Conversation is the best foreplay. But to have a deeper, more satisfying relationship you must ask deeper, specific questions. Have you ever wanted to talk to your husband or boyfriend about what he really thinks about what is going on in his bedroom? How to Talk to a Man About His Sex Life (Assessment - Part 3) will give you so good questions to ask and ways to make sense of his answers. In this third episode on assessing your sexual relationship, join sex therapist Laurie Watson and couples therapist George Faller as they talk about the kinds of questions they use to understand and assess the depth of a couple's connection.
In therapy and in our partnerships, sharing our sexual histories takes vulnerability and courage. Have you told your partner about your sexual development? So often we don't even bother to think about what was formative and how our experiences, our strengths, our trauma may influence what we feel in bed. This episode, relationship experts, licensed couples therapist guru George takes the role of sex therapist and sex therapist Dr. Laurie role plays a patient talking about her history.
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We invite you into a thoughtful reflection about what is happening in YOUR sex life. Bring your spirit of curiosity and stay with us in the discovery mode as our “client” played by the brave volunteer - George - answers this first set of questions. Pull back the curtain and hear what Laurie thinks about his answers as a sex therapist. Think about these beginning questions, (not easy questions) like… What would you want your partner to know about you sexually? Laurie reflects on how important vulnerability is when communication with your lover the deeper aspects of these questions. Our patient acknowledges his anxiety and how most of the time he communicates in frustration with his partner instead of coming from his heart’s longing.
We ask: What is going on in your sex life now? Can you describe the problems? When did things change between you or when did the problems start? What have you tried to resolve these issues. Do you and your partner have desire for each other? What turns you on the most? When do you feel most erotic with your partner? What are your 3 most important expectations in bed?
We gratefully acknowledge the work of EFT founder Dr. Sue Johnson, EFT Supervisor Mike Moran in the development of this sexual questionnaire as well as the work of Dr. Zoya Simakhodskaya, Ph.D for pioneering the understanding of the integration of the sexual cycle into the couple emotional cycle in emotionally focused therapy.
The stay-at-home orders across the country because of the Covid-19 Pandemic has increased the economic and health security. Dealing with feelings of helplessness is a drag on individuals and impacts sexual desire. Join sex therapist Dr. Laurie Watson and Couples therapist George Faller as they talk about how to maintain sex during 'war-time.'
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What turns him on? Visual stimulation is very important. Seeing his partner naked works if women can let go of their insecurity. Join sex therapist and author Dr. Laurie Watson and Couples therapist George Faller as they talk about what turns men on.
A married woman listener asks George and Laurie about how to overcome 15 years of shame regarding her thoughts about the 'right kind of sex to have', 'what is good and acceptable in a sexual encounter', and even shame over how much she should be enjoying sex. George remarks, that shame is the biggest turnoff and cut-off for sexual desire...
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In this Mailbag episode, a listener raises a question about given the difficulty many women have in orgasming through intercourse, why would women want to have sex? Sex therapist and author Dr. Laurie Watson and couples therapist George Faller discuss the different viewpoints towards sex that men and women have.
The Pursuer - Withdrawer dance can escalate negative emotions and lead to misunderstanding what each partner is wanting, thinking, and feeling. Join sex therapist Laurie Watson and couples therapist George Faller as the talk about the process of escalation and de-escalation.
STAY CONNECTED! - our most important mission during the COVID-19 outbreak! In times of stress we need to turn to each other. George and Laurie talk about their own struggles and hope to offer comfort to their listeners...as well as some thoughts about how to grow after being battle-tested!
Plus, some a nudge for creative sex during quarantine!
Pursuers get exhausted. After trying everything... talking, begging, holding back their needs, getting angry... sometimes they just give up. When Pursuers become Withdrawers, the relationship is in trouble. Join sex therapist Dr. Laurie Watson and couples therapist George Faller as they talk about dealing with burn out in a relationship.
Laurie and George demonstrate best ways to initiate a conversation to get your partner to open up about sex. And secondly, they talk about how to change the conversation with our kids and friends so we change the culture. George says he feels like he's been let into a secret society of women when Laurie reveals her girlfriend talk.
Do 2 withdrawers ever get together? They do but when there is little conflict there is usually little sex. Both people are so intent on being nice and not demanding, the difficult conversations that create intimacy just don't happen. They avoid the negative emotions and unfortunately shut out the intense emotions would make them feel securely connected. Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist George Faller as they talk about withdrawers in relationship.
Why would a withdrawer have an affair when their partner is begging them for more connection? How can a pursuer get over their shame to see their partner's pain? George and Laurie use attachment theory to add understanding that helps answer the question... "why, did you do this?"
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Affairs devastate the trust and connection in a committed relationship. Recovery and reconnection is possible. Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist George Faller as the talk through how to reconnect after an affair.
Nothing more sexy than talking about stress! How we perceive stress is how it impacts our body and which makes it inseparable from sex. Connection with another is the fastest way to relieve stress. George leads us in a discussion about how to change distress into eustress by changing our mindset about seeing stress as a challenge and reaching out to a partner and fight problems together. Drawing from his writing in Sacred Stress, George helps Laurie think about a couple who look at the same moment - an erotic moment in two different ways - one as eustress (highly exciting) and the other sees it as distress (highly anxiety-producing.)
One of the big disappointments for some women is when their partners don't want to do cunnilingus with them and they do. Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist and author George Faller as they discuss how to have great cunnilingus.
Masturbation is a topic few couples are comfortable talking about; yet it is something that we all do. Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist and author George Faller as they talk about masturbation and how it plays into your relationship.
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Most fantasies have the theme of someone being so into you. In our fantasy, our partner is showing high levels of engagement, high levels of passion and high levels of initiation. George and Laurie talk about how to tap into the energy of fantasy to bring new information, new ideas to the partnership. Try a fantastic lube at www.Uberlube.com/foreplay
Many couples have never discussed sharing their fantasies with the goal of enhancing their mutual sex life. How you go about this discussion makes all the difference. Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and author and couples therapist George Faller as they discuss how to incorporate fantasy into your sex life.
Sexual trauma in childhood can wreak havoc on adult emotional and sexual relationships. While challenging, traumas of this gravity can be healed. Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist and author George Faller as they discuss how you can heal childhood sexual trauma.
Trauma, PTSD, and other troubling experiences can invade and derail your relationship. Join sex therapist Laurie Watson and marriage therapist George Faller as they respond to a listener's letter about her husband's PTSD and how it plagued their relationship.
Sexual problems are opportunities to actually get deeper with each other. Cohosts talk about a man with ED and how he feels alone, alienated from his own body for fear of failure as well as alienated from his partner thinking he will let her down. George shares how withdrawers strengthen their muscle memory to go away when they don't share their "ouch" or what hurts, denying themselves the comfort that their partner might offer. Laurie share how vulnerable sharing actually draws a partner in.
When our hearts are connected, we can lose ourselves sexually in one another. Great sex requires a bit of knowledge, a lot of vulnerability and a willingness to explore more than just genital pleasure. George and Laurie talk about exercises they give clients to get more in tune with each other by exploring touch and the skin of their lover.
Q&A for a woman, who's husband prefers porn and a man struggling with ED. George says, "When I think about porn, I don't come at it from a moralistic point of view. I think, does the porn serve a function to strengthen a couple's emotional bond, or does it create more distance?" Laurie and George discuss how the fear of rejection in a man with ED prevents him from sharing his vulnerability and receiving the comfort he deserves from his wife. Instead they both stay separated and dissatisfied.