Dear Participants,

As the Association for Sexual Education, Therapy and Research (CETAD), we are proud to host the 15th National Congress on Sexuality and Sexual Therapies, which will take place on November 6–8, 2026 at Istanbul Kültür University.

Since its establishment, CETAD has been working in the fields of sexuality, sexual health, and sexual therapies in accordance with scientific and ethical principles, conducting training programs and scientific events not only in sexual therapies but also in the area of trauma therapies. We will be delighted to see you at this 15th gathering of our traditional meetings.

This year, we have chosen the theme of our congress as "Sexuality and Trust(ing)". Trust is one of the most fundamental psychological and social needs of human life. From the first attachment relationships through family, intimate relationships, friendships, and bonds formed with institutions, trust is one of the most decisive qualities. It is a multi-layered experience extending from one's relationship with one's own body to one's relationships with other people. At the same time, trust is a process that can be broken, lost, rebuilt, and sometimes needs to be questioned.

In today's world, where wars, social polarization, economic uncertainties, discrimination, and the loneliness created by the digital age are increasing, the trust that individuals feel in themselves, others, and the society they live in is being seriously shaken. Betrayal, neglect, abuse, violence, boundary violations, and traumatic experiences in intimate relationships damage the sense of trust, and their reflections are clearly visible in the field of sexuality. Because sexuality is a mental activity experienced in the body. Therefore, trust, privacy, consent, openness, vulnerability, and reciprocity are also closely related to sexuality.

In our congress, we aim to address the theme of trust on the axes of attachment processes, couple relationships, sexual functions, post-traumatic recovery, therapeutic relationship, gender equality, human rights, digital relationships, and trust in institutions, starting from individual developmental stories. We aim to discuss together when trusting is healing, when it is risky, and when it is an experience that needs to be relearned.

In conditions where access to sexual health services is limited, misinformation and unscientific practices can become widespread, and ethical boundary violations have become much more visible; we want to emphasize the necessity of trustworthy, scientific, ethical, and rights-based sexual health services. We want to remind the importance of trust in the therapeutic relationship, professional competence, and ethical responsibility.

We believe that our congress will be a productive meeting that strengthens knowledge sharing, provides new perspectives, and increases professional solidarity for psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and experts from different professional groups working in the field of sexuality.

We will be very pleased to see all colleagues interested in the subject and professionals from different disciplines at our congress. We believe that the scientific richness of our congress will grow with your participation and contributions.

Münevver Hacıoğlu Yıldırım
Congress President