Rebecca Torosian has a hard time explaining what she does.

"I'll just tell this person like I'm a mind-body coach and if they want to know more they can ask me," said Rebecca.

What she is, is a surrogate partner therapist.

According to Wikipedia, that means she "engages in education and often intimate physical contact and/or sexual activity with clients to achieve a therapeutic goal".

Rebecca has, for over a decade, worked with men (and a few women) who suffer from some sort of sexual functioning disorder. Men, of all ages, with erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and sexual shyness are among her most common clients.

Rob (we're omitting his last name), is family man and former lawyer. 5 years ago, he was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. The surgery that saved his life has left him with performance issues.

"It's not so much getting prostate cancer and having it cured, it's living with the cure that's the hard part," said Rob.

That cure has made it difficult for him to maintain a consistent sexual relationship with his wife, which is ultimately what led him to Rebecca.

Return to the Body intimately tracks Rob's progress during his sessions with Rebecca as he explores the importance of mind and body and it's connection to sexual function. What remains to be seen is if the physical nature of his problem can be overcome through these methods.

MediaStorm sought to gain access into the sensitive world of sex surrogacy without sacrificing the intimate connection one gains by hearing both sides of the story. The practice of surrogacy involves physical touching, sometimes including intercourse, between the surrogate, and the patient. We wanted to understand the methods and motivations of those who practice and benefit from this form of therapy, which exists in a morally and legally gray area within the United States.

Director of Photography, Andrew Michael Ellis, was able to negotiate access to Rebecca Torosian, a sex therapist in New York, but finding a client that was willing to be on camera was understandably challenging. On MediaStorm’s behalf, Rebecca approached her clientele to discuss the possibility of being filmed. Ellis had several confidential conversations with Rebecca’s clients, but none were willing to be on camera.

Not willing to forgo access to a significant part of the story, Ellis, after many internal conversations at MediaStorm, decided to take an active role in finding a client who would be willing to be on camera. Ellis used a Craigslist posting to describe the intent of the film and some information about Rebecca’s practice to find someone who was looking for this sort of therapy and would be willing to be on camera. This is how Ellis ultimately found Rob.

The film was published as a linear story on MediaStorm’s website, and as an interactive feature on Verse.

Verse is an interactive platform with a toolset that showcases non-linear multimedia storytelling.