Ep 26 - What a placebo effect expert says about the power of beliefs on erections?

Today Tim has a wide-ranging conversation with Dr Chris Donaghue, a therapist, educator and host of the relaunched "Loveline" radio show. They talk about how body positivity impacts sexuality, being sexually honest and authentic when hooking up with someone you meet online and alternatives to an erect penis during a sexual experience. They also cover shame, prioritizing pleasure, how much porn everybody is watching, and how culture and social media invade the bedroom.

Tim has a unique conversation with Dr. Luana Colloca - a top scientist in placebo studies - who shares insights on how our brains filter our experience of reality. This has profound implications for the ways men can get in their heads about erections, and how different aspects of our sexual environments can trigger negative placebo effects. The placebo effect can also have major impacts on pelvic pain. For clarity, an episode transcript is also available on the website.

In this episode, (recorded Mar 2020) Tim talks to Dr. Ashley Winter, urologist and cohost of The Full Release podcast. They discuss the impact of COVID on treating penile issues and how not all urologists focus on sexual health - including ways to find one who does. Dr Winter also digs into Viagra - how it can treat both erections and the stress around ED - and using medication to help create a positive sexual practice. And finally she sends a message to partners of men experiencing ED - it's not about you!

Dr. Joseph Kramer is the world's foremost teacher of erotic bodywork, helping clients to use physical modalities to direct their own erotic development. He and Tim discuss healing sexual wounds, erotic self-regulation, the epidemic of disembodiment and the "attention merchants" who steal our sexual focus.  Dr. Kramer also gives outstanding advice on how to connect to your body when masturbating to porn, covering technique, breath, what your body should be doing, and what you should be thinking about. 

This week Tim speaks with Doug Braun Harvey, creator of the Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior (OCSB) model. This is how certified sex therapists now collectively label what was previously referred to as "sex addiction." The two discuss the general tenets of using sex as a way of coping with anxiety, and of course, the impact of OCSB on erections!

This week Tim interviews internationally recognized author Christopher Germer, PhD about self-compassion and how it can help with erectile issues.  They talk about the research that shows innumerable benefits to implementing self-compassion, as well as helpful tips on how to transform rumination into mindfulness, isolation into connection to humanity, and self-criticism to self kindness.  Enjoy!

Today Tim interviews Charlie Glickman, PhD, a sex & relationship coach, somatic sexuality educator, and sexological bodyworker. Charlie also co-authored The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure: Erotic Exploration for Men and Their Partners. Tim and Charlie talk about recognizing when what's happening in your body might be adversely effecting your erections, learning to identify anxiety during sex, new ways to approach self-pleasure, and how mind-body techniques can improve your sex life.  Enjoy!   Tim Norton is a sex positive sex therapist working in private practice, and host of Hard Conversations, a podcast on all things erectile, from the latest natural ed treatment to the best ed treatment, erectile dysfunction problems, masturbation and male sexuality. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California. Tim is a proud member of American Association of Sex Counselors, Educators, and Therapists (AASECT), the Los Angeles Sexological Association, and works part-time with the Pain Psychology Center in Beverly Hills. You can contact him via his website, www.timnortontherapy.com, and for people not in the Los Angeles area, Tim offers limited national/international coaching sessions via online video-conferencing.

Tim talks to Dalychia Saah, an award-winning educator, writer, and speaker. She is the co-founder of Afrosexology, a sex education platform that centers the pleasure, empowerment, and liberation of people of color, and a lecturer at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. Tim and Dalychia discuss social justice, how culture and media impact erectile issues and sexuality (specifically for men of color), alternatives to penile-vaginal intercourse and the importance of sexual pleasure.

This week Tim speaks with Dr. Natalia Zhikhareva, also known as Dr. Z, PhD, nationally renowned expert on transgender psychology, about the wide range of erectile issues that trans women and trans feminine people experience. They talk about different expectations for genital function (determined by hormones, surgery and sexual orientation), the role gender incongruence and dysmorphia play, and most importantly, how to negotiate a new relationship to sex and intimacy. 

Today, Tim talks to psychophysiologic psychotherapist Alan Gordon, who helps patients overcome chronic pain and recover from IBS, headaches, and other mind-body disorders where stress and tension causes physical symptoms.    Tim and Alan discuss the way the brain interprets 'danger' and how that can interfere with erections, and roleplay a technique to combat that anxiety. Alan also shares metaphors and stories to demonstrate the role the mind-body connection plays in managing and treating erectile issues.