Meet The Founder
Michael A. Perelman, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael A. Perelman is a Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and former Clinical Professor of Reproductive Medicine, and Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine in NYC. He has directed its Human Sexuality Program, (founded by Dr. Helen S. Kaplan) for almost 30 years. That program is the longest running sex therapy case conference in the world, providing continuing education for its graduates and guests. A National Institute of Health Fellow, in 1976 he wrote the first sex therapy dissertation in Columbia’s history. Dr. Perelman was Chief Intern at Duke University Medical Center, followed by a Post-Doctoral Fellowship studying sex therapy with Helen S. Kaplan at NY Presbyterian Hospital.
In 2012 he founded the MAP Education and Research Foundation a 501(c) (3) public charity, that emphasizes a biomedical-psychosocial and cultural approach to the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders, using its Sexual Tipping Point® Model. The Foundation grants STP Awards for best abstract/presentations delivered at sexual health care professional meetings.
As an international leader and member of over 25 professional associations, Dr. Perelman served on several of their boards of directors and was the President of The Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR). He was elected a Fellow to the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex (SSSS), , and the International Society for Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). He was appointed to the Sexual Function Advisory Council of the American Urological Association (AUA), the Standards Committee of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM), and both the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-V and DSM 5TR Task Force as an Advisor to the Sex/GID Work Group.
In 2015, the Society for Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA) presented him with their Award for Excellence in Teaching. The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) certifies him as a sex therapy diplomate, supervisor, sex educator, sex counselor, and honored him with their 2012 Award for Professional Standard of Excellence and their 2019, Integrative Sex Therapy Award. In 2021 the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health’s Program in Human Sexuality selected him as a “Distinguished Sexual and Gender Health Revolutionary.” In 2022, the SMSNA presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the combined Sexual Medicine Society of North America/International Society for Sexual Medicine (SMSNA/ISSM). In 2025, he was named, “Honorary Member” of the International Society for Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). In 2026 ISSWSH presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.
His co-edited, Management Of Sexual Dysfunction In Men And Women: An Integrated Approach, was published in 2016. From 2012-2017 Dr. Perelman served as the Editor in Chief, for Springer’s Current Sexual Health Reports, and is now its Emeritus Editor in Chief. He serves on several publications’ Board of Directors as a consulting editor, or as a reviewer. He has published over 70 peer reviewed articles, countless abstracts, posters, and over 25 chapters in sexual medicine texts, along with delivering over 300 invited presentations. He writes an invited Blog for Psychology Today called the “Sexual Tipping Point.” Dr. Perelman maintains an independent sex and couples’ therapy practice in both Greenwich, CT and Manhattan. He is certified by NYS and listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Dr. Perelman has conducted clinical trials, served on dozens of industry advisory boards and speakers’ bureaus, as well as providing expert witness consultations. His work in sex and marital therapy is often featured in the media.
"IOSS, "Inspirational Talk: Michael Perelman’s Fundamental Contribution to Sex Therapy," International Online Sexology Supervisors PC, IOSS Webinar Program, February, 11, 2022
