BREAKING:”Psychologists dub Virgin Island a ‘public health danger’ – warning that controversial ‘Sex Surrogate’ therapy is a disaster waiting to happen

Psychologists have branded Channel 4’s new show ‘Virgin Island’ a ‘public health danger’ amid concerns over its controversial form of sex therapy.

The show sees 12 adults, who have never had sex before, travel to a retreat in Croatia with the aim of losing their virginity on camera.

To help them, sexologists Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman employ the services of surrogate partners to engage in intimate acts with the participants.

However, leading psychologists have told MailOnline that so-called ‘surrogate-assisted sex therapy’ is, at best, pseudoscience – and, at worst, actively harmful.

Scientists insist there is ‘not a shred of evidence’ that surrogate therapy is of any benefit to individuals suffering from sexual anxiety or other dysfunctions.

Even if the therapy could provide positive outcomes, expert psychologists have derided Channel 4’s ‘unethical’ decision to televise the processes.

Professor Dean McKay, a leading psychologist from Fordham University and president of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, told MailOnline: ‘The approach is not based on any clear scientific approaches, just what “sounds” like science.

‘It is dangerous, given that an unsuspecting public would have no reason to think it wasn’t scientific. It is a public health danger.’

What is surrogate-assisted sex therapy?

Surrogate-assisted sex therapy was first developed in the 1970s by the psychologists William Masters and Virginia Johnson.

Masters and Johnson proposed that highly trained surrogates could be used in specific settings as a form of therapy for people with erectile dysfunction or other sexual dysfunctions.

During therapy, the patient, surrogate, and psychologist form what is known as a ‘triadic relationship’.

The therapist then provides more traditional talk therapy and assigns the patient to practice engaging in particular sexual acts with the surrogate.

The idea is that the hands-on approach with the surrogate would allow the patient to overcome their sexual anxieties or other issues in a more controlled setting.

Surrogate therapy inhabits something of a legal grey area in most countries and is only widely practised in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany, and Israel.

On the show, the role of psychologist will be filled by Ms Hirschman and Dr Harel, who are co-founders of the Somatica Institute, which specialises in sex and relationship coach training.

The show includes surrogate partners such as Andre Lazarus, who will engage in intimate acts with the participants as part of their treatment.

While the Somatica Institute emphatically told MailOnline that the use of surrogates was ‘not part of Somatica’s methodology’, Hirschman and Harel will also employ the use of two surrogates.

Those surrogates are Andre Lazarus, a sex coach certified by the Somatica Institute, and Kat Slade, a certified ‘reiki healer’.

Is there any evidence that surrogate-assisted sex therapy works?

Squeamishness about the lurid details aside, the biggest problem with Virgin Island is that there is simply no real evidence this works.

The Somatica Institute, meanwhile, denies that it has anything to do with surrogate-assisted therapy or that Virgin Island involves psychotherapy of any kind.

A spokesperson for the institute told MailOnline: ‘The Somatica Institute does not teach or practice surrogate-assisted sex therapy’ and that ‘any statements attributing surrogate therapy to Somatica are incorrect.’

The spokesperson added: ‘The participants on Virgin Island engaged voluntarily and with full awareness of the show’s premise. What is shown on screen reflects moments of self-discovery, communication, and embodied coaching – not psychotherapy.’

One thing that Channel 4 and the Somatica Institute are both keen to stress is that everyone involved with the show is appropriately certified.

For example, the surrogate partner Andre Lazarus is certified by the International Professional Surrogates Association (IPSA), while Kat Slade receives her certifications from the Anada Integrative Healing group.

However, closer examination suggests that these certifications might not be as rigorous as they appear.

Becoming a practising surrogate partner with the IPSA requires attending 12 days of classes and paying the $3,000 tuition fee.

Although there is not necessarily anything wrong with seeking or delivering Reiki or shamanic healing, it highlights how official-sounding certifications can be misleading.

Dr Stea says: ‘There exist countless unregulated providers of mental health–related services in the wellness industry who market themselves as “relationship coaches,” or “wellness consultants”.

‘If someone wants to hire a “coach” for motivational purposes and to help achieve their life or relationship goals, then that’s wonderful, and all the power to you.

‘Ethical problems start to emerge, however, when those “coaches” begin to offer mental health care services with no qualifications, such as the ability to assess and treat a person’s mental health concerns, such as trauma, depression, or anxiety.’