Foreplay Radio Sex Therapy For Couples

In this episode, Laurie and George explore a pattern they see often in therapy but rarely hear women talk about openly: growing up under-touched—not abused or mistreated, but raised with too little warm, affectionate contact. Many girls learn early to be “little adults,” self-reliant and emotionally contained, with parents who provided care but not soothing. Inside, they adapt by dialing down their need for touch and connection. As adults, these women often struggle with desire, sensuality, and responsiveness—not because they’re broken, but because their bodies never learned that touch is comforting, safe, or connecting. Laurie shares her clinical insight that erotic shutdown can be a predictable outcome of emotional neglect and under-stimulation, especially for women who are socialized to mute their physical needs. George joins her in mapping how attachment deactivation, low interoceptive awareness, and a lifetime of caregiving roles shape many women’s sexual experiences. Together they offer hope and clarit

Erectile dysfunction in men 45 and older in a partnered relationship is a problem with solutions. Listen to Laurie and Tony distinguish physiological ED and partnered ED and offer approaches to solve this problem in this podcast spurred by a question from a listener. If you want Laurie and Tony to address a question you are concerned about, email info@foreplayrst.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, we discuss reinforcing positive cycles. There is a lot of talk about disconnection and negative cycles but what about when things are going well? Join hosts, Laurie and George to learn how to reinforce when it's going well to build out more positive interactions. A building block of attachment is adoration, to be looked at by a caretaker with sunshine in their eyes. This signals, you are good and you matter to me. This need never goes away and it is very important in adult intimate relationships. In sex, couples often make eye contact and signal this tenderness with their gaze. This episode will give you language and real life examples of how to make positive connections more explicit and reinforce that connection. Learn how to embrace the vulnerability around when things are going well and share it with the one you love!  Check out this episode's sponsor (and help the pod!): cozyearth.com -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Variety and creativity in sex can both make our sexual relationship sizzling, but it can also be a source of tension.  Join Laurie Watson, author of "Wanting Sex Again" and her co-host discuss variety! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we discuss finding the reframe; your partner's differing perspective that isn't always obvious. Emotions like irritation or frustration are often signs of disconnection in your emotional or sexual cycle. You feel you are lacking and more easily lose patience, create a negative meaning about your partner and get stuck in your move. The reframe helps you see what's happening from a different angle. You'll still be experiencing the disconnect but you'll have a better ability to communicate with your love about what is going on for you and learn what is happening for them. The reframe is one of our favorite tools to use in therapy and we know it will be so useful for you! Even Laurie gets in on the reframe action today as George helps her see another perspective in a current situation. Learn how to shift from a place of not having enough patience for your partner to understanding and openness. Keep it hot, brave lovers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What to do when your partner shuts down. In the second of Gottman's 'Four Horseman' series, Dr. Adam and Laurie address this destructive behavior and how to get through the seemingly unbreakable barriers of a silent a partner.    Like us? Send us some love on Patreon: www.patreon.com/foreplayrst Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, our hosts answer a listener's mailbag question. If the sex is good, why don't I want it more? Join George and Laurie as they help our listener answer this question and explore possible reasons behind this dilemma. Perhaps it's dissatisfaction, difference in desire, asexuality or emotional and sexual blocks. There are many avenues to consider and we approach the topic with lots of curiosity. We thank our listeners for being brave to send in these important mailbag questions and remind them that they are not alone in their struggles. Let us know what you learn from today's episode and don't hesitate to send us your very own mailbag question! We are here to help our audience and want you to always keep it hot y'all! Check out this episode's sponsor: Uberlube.com -- Laurie's long-time favorite personal lubricant! Check it out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The popular conception is that a larger penis results in better sex. Join author and certified sex therapist Laurie Watson and her co-host psychologist Dr. Adam Mathews as they talk about the real world impact of penis size on sexual satisfaction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we are discussing receptivity and initiation. Receptivity is about receiving and responding to cues from your partner. Some partners may be sexually receptive or emotionally receptive meaning they need their partner to initiate the cues first and then they can respond. Join our hosts, George and Laurie as they breakdown what this looks like in relationships and the negative trap that it can sometimes create. If you often find that your partner doesn't initiate emotional conversations or sex negative meaning is often created, as "they don't care." Our hosts, warn that this pathway is a block to connection and it's more relational to remember that having to cue your partner is not always a bad thing. This conversation is sure to get you think about how you show up in your relationship and what you may need to do differently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sounds pretty discouraging if your partner says she'd be fine never having sex again. Laurie and George discuss how to get to the root of what she's saying. Using an acronym O P L E A S F helps us organize what has obscured her libido.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the saying goes, you can have it all just not all at once. Have you ever brought up a complaint to your partner only to be met with their complaint? This is a common relational trap and leaves partners chasing too many conversations at once and feeling more defeated. Join George and Laurie today as they offer guidance on how to slow this pattern down and focus on one conversation at a time. Caregiving needs, emotional needs and sexual needs are all important but we need to stick to one at a time if we ever want to get anywhere. If you've ever found yourself caught in this trap, this episode will help you and your partner stay focused on your individual experience, how to communicate that with vulnerability to your partner and how to listen with empathy and compassion. Staying the course on one topic at a time will help partners have more effective conflict and work to get some of these needs met. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a sample conversation with "Eleanor" who is always anxious about sex, preoccupied with whether or not she is pleasing her husband, but unable to be present for her own experience. She doesn’t want to risk hurting her husband even if it would make the sexual moment better for her. Her husband thinks she's not into it, but hear how she worries and actually thinks about it constantly without ever knowing if her husband is happy with her. We have heard hundreds of similar stories about the disconnects that can happen in sexual relationship. We invite you to consider opening up a discussion with your lover about their experience in sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, we are discussing life and relationships after an affair. Most often people think that relationships are over after an affair. However, that is not always the case and many couples can successfully repair their partnerships after this betrayal. Join George and Laurie today as they breakdown affair recovery steps and what the betrayed partner and the partner that had the affair need to heal. We discuss the different types of affairs and the motives of pursuers and withdrawers alike. We want to instill hope for couples that are facing this challenge that relationships can heal and recover from affairs. It takes a lot of deep heart-centered work but couples that have made it to the otherside are often able to write a new chapter in their bond.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why and how does the frequency of sex decrease in a marriage to the point where it rarely happens? Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist Dr. Adam Mathews as they dissect the genesis of a sexless marriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, we are talking about desire based on the work of sex therapist, Dr. Emily Jamea. Dr. Jamea shares that your partner can contribute to your desire but they can't create it. Join Laurie and George in an engaging conversation on who is responsible for the creation of desire in a relationship and how this affects pursuers and withdrawers alike. Their dialogue addresses the effect of how caretaking duties affect sexual desire and how each individual partner can work to create internal eroticism. You'll find yourself asking these questions, "what gives me the tingles?, do I want them or what do I want?, and what would turn me on right now?" Make sure to download this and share with your lover to answer these questions together. Keep it hot, y'all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early dating years our partner’s face lights up at the thought of sex, they tell us with their eyes that we make them hot. The gleam in their eyes hits our body, hits our center, hits our being.  Feeling that we light up their world is a turn-on! Secure attachment begins with the loving gaze of our mother or parent – cradled in the crook of their elbow – they smile and coo because we are theirs.  Later in childhood we know we belong and make our parents proud when we see it in their eyes… not so much for our accomplishments but because we are their son or daughter.  In romantic partnership, sexual desire that radiates from our partner’s face and gaze is a powerful reminder of belonging, safety. We revel in being the person who excites our partner. What happens though when our partner is willing to have sex but doesn’t give us that deep reassurance that we are desirable with a gleam in their eye? Can we get it back? How do we tell them what we need from them to turn on?  Listen as George and Laurie get t

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four? The Beatles addressed this important topic on their Sgt. Pepper album in 1967 and in today's episode Laurie and George are giving listeners the answers. Join us as we answer the burning questions related to sex and older age; what to expect and how to talk about it. Aging is an inevitable fact of life and while often associated with problems, it can actually bring a lot of opportunity for healthy change in your relationship. Desire differences often driven by changes in hormones will have partners seeking new ways to connect, inspiring more creativity and playfulness. Our hosts,guide listeners through the essential conversation to have with your partner and specific questions to ask each other. It's so important that we name aging out loud and put heads and hearts together to navigate this phase of life. Be brave lovers and keep it hot, y'all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mailbag!! George and Laurie answer questions from the Foreplay Fam in this week’s episode! They’re talking all about unrequited fantasies, compromise, and vulnerability. Sexual fantasies are extremely common; in fact only 4% of men and 14% of women report NOT having fantasies. A listener talks about a fantasy of an old lover and not being able to get it out of her head. While this one may be a block to emotional connection, fantasies can also be mined for good information about what turns us on. And some partners feel comfortable and like sharing their sexual fantasies as a way to grow learn and get aroused with each other. Sexual improvement requires vulnerability and willingness to talk about your sexual needs. Discuss with your partner what they are comfortable with and address any of their concerns. Compromise is important in any relationship. While we want people to feel respected sometimes we might do something for tour partner out of love in order to just make our partner happy. It’s all about communic

In today's episode, our hosts are tackling an important and uncomfortable conversation. This episode does contain content regarding sexual trauma and we advise all our listeners to be aware. Sexual trauma doesn't stay in our past, it follows us in the bedroom. It is common for couples that feel safe and committed to one another to experience heightened reactions around sex if sexual trauma is part of the personal history. However, this can be confusing, frustrating and cause stress on a couple that had no apparent issues prior. Join George and Laurie today as they expertly and carefully, discuss how sexual trauma affects couples and their sexual experiences. They will walk you through the signs of sexual trauma and the 5 steps to heal in your relationship. For both partner's in the relationship, there is a role to take in the healing and our hosts want listeners to feel optimistic that healthy relationships can heal traumatic experiences. Laurie reminds us that the grief around these experiences will end and

Laurie tells George her own story of why she became a sex therapist. Hear about her moment of decision when she stopped the negative pursuing cycle and changed her marriage. Laurie shares her heartfelt commitment to be the generation to love and struggle to become securely attached in order to change the course of her family's legacy and how you too, can change your family's future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices