This month on Sessions, we welcomed Michael Moran, who spoke to Esther about how emotionally focused (EFT) couples therapy and sex therapy are an effective combination when working with couples. 

Michael shares how integrating sex therapy and the benefits of EFT has allowed him to take more risks and create a unique environment for his clients.  He has observed through the combination of EFT and sex therapy practices, a couple's perception of each other changes. They learn the reasons behind their feelings, and their vulnerabilities and strengths are identified, allowing them to play with their erotic energy more confidently. As a stronger relational connection is formed, the desire for sexual connection starts to bubble up in a way it never did before.

According to Michael,  EFT practices help create a safe space for couples to open up to him and each other. Once security and trust are established, it’s a good time to collect a sexual history of each...

Esther interviewed Holly Richmond this month on Sessions. Holly was also a guest at our 2019 Session Live event,  In Search of Eros. It was a pleasure to interview her again, and dive more deeply into what sexual recovery means post sexual-assault.

Holly began her career as a creative writing teacher at a detention center for girls. While reading their stories, she became aware of their histories of sexual abuse. Her desire to help these girls led her to begin a career as a Somatic Psychologist and Certified Sex Therapist.

We talk a lot about trauma in our line of work, especially when it comes to talking about sex. In their interview, Holly and Esther discuss the importance of becoming more comfortable talking about sexuality with your clients and in your day to day lives. As a result, you help normalize the language of sex and create a safe environment for them to open up. 

Holly reveals to Esther one of her central questions she asks her clients, "What is your body...

In this month’s interview, Terry Real joins the community. Terry is one of Esther’s closest colleagues and the person whom she has collaborated most in teaching, lecturing, and consulting with couples. His collaborative spirit and desire to engage with people of different perspectives is an excellent example of our goals for the Sessions community.  

Within his practice, Terry breaks almost all the rules we often learn. As a fellow rulebreaker herself, Esther was drawn to his style of work. Through his rebelliousness, he successfully created Relational Life Therapy (RLT). RLT focuses on teaching people how to live a relational life centered on authentic connection, first with yourself and then to the people you love. 

Terry walks us through the three phases and describes how they work together, and their unique approach to working with shame and grandiosity:

1. Waking up the client through loving confrontation
2. Identifying the trauma
3. Educating them on...

Dalychia Saah is a professor, writer, public speaker, and the co-founder of Afrosexology. She joined us with Afrosexology co-founder, Rafaella Fiallo, at Sessions Live 2019 to talk about "Less Oppression, More Orgasms," which was about eroticism being a tool for healing. 

Take her Erotic Evaluation inspired by Audre Lorde's Uses of the Erotic. To find out more about Dalychia and Rafaella's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.afrosexology.com.

I’ve always been drawn to texture. I love the way new carpet feels under my feet, how silk and sheer fabrics feel on my body, how sand feels in my hands. I was often that child in the store running my hands across aisles to feel any and everything. And like most children, my wandering hands were often times met with a light hand slap followed by the directive to not touch. Eventually I learned to stop reaching out and touching things I felt drawn to, by internally slapping my own hand...

Rafaella Fiallo, MSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Sexuality Educator in St. Louis, MO who joined us with Afrosexology co-founder, Dalychia Saah, at Sessions Live 2019 to talk about "Less Oppression, More Orgasms," which was about eroticism being a tool for healing. This article originally appeared at www.healingxchg.com.

To find out more about Rafaella and Dalychia's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.afrosexology.com.

Your erotic self is yearning to be explored and all you need is this simple formula.

Alexandra Solomon, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist at The Family Institute and faculty at Northwestern University who joined us at Sessions Live 2019 to provide a response to the keynote, "Finding the Erotic Self." She has also appeared on the Sessions Platform, where she and Esther address the question of, Do the Young Love Differently Than the Old(er)? 

To find out more about Alexandra's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.dralexandrasolomon.com.  

Our intimate relationships are a powerful crucible for growth and healing if we are committed to practicing relational self-awareness. Relational self-awareness is an ongoing curious and compassionate relationship with ourselves that becomes the foundation for a thriving intimate partnership. In my work as a relationship educator and couples therapist, what has become abundantly clear to me is that our relational self-awareness is incomplete unless it includes sexual...

Don Shewey is a writer, therapist, and pleasure activist who joined us at Sessions Live 2019 to talk about "Healing Through Pleasure," which was about the issues that men bring to a sex therapist. This article originally appeared at www.joy-body.com.

To find out more about Don's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.bodyandsoulwork.com.

I had the pleasure of participating in “Sessions Live 2019: In Search of Eros,” an all-day gathering convened and hosted by Esther Perel, who’s probably the most famous sex-and-relationship therapist in the world right now. Her books (Mating in Captivity and The State of Affairs) and her TED talks (on desire and infidelity) have acquired a passionate following worldwide, as evidenced by the sold-out crowd of 400 who showed for the live event on November 9,2019 in midtown Manhattan (many of whom flew in from other countries), and the 1200 people viewing at home via Livestream.

A New York resident born in...

Dr. Holly Richmond is a Somatic Psychologist, Certified Sex Therapist (CST), and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) who joined us at Sessions Live 2019 to talk about "Eros Resurrected", which was about reframing trauma and moving beyond recovery.

To find out more about Holly's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.drhollyrichmond.com.  

I was captivated by the idea of a full-day conference about Finding Eros from the moment Esther and her team asked me to participate. It is essential that we take eroticism out of the closed container of sexuality, and apply concepts of vitality, vivacity and lifeforce to all areas of our lives and our clients’ lives. It wasn’t until I took a moment to reflect more deeply that I realized there have been many moments when I’ve done this for myself, and really, this is what I’m most often doing with clients. I don’t teach them to have better sex or better...

Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD DipPST CSC, is a social psychologist, researcher and clinician who joined us at Sessions Live 2019 to walk us through a "Sexual Attitude Reassessment-A Taster", which helps promote participants’ awareness of their attitudes and values related to sexuality, and to assist them in understanding how these attitudes and values affect them professionally and personally. She has also appeared on the Sessions Platform, where she and Esther talk about Cultural Proficiency in Therapy.

To find out more about Sara's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.sara-nasserzadeh.com.  

There are different styles of love that were initially introduced by the Greek and later on expanded on by others. In our society, there is a huge emphasis on Eros or erotic and sexual love without much consideration of the self that needs to experience and express this type of love.

At Sessions Live, in our SAR-Taster experience, we focused on Philautia...

Ian Kerner, Ph.D., LMFT is a psychotherapist and sexuality counselor who joined us at Sessions Live 2019 to talk about "Emboldening the Erotic Imagination", which was about how to overcome challenges in creating an erotic atmosphere and merging relational and recreational sex. He has also appeared on the Sessions Platform, where he and Esther address the question - how important is sex anyway? 

To find out more about Ian's work and upcoming projects and events, visit www.iankerner.com.  

It was a blast to participate in Sessions Live. Just a day earlier, I was in the ER with a kidney stone, and I was texting Nick and Esther that they might have to go ahead without me. I think some of my energy and enthusiasm on the day came from the exhilarating feeling of escaping an inferno of pain and just being alive. It was wonderful to be part of such an energized community. To spend a day digging into the topic of Eros and accessing the topic...