Society For Sex Therapy And Research

What Society For Sex Therapy And Research does

The Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional society founded in 1974 and headquartered at 6510 Telecom Dr., Suite 370, Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization serves sexuality professionals across disciplines — including psychologists, physicians, scientists, early-career practitioners, students, and retired members — and its stated mission is to equip those professionals through knowledge-sharing, mentorship, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and community-building that bridges research and clinical practice.

SSTAR's core offerings are a professional membership program, two annual conferences (the Annual Meeting and the Fall Clinical Case Conference), member-facing directories (Find a Therapist and Find a Researcher), the Leiblum Student Fund scholarship vehicle, and a community newsletter. The society operates on the Glueup platform for event registration, membership management, and community engagement, and maintains a light social presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Conferences are held at rotating North American venues (Sofitel, Novotel Toronto Centre, JW Marriott Parq Vancouver) and draw 50-100 attendees in person and virtually.

Name

Society For Sex Therapy And Research

Legal name

Society for Sex Therapy and Research

Website

https://sstarnet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Society for Sex Therapy and Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional society, founded in 1974 and headquartered in Indianapolis, that serves sexuality professionals through membership, annual conferences, therapist and researcher directories, and student scholarships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGACAA

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

Keywords

• Professional association
• Sex therapy education
• Clinical conferences
• Professional membership
• Research collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) operates as a 501(c)(3) professional society that delivers a membership program, two flagship educational conferences (Annual Meeting and Fall Clinical Case Conference), online Find-a-Therapist and Find-a-Researcher directories, the Leiblum Student Fund scholarship, and a community newsletter aimed at psychologists, physicians, scientists, students, and early-career professionals in the sexuality field.

Product overview

SSTAR is a professional society offering a membership-based community for sexuality professionals. The organization operates primarily as an event and directory service, providing: (1) Find a Therapist and Find a Researcher directories enabling individuals to locate qualified sexuality professionals by specialty; (2) Annual Meetings and Fall Clinical Case Conferences as its flagship educational events; (3) a Membership Program serving professionals at all career stages; (4) the Leiblum Student Fund as a scholarship vehicle; and (5) a Newsletter for community updates. The organization uses the Glueup platform for event management and membership operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Find a Therapist Directory A searchable online directory that helps individuals find qualified sexuality therapists, allowing users to locate professionals by specialty including sexual dysfunction, trauma, couples therapy, and gender identity.
• Find a Researcher Directory A searchable directory of researchers in the sexuality field, organized alphabetically and by specialty areas such as sexual health, sexual dysfunction, trauma, couples therapy, and gender identity.
• Annual Meeting SSTAR's flagship annual conference bringing together professionals in sexuality research and clinical practice for knowledge sharing, presentations, and networking; recurring event with themed programming (e.g., 'Sexuality, Trauma, and Healing' in 2025; 'Sexuality in Connection: A Systemic Perspective' in 2026).
• Fall Clinical Case Conference A recurring one-day case conference where researchers and clinicians gather to discuss complex cases in sexual health, typically held in major cities with sponsorship opportunities.
• SSTAR Membership Program Professional membership program serving psychologists, physicians, scientists, early career professionals, students, and retired professionals in the sexuality field, with tiered levels and access to the member community.
• Leiblum Student Fund A charitable fund supporting students in the sexuality field, providing financial assistance for education and professional development, funded through tax-deductible donations.
• SSTAR Newsletter Email newsletter subscription service providing updates on SSTAR events, research, and community news to members and subscribers (1,100+ subscriber base).

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves members from U.S., Canada, and international locations
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Social Workers (NASW): NASW is a broad incumbent — a large U.S. professional association serving social workers, many of whom practice sex and relationship therapy. It is comparable in membership-society model but vastly larger and broader.
• American Psychological Association (APA): APA is a broad incumbent — the largest professional association for psychologists in the U.S. It encompasses SSTAR's psychologist audience within a much larger generalist body, making it both a parent-ecosystem peer and a potential competitive substitute.
• World Association for Sexual Health (WAS): WAS is a broader incumbent — a global advocacy and professional organization promoting sexual health across disciplines. It overlaps with SSTAR's mission but operates at a much larger international scale.
• American Psychiatric Association (APA Psychiatry): The American Psychiatric Association is a broad incumbent serving the physician-psychiatrist members who also participate in SSTAR. It competes for membership and CE dollars at the medical end of SSTAR's audience.

Direct peers

• International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH): ISSWSH is a direct peer professional society focused on women's sexual health research and clinical care. It mirrors SSTAR's research-plus-clinical society model within a more specialized patient population.
• Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology (SRIP): SRIP is a direct peer — a learned society for psychologists and researchers working in reproductive and sexual health. It overlaps with SSTAR on the research-and-clinical-practitioner model in adjacent clinical areas.
• International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM): ISSM is a direct peer — an international scientific society for sexual medicine researchers and clinicians. It overlaps directly with SSTAR's membership composition and annual meeting programming.
• International Academy of Sex Research (IASR): IASR is a direct peer — a scientific society dedicated to sex research. It complements SSTAR on the research side of the research-clinical bridge that defines SSTAR's value proposition.
• American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT): AASECT is a direct peer — a professional membership society for sexuality educators, counselors, and therapists. It overlaps with SSTAR on clinician membership, certification, and continuing education in the same sexual health specialty.

Others

• Kinsey Institute: The Kinsey Institute is an adjacent research institution at Indiana University focused on sexual health research and education. It is comparable in topical focus and Indianapolis roots, but functions as an academic research center rather than a membership society.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Societyforsextherapyandresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sstarnet
• Instagraminstagram.com/sstarsociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Society For Sex Therapy And Research