The Death of Eros: An Interpretation of Esther Perel’s Mating in Captivity

The Death of Eros: An Interpretation of Esther Perel’s Mating in Captivity By Katherine Van Noy, MSN, PMHNP-BC  Sex with a new partner… the ultimate journey through space and time, like a rocket ship blasting through an infinite star system of colors, boldly traveling through that which we have not experienced before – another being’s…

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Are you in a COVID-19 Masturbation Rut?

Talking about sex can be scary enough, but talking about masturbation? Many sex therapists even shy away from it. Masturbation is deeply personal, intimate, and for some people an activity that you never admit to doing. Of course, there are some people that never touch themselves for self pleasure and that can be for all…

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Rethinking Infidelity

Why do we cheat? Why do happy people cheat? What does infidelity mean to you? Why do we always think that Men cheat out of boredom and fear of intimacy, but women cheat out of hunger and desire for intimacy? Esther Perel has been working with couples for 20+ years, and has seen many couples…

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TMI to Happy Endings

Our Respark Founder, Heather McPherson LPC-S, LMFT-S, CST was recently interviewed in Bravo. The article was centered on Denis Richards disclosing personal details from happy endings to penis size and cheating. Below are a few questions Heather was asked by Bravo. How can you have a sexy long distance relationship? If you are in a…

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More on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | The Gottman Institute 

We wrote a summary of the four horsemen to predict divorce and an earlier post. We’d like to keep expanding on this important topic of communication patterns in relationships. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: Criticism: An example of a critical statement is, “You’re so selfish” Defensiveness: When you’re feeling defensive, you might say, “Its not my…

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Is monogamy really possible? Or is it just not natural?

On an episode of Dr. Phil in 2012, Dr. David Ley appeared to discuss sexual desire and monogamy. Dr. David Ley explained a huge component of attraction, facial symmetry. Women are more attracted to people with facial symmetry, as our brains analyze symmetry as having good DNA to reproduce with.  Dr. Phil asked David Ley,…

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How to Stop Blaming in your Relationship

Brene Brown begins her video by asking, “How many of you when something goes wrong, you want to know who’s fault it is?”  One day, Brene was in the kitchen and dropped a full cup of hot coffee on the tile floor. It splashed all over her white pants and went everywhere. The first thing that…

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What is Sex Therapy? 

What is sex therapy?  Are images of Barbara Streisand from Meet the Fockers flashing through your mind? As entertaining as that may be, sex therapy is actually just where we talk about intimacy and relationship issues. The office is similar to a living room, bright, welcoming and comfortable. At Respark Therapy, sex therapy is a…

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The Four Horsemen that Predict Divorce

In 2012, John Gottman made an appearance on the Anderson Cooper show. For those who don’t know, John Gottman and his wife Julie Gottman are psychological researchers who have done decades of work around divorce and marital stability. Although we don’t endorse their views on sexual health, the research on relationships can help anyone in…

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