In this episode of The Sexual Wellness sessions hosted by Psychosexual & Relationship Therapist Kate Moyle, the topic of conversation is mindfulness and how it can be helpful for our sex lives. I'm talking to one of the leading experts in this area of research, Dr Lori Brotto who is the director of the UBC Sexual Health Laboratory, and author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire.

 

Mindfulness techniques are a common component of therapies like Psychosexual Therapy and are regularly discussed as ways of dealing with anxiety, distraction and low desire when it comes to sex; but many of us don't actually know what it means to be mindful. Arguably mindful sex isn't about physically doing anything differently, but is about changing how we engage with and interact with the sexual experiences that we are having, which can impact how we experience them physically. 

 

In this conversation we cover how mindfulness is defined, challenge some of the commonly held misconceptions, discuss how we can be more mindful, why it's a practice and not something that 'just happens', and the changes that it can create to how we think and feel, not just in sex but in a lot of our lives. Alongside her book Dr Brotto has written over 170 peer reviewed papers, is a Professor in the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and a Registered Psychologist in Vancouver, Canada; and is Director of the UBC Sexual Health Laboratory where research primarily focuses on developing and testing psychological and mindfulness-based interventions for women with sexual desire and arousal difficulties and women with chronic genital pain. Her research has shown the effectiveness of mindfulness; and how this increased awareness can help the body-mind connect with the critical communication that is necessary for sexual arousal. 

 

Dr Brotto's current knowledge translation project is https://www.debunkingdesire.com/  #DebunkingDesire, which uses social media to debunk myths about sexual desire and share findings from the scientific literature on the nature of women's sexual desire.

Follow UBC Sexual Health Research on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at @UBCshr

Follow Dr Lori Brotto on Twitter at @DrLoriBrotto

Follow Kate Moyle on Instagram at @katemoyletherapy 

Find out more about Dr Lori Brotto and her work head to https://www.loribrotto.com/