Shame Around Fantasies and Self-Pleasure

Holistic sexuality involves having a deep enough level of self-understanding that you can make choices that are aligned with your core needs and feel empowered to live out those choices in your own life. In today’s show, we’re going to talk about harnessing holistic sexuality in order to lead a more pleasure-filled life and be more in tune with our desires.

I’m joined once again by Dr. Juliana Hauser, a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor. In addition to running a successful virtual private practice, Dr. Juliana is a nationally known sex expert whose work has appeared all over in the media. Her latest book is A New Position on Sex: A Guide to Greater Sexual Confidence, Pleasure, and Authenticity. 

Some of the specific topics we explore include:

• How can we have a healthier relationship with our own sexual pleasure?
• How do we make pleasure a priority in everyday life?
• What are some practical ways to reawaken sexual desire?
• How can we begin to identify what we really do and don’t want when it comes to sex?
• How can we get better at both saying “no” and hearing “no” in the bedroom?

You can visit Juliana’s website to learn more about her work.

Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology.

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Thank you to our sponsors! 

Passionate about building a career in sexuality? Check out the Sexual Health Alliance. With SHA, you’ll connect with world-class experts and join an engaged community of sexuality professionals from around the world. Visit SexualHealthAlliance.com and start building the sexuality career of your dreams today.

The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University has been a trusted source for scientific knowledge and research on critical issues in sexuality, gender, and reproduction for over 75 years. Be sure to register for the Sex and Aging Symposium, which will take place on October 4, 2025.

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Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.