I think the most salient thought from the paraphilia presentation is small but important: not all pedophiles are child molesters, and not all child molesters are pedophiles. I think it's a sensitive subject for most, but as a mother, I admit the hair on my neck bristles a little when I think about either category of folks. It was helpful to have my stereotypes questioned a bit, and understand that a lot of people with pedophilic disorder are actively working to fight their urge to interact with children in a sexual manner. Likewise, the discussion about reporting laws gave me a new perspective: I thought mandated reporting protects children, but if it is causing people to avoid therapy (understandably!) then its actually increasing the risk of sexual contact with minors.
I appreciated the video on the wiki explaining different types of paraphilias. It helped to normalize these forms of sexual expression. My forms of sexual expression have been fairly "normal" by most standards, but I believed myself to be pretty open minded to be accepting of other people's expression. This presentation more than any others thus far humbled me because I was invited to confront my own biases. I know that I still have (inner) work to do before I find myself face to face with a client who has a paraphilic sexual expression. I also need to continue to let the difference between paraphilias and paraphilic disorders sink in. As one of the other students so eloquently stated: I need to make sure I'm not "yucking" other people's "yum"!
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