know so far:
There is no arriving at being healed on this earth, but there are shifts toward it, movements that make living in our bodies more doable, more enjoyable, more hopeful.
These shifts, this movement, only come through ache and confrontation; pain and the perseverance to witness the truth of our stories. To face and name what is trying to kill us.
It’s worth it, the ache and the pain and perseverance and the confrontation.
You won’t arrive but you will begin.
The Unwanted Journey intensive is an invitation to become aware of the places where your sexuality is fractured so that you can begin the process of coming back together into wholeness. It is a journey of curiosity in place of judgment, exploration in place of denial, and imagination in place of despair.
It’s an invitation to a healthy, shame-free, whole sexuality.
Over the course of 12 weeks, I will be guiding a small group of women through therapist Jay Stringer’s Unwanted Journey material, focusing specifically on the sexual fractures women experience. As a group and through individual assignments, we will explore our sexual stories with gentleness, honesty, and curiosity, uncovering the places shame has infiltrated, working towards healing (it’s not a destination but a path), and the truth and goodness of our sexuality. This vulnerable process of hard, good work, will till the soil of our hearts, preparing it for a new sexual story and expression, one with awareness, goodness, and agency. Shame-free. True. Whole.
Why Jay Stringer’s Course Material?
Read more about Jay here.
In 2019, after hearing Jay on a podcast, I immediately ordered his book, Unwanted. I found the book to be a refreshing reprieve from the traditional “lust management” focus found in much of Christian literature when it comes to our sexual selves and the temptations, fantasies, failures, trauma, and skewed body image many of us experience. Jay’s premise focused on the idea of invitation and curiosity to understand the stories behind our unwanted sexual behaviors. What a beautiful concept, to invite rather than deny, to listen instead of to turn away. His book and his work were significant in my own healing journey. His approach was counterintuitive, or rather, counter to much of what I, and many others, have been taught. I wanted to shout his work from the rooftops. So when the opportunity came up for me to train with Jay, I took it.
In 2020 Jay offered training to leaders who were impacted by his work and wanted to work with others who struggled with unwanted sexual behavior. Over the course of his training, Jay walked with us through our own sexual journeys and guided us into how we can walk with others toward wholeness. It was hard, good work. The men and women I trained with also taught me so much about the beauty of group work and the freedom that comes when we share our stories and offer compassion and kindness to one another.
I am now an Unwanted Certified Guide, which means that not only have I been trained to guide you through the Journey Course material, I have the honor of walking alongside you, compassionately guiding you as you journey through this healing process.
There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. Daniel 2:28
The Details of the Intensive
The Unwanted Journey Intensive is a therapeutic process that will meet for two hours a week for 12 weeks. As your guide, I will be utilizing one of the most powerful resources available to us: relational connection. We will be meeting as a group of women who, although may not share the same sexual struggles, share the desire to be free from the sexual pain that continues to hold on to us, keeping us from being whole and embodied.
In addition to the group work, we will be doing individual assignments that guide us deeper into our stories and the places we have either avoided or been unable to understand.
The work in this intensive is vulnerable work, to be sure, but it’s good work, and the heartache and tears we will experience will be part of the movement toward healing.
The suffering you’re currently experiencing is taking too much from you, and we both know it’s costing something. If you’re ready to deal with the pain, I’m ready to walk with you through it.
We will begin on September 15th, meeting as a group over Zoom on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm EST.
There are five spots available for the intensive (women only).
In addition to the group work and individual assignments, you will be getting lifetime access to The Journey Course and a paperback copy of the book Unwanted.
The investment of this three-month, two-hour-a-week intensive is $780 ($32.50/hour). Once you are accepted into the intensive you will have the option to pay all at once or in monthly or weekly payments.
What is an Unwanted Certified Guide?
An Unwanted Certified Guide is someone who has gone through Jay Stringer’s Unwanted Guide Training for Leaders. I went through this training in 2020.
Are you a therapist?
I am not a therapist but rather a guide, someone who walks alongside you, compassionately guiding you as you journey through the healing process.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University and am getting my Masters of Arts in Counseling (licensure) from Missio Seminary. I currently work in a job where I meet with and advocate for women who have walked hard roads and are working towards a better future.
Most importantly, I care about this work and about women and seeing them move toward wholeness. I care because I have gone through my own sexual struggles, been in therapy (in addition to going through this course and currently working with a sex coach), and have experienced surprising freedom and healing. I believe in this work and intend to always be a part of guiding women toward freedom.
Can’t I just go through the course myself?
You can go through the course yourself (see here), but the value of going through it with a group and a guide is significantly more valuable as you will get much more out of the process. Plus, I am gearing the course towards women specifically.
My job as your guide is to help you process the material well; I am not a therapist but the work is similar to being in therapy. You can read books and do studies on your own, but having someone walk with you through the healing process can affect real change in your life. In addition to a guide, you will also have the opportunity to process with others in a small, safe group, which I have found to be even more beneficial than working one-on-one. The beauty and compassion and camaraderie in a small group of others going through similar struggles is one of the most profound and healing things you can do.
Why is the intensive twelve weeks when there are eighteen episodes?
Most weeks we will watch more than one episode, but the episodes are only around 15 minutes each.
Why should I invest in this intensive?
What you’re dealing with right now is already costing you something. Maybe the cost for you is your marriage, or maybe it’s the inner turmoil you can’t shake because you’ve carried your secret or your pain for so long. Our sexuality and the places where it is fractured affect our closest and deepest relationships. A question you might want to ask instead is, “Is what I’m currently suffering through worth what I’m paying in time, energy, and heartache?”
With the intensive, you will be giving your time and energy, and there will be some heartache and likely some tears, but this price is a worthy one because there will be movement toward healing. And I’m going to be with you in it and through it. It costs us both something to go through this kind of intensive.
As to the financial cost, yes, it’s a significant investment. According to Google, an individual will spend, on average, $150 for an approximate hour-long session to discover and work on sexual struggles in their lives. For less than half that price, you will receive weekly 2-hour sessions with me that are rich in group work, in addition to assignments that will lead toward your sexual healing and freedom.
I don’t take this work for granted, and I will give you my time and attention and the honor your stories deserve as we journey together.
You can request a scholarship when you fill out the application, although it is not guaranteed.
How do I pay? Are there payments?
Once you are accepted into the intensive you will have the option to pay all at once or in monthly or weekly payments that will be automatically charged to your credit card.
Are there refunds?
All sales are final, so please evaluate if this is something you are committed to investing in at this time.
If you have additional questions, please email sarah@sarahmae.com.
To see the episode breakdowns, Head HERE and scroll down.
With love,
Sarah Mae
