Pleasure Project: Sex and Relationships

What happens when a relationship feels safe… but no longer feels alive?
In this episode, Dr. Jenn Kennedy sits down with sexual empowerment coach Jocelyn Silva for a conversation about shame, desire, authenticity, and what it really takes to create intimacy that feels both secure and deeply turned on.
Together, they unpack:
​How purity culture and religious shame shape adult sexuality
​Why so many couples have sex but never actually talk about sex
​The hidden ways shame shows up in relationships and the bedroom
​Why performance anxiety disconnects us from pleasure
​The tension between attachment and authenticity
​How to communicate desires without fear or self-abandonment
​What it means to feel “at home” in your body
​Why pleasure is about more than sex—it’s about creating a life that excites you
Jocelyn also shares her personal journey from religious shame and sexual repression to healing, self-trust, and helping others reclaim their erotic selves through curiosity, communication, and embodiment.
This episode is for anyone who wants more than just safety in their relationship. It’s for people craving aliveness, playfulness, connection, and permission to want what they want.
Because intimacy isn’t just about sex. It’s about feeling fully expressed in your own life.

✨ Plus: Jocelyn shares details about her new course, Speak Your Desires: A Woman’s Guide to Knowing What She Wants and Asking For It.

Connect with Jocelyn:
Instagram: @iamjocelynsilva
Website: Jocelyn Silva
Substack: @therelentlesslover

Connect with Dr. Jenn:
Instagram: @drjennkennedy
Website: Pleasure Project
Website: Riviera Therapy

#SexTherapy #Intimacy #Desire #Relationships #SexualShame #PurityCulture #EroticIntelligence #Pleasure #CouplesTherapy #WomensDesire #Authenticity #EmotionalIntimacy #PleasureProject

Ever find yourself needing your partner to reassure you that you’re okay, desirable, or enough? That’s emotional outsourcing—and it quietly drains intimacy and desire.
In this episode, Dr. Jenn Kennedy sits down with Bea Victoria Albina to unpack how this pattern forms, why it shows up in both daily life and the bedroom, and how it can keep you stuck in cycles of disconnection. Together, they explore what it really means to take your power back—by reclaiming your voice, setting boundaries that actually hold, and rebuilding desire from the inside out.
If you’ve been feeling a little too dependent on your partner’s validation (or just a little off in your connection), this conversation will help you shift the dynamic—without losing the relationship.
Because desire doesn’t thrive on reassurance—it thrives on ownership.

If this episode resonates, share it with someone who needs a little reminder that they’re already enough—and don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the show to help more people find these conversations.

Connect with Bea:
Website
Instagram

#EmotionalOutsourcing #IntimacyIssues #RelationshipPatterns #Desire #WomensDesire #MidlifeLove #SecureAttachment #Boundaries #SelfWorth #CouplesTherapy #SexTherapy #HealthyRelationships #PleasureProject #PodcastEpisode

Is scheduled sex sexy… or does it kill the vibe?
In this episode, I’m breaking down one of the most common (and quietly controversial) topics that shows up in long-term relationships: putting sex on the calendar. Because when life gets full—kids, careers, stress, exhaustion—spontaneity doesn’t just disappear… it gets crowded out.
So what happens when you stop waiting to “feel in the mood” and start creating the conditions for desire instead?
We’re talking about:
Why desire naturally shifts in long-term relationships (and why nothing is “wrong” with you)

The myth that real desire should always be spontaneous

How scheduling intimacy can actually increase anticipation, playfulness, and connection

The difference between sex as a feeling vs. sex as a choice

How to reduce pressure, performance anxiety, and the fear of obligation

Why defining sex more broadly changes everything

Common traps couples fall into (and how to avoid them)

Practical ways to make scheduled intimacy feel intentional—not clinical

Because here’s the truth: scheduling sex isn’t about forcing desire… it’s about making space for it. And for many couples, that shift is everything.
—
Want to take this deeper?
If this conversation is hitting home, my course the Pleasure Circle walks you step-by-step through understanding your desire, your patterns, and how to actually build a more connected, satisfying intimate life—without pressure or performance.
👉 Learn more and enroll here: Pleasure Circle
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#scheduledsex #relationshipadvice #longtermrelationships #desire #intimacy #couplestherapy #sextherapy #responsiveDesire #modernrelationships #emotionalintimacy #womensdesire #relationshiptips

Most people think desire should just show up. And when it doesn’t? They assume something’s wrong.
In this episode, Dr. Jenn Kennedy sits down with Sex Therapist Brooke Bralove to challenge one of the biggest myths about sex: that desire is supposed to be spontaneous.
Together, they unpack:
Who actually experiences spontaneous desire (hint: fewer people than you think)
Why long-term sex often becomes predictable—and what to do about it
The role of novelty in keeping desire alive
The patterns couples fall into that quietly shut things down
What it really takes to get out of a sexual rut
Plus, Brooke shares how Accelerated Resolution Therapy can help shift the deeper emotional blocks that keep people stuck.
If your sex life feels a little too quiet, a little too routine, or like something’s missing… this conversation will change how you think about desire and what to do next.

Reach Brooke At:
www.brookebralove.comFB: https://www.facebook.com/brookebralovepsychotherapy/IG: https://www.instagram.com/brookebralovepsychotherapy/reels/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bbralovepsychotherapy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookebralovepsychotherapy/

#sexpodcast #relationshippodcast #desire #lowdesire #longtermrelationships #intimacy #couplestherapy #sextherapy #relationshipadvice #emotionalintimacy #sexualwellness #womensdesire #midliferelationships #keepitinteresting #modernrelationships #pleasureproject

Perhaps you’ve questioned if you have a “libido issue,” but really it’s more of a self-abandonment problem.
In this episode, Dr. Jenn Kennedy explores how people pleasing shows up in the bedroom and quietly erodes desire. If your sex life feels tense, mismatched, or confusing… if one partner is always pursuing while the other pulls away… this conversation will challenge the assumption that it’s simply a “desire discrepancy.”

What if it’s not about libido at all?
I unpack:
​The subtle ways you override your body to keep the peace
​Say yes to avoid rejection
​Initiate sex to prevent abandonment
​Perform arousal you don’t genuinely feel
​How chronic adaptation leads to the disappearing self
When you disconnect from your authentic wants and limits, desire doesn’t thrive, it collapses. Adaptation may preserve the relationship in the short term, but it quietly kills erotic vitality.
If you’ve stopped knowing what you want, this episode will help you understand why, and how to begin reclaiming yourself.
🎧 Tune in now.

Other Resources:
⁠FANOS⁠: Couples Sharing Exercise

Related Episodes:
The High Desire Partner | Szn. 4 Ep. 12
Motivations for Sex | Szn. 4 Ep. 9
Wise Effort in the Bedroom w/ Dr. Diana Hill | Szn. 3 Ep. 6

Ready to stop self-abandoning in your relationship and rebuild real desire?
Explore Dr. Jenn’s course designed to help you break people-pleasing patterns and create authentic, connected intimacy.
Buy Now!

#PeoplePleasing #DesireDiscrepancy #SexTherapy #IntimacyIssues #HighDesirePartner #LowDesirePartner #RelationshipDynamics #AttachmentStyles #AuthenticIntimacy #ThePleasureProject