Foreplay Radio – Couples and Sex Therapy

In this episode Laurie and George respond to a question from a listener asking for their help. Our listener shares that they took a risk to bring something spicy into lovemaking and it was a complete miss with their partner. With a little humor and lots of validation, Laurie and George offer supportive advice about what to do when this happens. We know that when misses occur repair is key. Listen to tips here on how to successfully repair and how to be vulnerable with feelings of rejection.Check out our sponsors:Foria Wellness -- try their excellent sex oils! Their Awaken Arousal and Sex Oil are excellent for enhancing a woman's orgasm! Try it and see! Use the link Foria or use the code 'foreplay' and get 20% off your order!Rocket Money -- if your like Laurie and sign up for online subscriptions for everything under the sun you need Rocket Money -- it'll help you by notifying you of subscriptions that you have and are renewing so that you can pay for only the online subscriptions you actually use! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Beatles said it best when they sang, "Money Can't Buy Me Love," however finances are a top source of conflict between couples and in this episode our hosts focus on money and the meaning it makes in your life. Join George and Laurie as they discuss money as a competing attachment. EFTers define a competing attachment as a "third," or something outside of a couple relationship that pulls attention away from the partnership in an unhealthy way. Couples then use withdrawing or pursuing strategies to bring awareness to the disconnection created by the competing attachment and a cycle forms. If you've never thought about your relationship with money, we invite you to download the episode and use the attachment lens to explore your relationship with money, the meaning it makes for you and how it affects your partnership.uCheck out our sponsor UBERLUBE. For the best lubricant on the market! Laurie has been recommending for over 20 years and so glad they support the podcast. Support Uberlube and Foreplay by using the code 'Foreplay' when you checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rev is often a word you associate with a car engine, but did you know that REV is the acronym you need to improve your ability to listen to your partner better? REV stands for Reflect, Evocative Questions and Validation. Trust us when we tell you that REV simplifies and structures how to listen to your partner and helps conversations stay out of the conflict zone and more connected and loving. Download this episode and share it widely as listening is the most underutilized communication skill!Check out our favorite lubricant: Uberlube! By buying online you help us to keep the podcast freely available! Use the coupon 'Foreplay' so they know that we sent you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, our hosts breakdown the 5 Dimensions of Touch, from an article written by renowned sex therapist Barry McCarthy, PhD. George and Laurie guide us through the different dimensions: Affectionate touch, sensual touch, playful touch, erotic touch and intercourse. These 5 dimensions are NOT a linear roadmap to intercourse rather ways to increase touch between couples. Hosts provide examples of each and make it possible for couples to explore different levels and kinds of touch and how to have those important conversations to share what feels good, and what doesn’t with your partner. You can check out the original article here:  http://bit.ly/3V7rCD8 and make sure to download the episode for more!Check out our sponsors and support the podcast!ZocDoc is a free app to help you find a medical professional when you need one. Use the link so they know we sent you!Uberlube is our favorite lubricant and they've supported our podcast from the start. Laurie has been recommending this for 20 years, long before Foreplay started. Check them out! Use the coupon 'Foreplay' for a discount! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not only are our hosts here to provide good information but to dispel bad information. This week’s episode is all about premature ejaculation: the facts, busting myths, and the six-month protocol that couples can follow to fix it! If premature ejaculation has plagued your sexual world then you are going to want to download this episode and listen with your partner. You will be relieved to know that there is relief for the 40% of men that have been afflicted by PE. And men, you don’t exist in relationships alone, premature ejaculation affects the partner’s in your life too. Left untreated it runs the risk of creating a deep disconnection in your relationship. This episode provides clarity, a starting point and helps to reduce the shame around this all too common problem. Thank you to our sponsors for their support in our mission!Check out Foria -- their Awaken Arousal and their Intimacy Sex Oil really enhances a woman's orgasm. Try it out and see! Use the coupon code 'foreplay' at checkout for 20% off your order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Timing is everything and for many, well most of us, we’ve all experienced poor timing. If you’ve ever been in a relationship, you most likely have a memory of a time when your partner shared something, you asked a question and it didn’t go over so well. An argument ensues and you’re both left with emotional whiplash. Download this episode to hear George and Laurie’s take on timing, why it goes south (from a neuroscience standpoint) and how to get it back on track. A bit of a spoiler but here is a gem from the episode: Is what you are about to say/do add or take away? Hear our hosts as they help listeners be more intentional about timing and how to recover when timing is off.Check out our sponsors:Cozy Earth has the softest sheets -- so soft you'll want to go to bed naked! In addition to sheets they have all sorts of loungewear. Check them out and get a 35% discount site wide when you use the code 'Foreplay'!Uberlube is our favorite lubricant to make sex smooth and easy! Use the code 'Foreplay' and get 10% off! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prompted by a listener question, Laurie and George discuss resentment in relationships. Resentment is often seen as a relationship killer, but our hosts ask the audience to give permission to that feeling and listen for the deeper longing. Resentment forms as a result of unspoken and unshared pain and the attachment meaning we make. A sexual pursuer in a relationship may develop resentment over years of hoping for more sex and it not happening. Our hosts discuss viewing resentment as a form of grief. Reframing resentment as grief, creates some space to see and hold pain and share it with your partner. If we make space for that grief, we will also create space for joy over the things that we get and really work in the relationship. There is choice in resentment.If you have found yourself holding resent in your relationship, you’ll want to make sure to download this episode!Please check out our sponsors:Cozy Earth has the softest sheets, made from all natural bamboo -- a renewable resource! These sheets are so soft you'll want to be naked. Use the code 'foreplay' at checkout to get 35% off site wide!Foria enhances your sex life with natural oils. These are absorbed into your skin and enhance the sexual experience. Their Awake & Arousal Oil and Sex Oil are great ways to have a better orgasm. Try it you'll like it! Use the link above or use the code 'foreplay' at checkout to get 20% off your first order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attention Couples Therapists, you're going to want to listen to this episode! Laurie and George role play a therapy session to help understand the world of the emotional withdrawer in the sexual cycle. Emotional withdrawers want to remain positive to support the relationship but when the emotional heat turns up they often turn away. If you are having difficulty engaging a withdrawer in the emotional cycle we encourage you to PIVOT! We find that withdrawers often flip to become pursuers in the sexual cycle. If therapists avoid naming the pain that lies in the sexual disconnection they may miss an opportunity to help them share their vulnerability with their partner. We focus on creating A LOT of safety for both partners and deeply honoring the defense systems that have been created to manage pain. While we know this episode will help the therapists in our community, partners will also benefit! We are helping to get safety in the sexual cycle so you can keep it hot!Check out our fantastic sponsors!CozyEarth -- the most fantastic, softest, comfiest sheets you've ever slept on! Use the coupon code 'foreplay' to get 35% off site-wide!ZocDoc -- this website is a great resource for finding the resources you need! Doctors, dentists, any medical specialist! One central location for getting the information you need to get to medical professionals who can help, when you need them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that 10% of sexual encounters with intimate partners go badly? Join Laurie and George for this episode where they discuss strategies partners can use when sexual situations go awry. Our hosts share a bit of vulnerability as well and moments in their own lives when pressure, expectation and disappointment got the best of them. We want you to feel confident with your partners that you can pivot when you have failures. Strategies include using playful humor to encourage reconnection, meaningful conversation to process disappointment together and slowness to create opportunities for understanding. You can give your relationship some permission to get it wrong so you can keep it hot!Check out our sponsors!Cozy Earth has the most comfortable, breathable sheets! It is like sleeping on a cloud. Use the code 'foreplay' for 35% off site-wide!Uberlube is our favorite lubricant for great sex! Silky, smooth, and safe! Order it today with the coupon code 'foreplay'! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here we are at the wedding night. After months, maybe years of planning, the special day is finally here. This episode is about sexpectations on the wedding night. Did you know over 50% of couples don’t have sex on their wedding night? Exhaustion and too many reception cocktails are often the culprit for this miss BUT are engaged couples having conversations about wedding night sexpectations before the big day? Hear George and Laurie talk about the importance of having these conversations and negotiating together what your idea of wedding night sex looks like. You may want to take stress off yourselves and save sex for the honeymoon, you may want to explore what your B.E.S.T sex looks like. Either way, we hope couples will reduce pressure to get it perfect on their wedding night. When we make these implicit conversations explicit, we can avoid disappointment and resentment taking space in what is otherwise a joyous union. Healthy sex conversations to help you keep it hot, right from the start!Check out our sponsors!Uberlube is the best lubricant on the market! Laurie has been recommending it to her clients for over 20 years. Order at uberlube.com with the code foreplay!Foria has sex oils that enhance a woman's orgasm! The reports from Laurie's clients give Foria's products 5 stars. Go to Foria for 20% off at foriawellness.com/FOREPLAY or use code FOREPLAY at checkout to receive 20% off your order. Green Chef overs tasty and healthy meals for all the different lifestyles: Keto, Paleo, diet, etc. Great meals that are easy to prepare. Saves time that you can use for sex! Go to GreenChef.com/foreplay135 for $135 off your first 5 boxes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices