Sexology

How do you rebuild trust after infidelity? Can a relationship survive an affair, and can emotional intimacy and sexual desire return after betrayal?
In this episode of the Sexology Podcast, Dr. Nazanin Moali speaks with renowned couples therapist and sex therapist Dr. Laurie Watson about infidelity recovery, forgiveness, attachment wounds, and rebuilding trust after cheating.
Dr. Watson explains why relationship problems involving sex are rarely just about sex. She explores how emotional attachment and sexual attachment intersect, creating a pursue and withdraw cycle in which one partner feels rejected while the other feels pressured, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
You’ll also learn why people cheat, how an affair affects emotional and sexual intimacy, and what it takes to repair a relationship after betrayal. Dr. Watson shares practical guidance for understanding attachment patterns, healing relationship wounds, restoring trust, and reconnecting sexually after infidelity.
Whether you are recovering from an affair, struggling with mismatched sexual desire, or feeling emotionally disconnected from your partner, this episode offers a compassionate roadmap for rebuilding safety, intimacy, and connection.
ABOUT DR. LAURIE WATSON:
Dr. Laurie Watson, PhD, LMFT, LCMHC, is a nationally recognized sex therapist, couples therapist, author, and podcaster. She is the co-author of Brave Love; Great Sex: Unlocking the Passion and Connection You Crave with Emotionally Focused Therapy and author of Wanting Sex Again. Laurie is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor and an ICEEFT Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist. She co-hosts the Brave Love; Great Sex podcast with George Faller, which has more than 15 million downloads and over 500 episodes. She is also the founder and director of Awakenings Center for Couples & Sex Therapy in North Carolina, where she has spent decades helping couples build stronger emotional and sexual connection.
N THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:
• Why sexual desire changes in long term relationships
• How the pursue and withdraw cycle affects sex and intimacy
• The relationship between emotional and sexual attachment
• How to recognize the mega attachment pattern
• Why people cheat, even when they still love their partner
• Whether a relationship can survive infidelity
• What forgiveness after an affair really means
• How to repair attachment wounds after betrayal
• How to rebuild trust after cheating
• Ways to restore emotional and sexual intimacy
• How Dr. Watson’s REV Method helps couples reconnect
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Welcome to Episode 504 of the Sexology Podcast! Today I am excited to welcome back Dr. Richard Espinoza, who speaks to me about how attachment styles shape our dating patterns, relationships, and sexual connections.

In this episode, Dr. E and I discuss why we can have such intense chemistry with people that we may not be compatible with at all. We look at how our early attachment experiences influence who we find familiar and attractive as adults, why emotionally unavailable partners can sometimes create an intoxicating sense of desire, and how the nervous system can mistake anxiety, uncertainty, or old relational patterns for chemistry. 

Richard “Dr. E” Espinoza, PsyD, is a leading clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles, specializing in trauma and resilience. His practice places a strong emphasis on serving the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, striving to empower individuals from diverse backgrounds through comprehensive psychological assessments, transformative talk therapy, and dedicated activism. Dr. Espinoza is an esteemed professor and captivating speaker, where he shares practical insights on self-discovery and personal growth, along with creating accessible self-help resources designed to inspire personal transformation and a deeper sense of fulfillment.

In this episode, you will hear:
Why Unavailable Partners Feel So Attractive
When Chemistry Is Actually Anxiety
Understanding The Four Attachment Styles
How Childhood Shapes Your Dating Type
Why Familiarity Does Not Equal Compatibility
How Attachment Patterns Affect Sex
Using Sex For Reassurance And Validation
Why Insight Alone Does Not Create Change
Creating Corrective Emotional Experiences
Rethinking Attraction Through LA Love Lab

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Welcome to Episode 503 of the Sexology Podcast! Today I am excited to be joined by Midori who speaks to me about exploring kink, dominance, submission, and finding authentic ways to embrace our desires.
In this episode, I speak with Midori about why we’re seeing a rise in women getting curious about dominance and BDSM, particularly women in their 40s and beyond. We discuss how difficult cultural assumptions can open up opportunities for greater sexual self-exploration, and that it’s OK to be dominant without being mean, scary or playing a stereotypical dominatrix. 
Midori is an internationally recognized sexologist, kink educator, coach, and author. She's the founder of ForteFemme Women's Dominance Intensive, the groundbreaking program she's run for over 20 years, and the author of The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage, the first English-language book on Shibari, along with contributions to several academic volumes. She also trains therapists and wellness professionals as Curriculum Director for the Kink Informed Certification through the Sexual Health Alliance, and presents regularly at the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). Through workshops and private coaching, she helps adults bring more creativity, confidence, and erotic fulfillment into their lives.

In this episode, you will hear:
Women Exploring Dominance Later In Life
Moving Beyond Traditional Sexual Roles
Understanding Ravishment Fantasies
Why Submission Can Feel Liberating
Exploring Erotic Humiliation Safely
Finding Your Dominant Archetype
Introducing The You Will Game
Communicating And Co-Creating Kink
Challenging Common BDSM Misconceptions
Finding Safe And Trustworthy Kink Resources

Reclaiming Passion Workshop
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Welcome to Episode 502 of the Sexology Podcast! Today I am excited to be joined by Jane Garnett, LMFT who speaks to me about how our attraction patterns develop and whether we change who we are drawn to.
In this episode, Jane and I discuss why we can have so much attraction to people who are emotionally unavailable or unable to give us the secure relationship we want. We also look at how attachment styles, cultural conditioning, unmet emotional needs, and past relationship experience can influence what is exciting or desirable. 
Jane Garnett is an Oxford-educated speaker, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), EMDR practitioner, and author of This Time with Feeling (May 12, 2026). With nearly 20 years in private practice, her work often centers on high-functioning individuals whose lives look successful on the outside but are shaped by patterns of emotional disconnection, anxiety, or underlying dissatisfaction.  As a psychotherapist, Jane helps people rewrite the beliefs that subconsciously shape their lives, recognize the scripts they inherited, listen to the body’s signals, and make choices that create actual safety and connection— helping them shift not just their circumstances, but their relationship to themselves and their lives.

In this episode, you will hear:
Changing Our Attraction Patterns
Understanding Unhealthy Relationship Templates
When Chaos Feels Like Chemistry
Attraction To Emotionally Unavailable Partners
Cultural Messages About Desire
Exploring The Meaning Of Fantasy
Affairs As A Form Of Splitting
Learning To Choose Yourself
Regulating The Nervous System
Rewiring Relationships Through EMDR

L.A. Love Lab – Matchmaking Event!
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Welcome to Episode 501 of the Sexology Podcast! Today I am excited to be joined by Heather Florio and Dr. Fenwa Milhouse who speak to me about sexual health, desire, and pleasure during perimenopause and menopause.

In this episode, we discuss how changes in levels of oestrogen and testosterone can affect the brain, genitals, arousal and sex drive. We examine why hormones alone are rarely the cause of low libido, and how relationship dynamics, painful sex, body image, stress, shame, and the natural shift from spontaneous to responsive desire can all impact someone’s sexual experience.

Heather Florio is the second-generation CEO of Desert Harvest, a women's-health company her family founded in 1993. She writes the monthly Dear Sexpert column for BELLA Magazine, sits on BELLA's Medical Advisory Board, and is a Forbes Leading Woman in Business (2022). Late-diagnosed autistic.

Dr. Fenwa Milhouse—widely known as “Your Favorite Urologist”- is a board-certified urologist and fellowship-trained sub-specialist in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery.
She is the current President of the Chicago Urological Society—making history as the first Black woman to hold this position. 

In this episode, you will hear:
Hormonal Changes During Perimenopause
Understanding Multifactorial Low Desire
Barriers To Menopause Treatment
Spontaneous Versus Responsive Desire
Painful Sex And Vaginal Health
Systemic And Vaginal Hormone Therapy
Choosing Safer Personal Lubricants
Medications For Low Libido
GLP-1s And Sexual Desire
Rediscovering Pleasure After Menopause
A Woman's Guide to Reviving Sex Drive
https://oasis2care.com/how-to-increase-your-libido/

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Podcast Produced by Vaudeo Productions

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