Michael Aaron's Blog, page 2

How Partners Can Keep Connection Alive

When couples come into my office seeking to reconnect, they have often gone months or years drifting further and further apart. Unchecked, this process can leave them feeling like roommates living parallel lives, rather than engaged lovers. Under these circumstances, efforts to revive sparks often feel awkward, forced and unnatural. It’s hard to feel physically or emotionally close to someone with whom you have completely lost connection. I think that time often plays an important role in these situations. The longer the relationship has drifted, the harder it is to get back on track. Take a look at my previous articles on this topic for greater depth. This particular article will focus more on preventative strategies to prevent relational drift, although these same behaviors can assist if the relationship has veered off course. Again, the further apart the partners have drifted and the more time that has elapsed, the harder it will feel to achieve actionable results. Patience and strong desire will be required for sustained improvement in these cases. Fundamentally, one of the most important and powerful ways that we can show a strong interest in another person is to maintain our curiosity about that individual. Too often folks feel, after spending a number of years with a person, that they know everything there is to know, and they start to lose all sense of curiosity. But relationships are not stagnant. People never stay the same. Often one individual is experiencing a growth spurt, while the other may be in a holding pattern, never evolving much past the honeymoon phase. In these situations, the growing individual may […]

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Radio Appearance on WBAI 99.5FM NYC

It was my pleasure to appear on the Positive Mind show on WBAI radio back in December to promote my book Modern Sexuality. The hosts, Kevin and Ben are very prepared and ask terrific questions, so we always end up having deep and meaningful discussions. This was my second time appearing– the first was back in June when we spent two hours discussing “alternative” sexualities (you can find those audio files by going to the Media page and scrolling down or clicking here for part 1 and here for part 2. Anyway, this was such a phenomenal interview, with such breadth to the conversation, I thought blog readers would be interested in hearing the whole 1hr 20 segment. I’m including show notes below with timestamps so that you can go and skip ahead to any particular parts that you find most interesting. BTW, if you are interested in learning more about Modern Sexuality, which spent several months in the top 10 on Amazon in its category, you might also be interested in taking a look at this fantastic review in Playboy Magazine. Enjoy! Listen to “Michael Aaron Appearance on WBAI Dec 13, 2016” on Spreaker. Show Notes: 0:52— Society & media’s ambivalence about sex 5:30— What is modern sexuality? 6:40— Group formation & “deviance” 9:30— Role of shame in sexuality 10:55— My activism/2015 AASECT position statement on “non-normative” sexualities 17:45— Working with clients who practice some form of “non-normative” sexuality 18:45— Failure of conversion therapies 21:10— Research on etiology of homosexuality 24:58— How I help clients talk about sex 27:25— Why people stop having sex 29:00— […]

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Can Desire Be Rekindled?

One of the most common difficulties that bring couples into my practice is the extinguishment or disappearance of passion, lust, desire, or yes, even love itself. Often these couples have gone years (yes years) sinking ever further into a deeper rut of feeling like they are living with a platonic friend or roommate, but not a lover. They may have gone months or years without having sex. Indeed, research shows that about 1 in 7, or about 15% of long-term couples are sexless (meaning no sex in the last six months). When I ask these couples to describe their daily habits, they often describe lots of intimate behaviors such as holding hands, kissing, engaging in various activities together, and even sleeping together in the nude. But no sex. They describe loving each other, but not “being in love,” meaning no longer experiencing that lustful attraction that comes with passionate love. In my experience, the success of turning things around and rekindling desire depends on a number of factors. First, how long has this relationship been passionless? The longer the couple has been alienated, the harder the task becomes. In addition, there are a number of contextual factors to consider. For example, how much resentment has piled up? Resentment, as I’ve written about before, is one of the most toxic and corrosive emotions within a relationship. It’s a combination of anger and entitlement, which leads to contempt. Indeed, contempt, along with criticism, defensiveness and stonewalling, is one of the four key factors that research has identified as predictive of negative outcomes in relationships. As a result, resentment […]

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How I Help Partners Bridge Their Differences

Around 50% of my practice is working with couples (or other partnered systems), and I am often faced with the difficulty so many folks struggle with in understanding each other. Especially after our last election, I can’t help but see striking similarities between the ways that folks bunker down and become defensive and antagonistic in their relationship with the current state of affairs in our society post-election. Regardless of where someone stands politically (and in my clinical work, I try to stay out of politics), one thing is clear– if you find two folks who each voted for the two different candidates, you’ll find that they are living in two very different realities. This is often the case, but on a more micro level, with the couples I see in my practice. Both individuals are so wrapped up in their own subjective reality, that they have no room left for understanding the subjective reality of their partner. As a result, their relationship is filled with frustrations, disappointments, and unnecessary conflicts over who is right or wrong. Instead of working together as allies, these folks are engaging in a battle over realities, sparring to see whose reality will come out on top and victorious. In the end, no one wins. A battle between realities is a zero sum game, in which one individual needs to win while the other loses. However, this only means that everyone loses, since a relationship filled with a ledger of wins and losses is a most unhappy relationship. Some of the biggest signs of progress (and most rewarding times for me as a therapist) are when I finally […]

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Cultivating Gratitude as a Means of Healing

As we enter the holiday season, I experience an unmistakable pattern in my practice that usually becomes most prominent at this time of year when people start taking stock of the year and (on a larger scale) of their entire life. One of the most corrosive thought patterns and emotions that people fall into is remorse and regret about lost opportunities or poor decisions from the past. These feelings may have something to do with sex or not, but the common theme is one of loss, particularly the loss of youth. I mention youth because we are most likely to feel regretful when we feel we don’t have a second chance or do-over, and second chances are abundant in youth. Therefore, remorse and regret are often as much to do with the mourning of youth as it is with the concrete details of missed opportunities. Everyone has regrets at times, but it becomes problematic when they become obsessive, devolving into unhelpful rumination, bitterness, possibly vindictiveness, and at worst, destructive “acting out” behaviors. In some ways, and counterintuitively, bitterness and disappointment can sometimes feel “addictive” in the sense that they can provide a sense of pleasure and power from being a martyr or victim. Yes, victimhood can be and sometimes is used as currency. (Note, I am not invalidating victimization, but simply stating that dwelling on such can provide secondary benefits for some people). And cultivating anger feels both more defensive and empowering than truly facing sadness and vulnerability. When faced with such “existential challenges,” I find it helpful to envision the dual control model that I have […]

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Release of My New Book Modern Sexuality

It’s taken 3 long years and hours and hours of sometimes exhilarating, sometimes pain-staking work, but my book Modern Sexuality is set to be released on Oct 16. For my loyal blog readers, I’ve set up a number of ways to get this book for free, or at a deep discount, but only for a short period of time. You have a few options. You have 3 ways of getting a major discount: With each purchase of “Modern Sexuality” on Amazon (the hardcover edition, which retails for $36), you will get the entire price of the book taken off your purchase of AltSex NYC Conference 2017 tickets! Note: This deal only applies for book purchases made on Saturday October 15 or Sunday October 16. To get the discount, go to  http://amzn.to/2cGARqL to buy the book, and forward your receipt or a screenshot of your receipt showing your name, the book title, and the date of purchase to info@altsexnycconference.org, and you will receive a $36 discount code that can be applied toward purchase of your ticket.  There is no limit on this discount, so you’ll get $36 off each AltSex ticket for each book purchased. You can attend my Book Release on Tuesday November 15, where I present a 1.5 hr workshop based on “Modern Sexuality.” Everyone in attendance will receive a free signed copy of the book included with the ticket price ($40). So, you get a signed copy, admission to the talk, and CEUs—all for roughly the price of the book itself. We only have 20 tix available and some have already been sold, so purchase them sooner rather than later in order to not get shut out. If you are not […]

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Thoughts on Working With Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Trauma (CSA)

I was recently interviewed by an Australian production company about my work with adult men that have been victims of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The focus was on the research concerning this subject as well as how I specifically work as a clinician with men who present to me with these difficulties in my therapy office. For those who don’t know, I’ve written the definitive meta-analysis of sexual outcomes of adults who have experienced CSA, and my research won an award for original scholarship and was published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. You can access it here. Anyway, the interviewer asked me a number of very poignant and powerful questions, and I thought this blog would be a good venue for discussing some of the most salient points that came out of the interview. Even though the interview focused on men, my thoughts in this article are applicable to all individuals. Once the interview is live, I will post it on my media page, so be sure and be on the look out for it and keep checking this site. The foremost question that the interviewer wanted to know, and that is also on the forefront of a number of my clients’ minds is to what extent does CSA effect adult sexuality? This is a very complex question because it incorporates a number of contextual factors. According to both the research and my clinical experience, people experience trauma very differently and a lot of it depends on a complex mix of environmental and psychological factors. First, not everyone experiences trauma from a childhood abusive event. Indeed the following external criteria […]

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Why I Use a Harm Reduction Approach Instead of Sex Addiction

Over the years, I’ve worked with a number of individuals who have presented with out of control or compulsive sexual behaviors. In the past, these folks may have been designated as “sex addicts,” but the field is currently in transition and moving away from this perspective. A number of other models have sprung forth to fill in the void, and I have written about some of them previously. In this article, I will focus on what I feel is the most fundamental shift in the discussion around this issue, which is a move from abstinence only (the addiction model) to harm reduction. Harm reduction? What is that? In essence, harm reduction is nothing new; it has been a staple of public policy and social programs for years. Indeed, I got my start in the field as a harm reduction outreach worker, going to local parks and other hangouts in and around NYC, exchanging clean needles for dirty ones with intravenous (IV) drug users or providing condoms and other necessities to transgender street sex workers. There are a number of harm reduction centers in many large urban areas around the country, funded both by charities and grants, as overwhelming evidence supports the efficacy of this kind of approach. It is only recently though that harm reduction has entered the psychotherapy office as a foundation for understanding human growth and psychological change. Indeed, I am proud to be at the forefront of this movement, hosting workshops on integrating harm reduction with sex therapy and speaking at major conferences on this issue. At its root, harm reduction is both humanistic and culturally libertarian. […]

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Working with Relationships in Transition

One of the key topics that I cover in my Common Issues in Partners’ Sex Therapy class is how to work with those relationships that are undergoing some sort of a transition. What I mean by  a “transition” in this case, especially when it comes to sex therapy, is some new item of information that is introduced into the relationship which also serves to destabilize that relationship. What are some examples of this kind of destabilizing information? Here are some common ones– one partner introduces a desire for a specific kind of sex (or fetish) that is found to be repulsive or offensive to the other partner; one partner shares a desire to open up the relationship and explore some form on non-monogamy; or, and this was more common in the past, but still happens frequently enough, one partner shares information about his or her orientation or preferred gender that is at odds with the other partner’s prior knowledge or understanding. Regarding the last item, these types of relationships are called “mixed orientation” relationships. In the recent past, with a lessening of homophobia in general society, this kind of disclosing was likely to be of a man opening up to be homosexual. These days, my observation is that, while that still does happen, mixed orientation couples tend to be more of a hetero/bi dynamic. But I digress. Let’s now talk about some specifics of how I work with relationships that find themselves in transition. The first and most important step (as is the case in any type of psychotherapy) is to create a safe space for […]

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Common Issues In Partners’ Sex Therapy

I am teaching a course this summer entitled “Common Issues in Partners’ Sex Therapy,” and as I’m in the midst of creating the outline and curriculum, I thought it appropriate to go through my old catalogue of articles and see what I’ve already written that provides further resources to the material I plan on covering.  I’ve divided the class into six sections– 1) General considerations; 2) Communication issues; 3) Infidelity/sexual compulsivity; 4) Desire discrepancy; 5) Relationships in transition; and 6) Alternative relationships. I’ll go through each of these in turn. Let’s start with “General considerations.” Typically when I work with a relational system, I want to get a sense of where each individual is developmentally. Are these folks in they honeymoon stage? Are they trying to differentiate from one another? Are they in different head spaces (one is trying to assert independence while the other is trying to maintain the status quo)? Are there any personality disorders that are preventing this relationship from moving forward? Here are some articles I’ve written in the past that provide further detail on these subjects: The Connection Between Attachment and Sexuality Couples Therapy: What is Differentiation? Why The Beginning of a Relationship Determines It’s Success Borderline Personality and Sexuality Narcissism and Sexuality Boundaries: The Most Important Part of a Relationship Moving on now to “Communication issues,” my work as a therapist requires me to dissect the communication difficulties that relationship systems struggle with and then model new, more productive forms of relating. I am informed by numerous thinkers in this area including John Gottman and Daniel Wile and here are […]

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