Gregg, Thank you for sharing this! The couples work with which I am engaged definitely calls for a deep conceptualization of sexual intimacy and your blog, as inspired by Dr. Kleinplatz's work, is a lovely place to start. I could envision reviewing your article with couples and wondering with them about what pieces of their sexual relationship are captured in your writing and what elements could be enhanced. Neato! I'll be looking to reach out to Dr. Kleinplatz for further conversation. Thanks for her contact info. As a lingering question...I wonder if these eight key ingredients are the same for couples within the LGBTQ+ community or if there exists some variation? I'm doing couples therapy with two female, same-gender partnerships and the stressors they experience as a dyad are both similar and notably different than heterosexual couples. Warmly, Ali Alexis (Ali) Kenny, M.A. Pronouns: Please feel free to ask! Clinical and School Psychology Doctoral Candidate Division 52 - International Psychology: Membership Committee, Co-Chair James Madison University - Harrisonburg, VA email: [log in to unmask] ________________________________ From: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2018 12:39:32 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Blog on Optimal Sexual Experiences Dear TOK List, I am writing to share a blog I just posted: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_us_blog_theory-2Dknowledge_201804_eight-2Dkey-2Dingredients-2Dtruly-2Dgreat-2Dsexual-2Dexperiences&d=DwIF-Q&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=a31NVYCJJGkYv7IzEQu1xanJ0AVfvCHdovHCqOG1ACY&s=y44g-bAykE0hEOCnlH-AIg2G-3tTcuCmtaQDir6Z42I&e=<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_us_blog_theory-2Dknowledge_201804_eight-2Dkey-2Dingredients-2Dtruly-2Dgreat-2Dsexual-2Dexperiences&d=DwMFAg&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=kvBsJ1zviyd8GJoYuW6EIRNl4QJQi8hH2Kiebd0dQCc&m=e56ZcZZmnoACsb0U8KHXCv1VOeBMF-f8LMjW8iNvBIQ&s=cFyHU5qU6GrRJPW2q3U9PMsQYyC5W7vESg93ua86yuA&e=> Although I do not normally post on sexuality, I was inspired to do this post after being contacted by Dr. Peggy Kleinplatz [[log in to unmask]]. Peggy contacted me a couple of weeks ago and shared the remarkable work she was doing in sexuality that I think folks might be very interested in. First, she did an intensive phenomenological investigation exploring what exactly makes for optimal sexual experiences with individuals who identify as having had such experiences. What she found was very consistent with my framework for understanding human consciousness and relationships (which is why she reached out and contacted me). Namely, the features that give rise to optimal sexual experiences involve, first and foremost, a person getting in touch with their embodied desires at a deep and authentic level. This often (if not always) means “unlearning” social scripts or proper ways of being sexual, but rather involves connecting with one’s inner organismic (orgasmic?) valuing process, overlapping much with a Rogerian notion. The next element is connecting with an individual who one trusts and can be romantically and emotionally intimate with. Then both parties explore, playfully and honestly, via both verbal communication and touch, ways to get in sync with their inner most desires. What is particularly exciting about this study is that it has now entered the next phase, which involves treating couples who struggle with low sexual desire via the lessons learned from the phenomenological investigation. She has recently published some very interesting outcome studies on that very important problem and the results were very encouraging. Dr. Kleinplatz has trouble writing on email, although she follows this list closely. She is happy to chat with individuals who are interested. Her phone number is: 613 563-0846. I have had two lovely and inspiring conversations with her, so if this is a topic that interests you at all, I encourage you to give her a call. I was particularly interested in this exchange because I saw deep parallels between this research and my own views about depression and how I treat it. That is, I believe that people have scripts about how they ought to be, and this conflicts with their experiential desires and they turn against themselves. Thus, I think there may be ways to parallel how Peggy learned how to “untangle” and align sexual desires with how to untangle and align emotional desires more generally. Thus, there could be really broad and interesting mental health implications here. And as a bonus the research is very consistent with humanistic, phenomenological, and experiential views of human nature. Best, Gregg ___________________________________________ Gregg Henriques, Ph.D. Professor Department of Graduate Psychology 216 Johnston Hall MSC 7401 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA 22807 (540) 568-7857 (phone) (540) 568-4747 (fax) Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity. Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwIF-Q&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=a31NVYCJJGkYv7IzEQu1xanJ0AVfvCHdovHCqOG1ACY&s=El5goEGBpQzqFHCOvZhYm82kVlO2D4fCkYKCgXnpfD0&e=<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwMFAg&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=kvBsJ1zviyd8GJoYuW6EIRNl4QJQi8hH2Kiebd0dQCc&m=e56ZcZZmnoACsb0U8KHXCv1VOeBMF-f8LMjW8iNvBIQ&s=zBdlqmik6GgRFqF7feH84mGVyVTYGzkNet8ua1Gj81w&e=> ############################ To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:mailto:[log in to unmask]> or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 ############################ To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1