Podcast
Brave Love Great Sex – Couples Therapy Podcast
Hosted by Cloud10 · EN
Couples podcast to help committed couples keep it hot! Find hope to keep your marriage and committed relationships emotionally connected and sexually erotic. Certified sex therapist Dr. Laurie Watson is joined by global leader in couples therapy - George Faller, LMFT for an expert, frank and fascinating conversation about sex, love, therapy, relationship dynamics, healthy couples and marriage. We discuss everything from best sexual techniques and solving sexual problems, to building the emotional intimacy necessary for great sex in your relationship! Two therapists bring you sound, concrete tools to reframe your relationship problems and learn how to fall in-love again, rebuild trust, and feel desire. Subscribe to us today!
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55episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Foreplay Replay - All The Feels – Sharing 5 Primary Emotions with Your Partner
1w ago00:30:57Tap to summarizeLet's talk about five primary emotions: joy, fear, anger, sadness, shame, and disgust – feeling all of them is important, especially with your partner. Emotions are the language of the body. They say, "pay attention, something's happening!" But so often we don't pay attention, choosing, consciously or unconsciously, to disconnect... We may have been raised in homes where anger was expressed in an unhealthy way, joy covered by a wet blanket, or shame used to control and manipulate our behavior. Regardless of how our childhoods taught us to relate to emotions, we can rewrite the script by creating healthy emotional attachments and responses. While there are many tools we can use to do that, in this episode we're going to talk about co-regulation and co-creation ("CoCo.") And learn how to share and navigate emotions together. If your loved one is excited, you match their excitement. If your loved one is angry, you honor their anger. Co-regulation is not co-dependency. Co-regulation does not say, "I feel happy only if you're happy." It says, "You feel happy, and I'm happy for you." Co-regulation allows the witness to be there for their partner while also honoring their own emotions. Most of the time, people don't understand the emotion they're in, and they need someone to support them in a curious and non-judgemental way. Co-creation allows partners to act as witnesses for each other. By asking questions and being present, the witness can help the emoter explore and deepen their understanding of their feelings. Listen to learn how to apply 'CoCo' to your relationship and create positive shifts in your emotional and sexual cycles! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →553: Reaching Withdrawers
2w ago00:32:57Tap to summarizeWelcome Brave Lovers! In today's episode we are discussing reaching withdrawers through the body. When the withdrawer is anticipating something negative, they become activated, freeze and fall into a shame spiral. This shame spiral causes distance in the partnership and is a step in the negative cycle. Creating body awareness, and identifying what feelings are present can help withdrawers slow down and stay engaged. Listeners will learn how to do this today using the acronym ROC. R-elax, O-pen up, C-onnect. George guides the audience through, how to relax, opening up and getting curious, and connecting with others on your experience. This practice builds the skills of self-awareness, regulation and improved communication in relationships. How can you use ROC in your life? Let us know on our instagram @BraveLoveGreatSex and don't forget to pre-order a copy of our book by the same name! Check out Owen Marcus's organization Meld to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Foreplay Replay - How to Stress Less to Avoid Sexless Holidays
2w ago00:29:50Tap to summarizeYou grind so hard all year in hopes to spend quality time during the holiday season with your love but when the time comes you end up getting caught in the cycle. Has this ever happened to you? The holiday season brings out the extremes and primes relationships for the classic blame/attack cycle. Partners locked in tension often scream "you're too much/you're not enough" while putting on cheerful faces for family photoshoots and out of town visitors. We see the challenge and we've been there before! Join our hosts today as we open up a conversation on the many conflicts couples face during the holidays and how to stress less together. George and Laurie discuss the invisible workload and mental labor that goes into making holiday magic, the demands on time and energy and the cycles that couples get locked in. This episode will help each partner expand their perspectives and start a valuable dialogue of ways to support one another better, increase appreciation and create time to step under the mistletoe. We know that making memories isn't easy work and we want to prevent your relationship from taking the hard hits this year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →552: On Shame and Belonging with Jef Slootsmaekers
3w ago01:05:47Tap to summarizeWelcome Brave Lovers! In today's episode, Laurie is joined by EFT couples therapist Jef Slootmaekers. Jef is an EFT trainer hailing from Belgium and is the author of a new book on shame called Shame in Psychotherapy: The Art of Appearing (English translation coming in September 2026). He is also the coauthor of Fighting for Connection: Perspectives on Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence . This fantastic episode starts with the question "If shame had a voice, what would it want us to understand about being human?" and dives deep into our need to belong to each other, the ways we experience shame, its healthy functions and how toxic core shame is developed. All persons feel shame but our response to shame can either be adaptive or create negative stories that organize and influence our relationships with ourselves and others. Walk through this conversation with Laurie and Jef to learn the healthy functions of shame, why living in a world without shame would be like driving around New York City without traffic lights. Learn how to recognize unhealthy shame and ways to uncondition yourself from the rigid stories it has created. We all need to feel safe and belong and this conversation helps shine a light in the dark places we keep to ourselves but can also keep us stuck. This conversation brings a lightness and hope to what can be a heavy topic and you'll walk away with action steps on how to begin healing toxic shame. Take care Brave Lovers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Foreplay Replay - Theory of Love
3w ago00:29:53Tap to summarizeThis episode is all about attachment theory. Attachment styles have been buzzing in the pop psychology world recently. Our hosts invite listeners to learn more about attachment theory which helps us understand why we fight the way we do and why our partner reacts to conflict in the way they do. Attachment theory is based on the idea that we are here to connect and life is all about relationship and meaningful connection. Join us today as we break down attachment theory, and the attachment styles secure, anxious, avoidant and disorganized. Laurie and George help us put on our attachment lenses to make sense of relationship behaviors that are often misunderstood. You'll take away the useful tips from acronyms A.R.E and O.I.L and how to make your relationship more secure today! Let's us help you love better this year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →551: Bait and Switch
4w ago00:32:38Tap to summarizeHelp! This is not the relationship I signed up for. Did you bait and switch me from the person I said "I do," too? Welcome Brave Lovers, in today's episode we are tackling a topic we have heard in our offices over and over again. Hot and heavy, emotionally connected lovers that become distant strangers after marriage, children and more life together. Listen in as Laurie and George, explain what exactly happens between partners and help us work together to get back to the love that brought you together initially. Listeners will be guided by the steps that withdrawers and pursuers can take to reinvest in the relationship. The opposite of the bait and switch isn't more sex, it's attunement to one another's different needs. How long has your caregiving system been shut off and you have only been focused on your needs that aren't getting met? It's time to break free from the negative cycle and see where you can take a step towards your partner. Make sure to order a copy of our book, Brave Love, Great Sex available for pre-order now! Check out this episode's sponsor (and help the pod!): Uberlube.com - Laurie's favorite personal lubricant! Use the code BraveLove at checkout! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Foreplay Replay - Man Can't Come
Jun 2900:28:59Tap to summarizeLaurie and George answer a mailbag question in this episode. "I think my husband has been faking orgasms...how can I bring this up without increasing the anxiety he may already be feeling?" We want to thank our brave listener for reaching out to us with this question and bringing up a topic that is rarely discussed. Our hosts help provide language for couples and also make more explicit the emotions that end up driving the 'faking behavior'. Learn how to start a difficult conversation with your partner and pay attention to these key takeaways from this episode: the compliment sandwich, reducing unhealthy shame, giving men the permission to not orgasm and taking some of the pressure off. We love helping listeners with questions like this, so make sure you visit our website and drop us a note! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →550: Better to Give or Receive?
Jun 2600:30:36Tap to summarizeWelcome Brave Lovers! In today's episode we are diving into the topic of communal sexual strength. Research shows that couples feel more desire when they approach sex with love and caring. This creates a positive reinforcement loop for couples. The motive for sex is love and caretaking and secure partners experienced heightened intimacy, longing and connection. Love creates the sense of "we" and this benefit is noticed in other areas of the relationship as well. Laurie reminds listeners that "desire grows when we give pleasure, deepen intimacy with our partner and deepen our emotional connection. Follow along as Laurie and George give a great role play example of what this looks like in action. Make sure to grab a pre-order copy of our book, Brave Love, Great Sex! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Foreplay Replay - 5 Sexual Initiation Styles – Which Turns You On?
Jun 2200:30:12Tap to summarizeHow do you initiate in the bedroom? ;) George and Laurie explore (and joke!) about 5 different initiator styles: Seduction, Touch, Emotional Connection, Sex Talk and Power Play. Which way do you like it best? Which way does your partner like it best? Does seduction begin with the way you drink your coffee in the morning like it does with Laurie? Are you missing each other because of a style difference? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →549: Eroticising Power in the Bedroom
Jun 1900:31:44Tap to summarizeWelcome Brave Lovers! In today's episode, we are exploring eroticising power in the bedroom. Listen in as Laurie and George discuss how different attachment styles may crave to be more submissive or more dominant during sex. We discuss that both roles may be freeing, relieving of responsibility and just sinking into pleasure. Avoidant partners may feel more close, connecting with vulnerability and more anxiously attached partners may feel reassured, certain and taken care of. This is not your average vanilla episode as we step into how to share these fantasies safely with your lover. Listeners will walk away with more understanding of underlying themes of power and control and safe and secure ways to communicate themes of submission and dominance. Remember to grab a copy of our book, Brave Love, Great Sex available for pre-order now. Pre-order Sale! Buy a copy of Brave Love, Great Sex from Barnes and Noble and receive 10% off! Between now and June 26th! Barnes and Noble Premium members get an additional 10% off! Check out this episode's sponsor (and help the pod!): Uberlube -- Laurie's long-time most recommended personal lubricant. Use the code BraveLove at checkout to get your discount! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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