Hellyer, J. (2021). A heuristic inquiry into the transformative potential of optimal sexuality within a relational context [Unpublished Master’s thesis]. Alef Trust & Middlesex University.

Sex is fundamental to being human. Far beyond simply being a means to reproduce, sex in humans contributes to pleasure and intimacy. It is a means of personal expression, interpersonal connection and potentially more. As both a Psychosexual and Transpersonal Therapist, I am interested in that ‘more’ – as are so many of my clients. What is our human sexual potential and why would we want to attain it? This research is a Heuristic Inquiry (Moustakas, 2000) into this topic. How is an optimal sexuality experienced, and how does it transform our sexuality, our relationships and our own sense of self? Six couples joined me as co-researchers on this journey. Initially self-identifying as having this type of sexuality, they shared me with their experience of their sexuality, their journey and their transformations along the way. Through their participation and my own immersion in the heuristic process, I was able to identify many ways in which the co-researchers transformed as individuals and as couples and from that to take a transpersonal approach to postulate why this type of sexuality has these benefits, explaining how their experience of sex is not simply isolated acts separate from the rest of life, but is a joyfully entered into co-creation of experience which elicits a vital Eros energy that permeates life.