The Rational Basis® of Happiness Podcast

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Sexuality

Sexual problems couples face - A short interview with Dr. Barry McCarthy

(this is raw unedited text transcribed directly from the audio)

Dr. Kenner: One of the hardest things for couples to talk about is their sexual life. They can joke about it. They can be playful about it. But when they get to trying to make it work with one another, so many resentments build up. What are the type of problems that couples face? With me today I have the pleasure of introducing Dr. Barry McCarthy. He's a Professor of Psychology at American University and he's a certified marital and sex therapist, so if you've ever asked yourself, "What does a sex therapist do?" this is where we may get some answers. He has a private practice in Washington, D.C., and he's presented over 150 workshops. With his wife, Emily, has co-authored eight books on relationships and sexuality, including Rekindling Desire. Dr. Barry McCarthy, what a pleasure to have an opportunity to talk with you.

Dr. McCarthy: I'm glad to be here.

Dr. Kenner: I see a range of couples, couples that come in with a range of problems. I'm wondering, they talk about they have conflicts over finances or conflicts over the in-laws or with the kids or dividing up household chores, and those are legitimate conflicts, but sometimes I'm really blown away, actually, by the fact that when you get to the sexual issues, those are underlying all the others. If their sex life went better, they could actually deal with the in-laws better. Why is sex so important?

Dr. McCarthy: I think that's absolutely true. The role of healthy sex in marriages is to be an energizer, a resource to help you feel reenergized, bonded with each other, and so you can deal with things like finances, kids and in-laws. But when you stop being a sexual couple, when sex is less than once a month or twice a month, it becomes very awkward and it really is a major drain. You lose that sense of being special and being energized and being attracted to each other. So it's much more likely that you are going to be struggling with other hard issues. 

Dr. Kenner: So it's much harder - if their sex life goes well, a particular couple, it'll be able to weather the storms. And they feel more - as you used the word - bonded with each other. They feel more important to one another, and that's one of the great benefits of a great, healthy romantic relationship and a great sex life too. You mentioned a fact in your book, Rekindling Desire, which is that sex adds about 15 to 20 percent to marital satisfaction. Now, if you're a teenager, you think of, "Oh my gosh, I can't wait to get married. Then we can jump in bed and be sexy all day long," but you're saying it only adds 15-20 percent of marital satisfaction? But that if it goes bad, it can dynamite a relationship.

Dr. McCarthy: Right. And what you want in a good, healthy sexual relationship, and again, a good, healthy sexual relationship means more than just intercourse. It means touching inside and outside the bedroom. It means feeling a sense of desire and attraction for each other, and obviously intercourse is part of that. Unlike what teenagers think, it's not the major part. And what you want in a healthy sexual relationship is where you use sex as a shared pleasure, as a way of deepening and reinforcing intimacy and also as a tension reducer, to deal with some of the stresses of life, marriage, two kids, two jobs, two dogs, those kinds of things.

Dr. Kenner: Sex serves multiple functions. Having it go well in a relationship. I want to turn to erotica right now, because when I listen to you speak, I went to one of your workshops - this is Dr. Barry McCarthy for those who are listening, and he's written the book Rekindling Desire - at one of your workshops, you mentioned that most men grow up and they're very used to self pleasuring. They're used to erotic techniques, whereas women don't milk that as much as men do, and that you might think that once a couple is married, they can openly explore all sorts of sensual methods, fantasies, erotic scenarios. But they don't. Why is it equally important for women and what would you advise women?

Dr. McCarthy: I think that as people are married, and as they age, that men and women become much more similar. Part of the challenge for women is to value erotic scenarios and techniques. And when culture - not just women - thinks of eroticism, they think of people who are not married, who are under 20, and they think of sex as something that is hot and gets you in trouble. What I talk through with my female clients is to find your own sexual voice and part of that sexual voice is that in intimacy, part of it is valuing touch and pleasuring, but another part is what are the things that are your wants and desires that really allow you to feel aroused, orgasmic, and really valuing the couple's sex?

Dr. Kenner: So there's some individual work to be done first. A woman needs to ask herself, "What's erotic for me? What turns me on?" 

Dr. McCarthy: Much easier to do that, taking to your spouse outside the bedroom. Rather than trying to do it while you're nude in bed. I think people feel to vulnerable. A good place to talk sex is over a glass of wine or a cup of tea in the living room or the dining room or on a walk.

Dr. Kenner: And to give each other information. What's a turn-on? What's a turn-off? In your book Rekindling Desire you mention turn-offs, poisons for sexual desire. What are some of these that just totally demoralize a couple?

Dr. McCarthy: Probably the major one is where you're feeling angry and alienated from the spouse. Or you're feeling very anxious or inhibited. Or, there's something that has happened in your life, whether it was premarital life or others, where you feel ashamed and guilty about it. "If my spouse knew that about me, they wouldn't love me, they wouldn't care about me." Again, I think one of the great advantages of an intimate relationship is feeling loved and accepted for all of who you are, your strengths and your vulnerabilities. Another thing about anger is that the old view was that you can't be sexual if you're angry. You have to express your anger, get over the anger, and the new view is a both-end view. That you need to talk about the things that cause you to feel angry. And behind it is usually a feeling of being hurt outside the bedroom. But that part of the idea of continuing touching and sexuality is that it allows you to stay connected and give you the energy to deal with the hurt and anger outside of the bedroom. So it's the both-end approach.

Dr. Kenner: So you want to be able to identify what are these turn-offs or positions for sexual desire. And then to deal with them better. If someone wants to read your books, how can they get them? You've written eight of them with your wife, Emily McCarthy.

Dr. McCarthy: In terms of the desire, probably the most important book is the Rekindling Desire book and you can get it at the bookstore or through Amazon or BarnesandNoble.com. The book we're most excited about, actually, is a prevention book. It's called Getting it Right the First Time, creating a healthy marriage. We talk about the first two years of marriage. There are two chapters. One specifically about developing a sexual relationship so that you don't get into these problems. That the best cure is good prevention.

Dr. Kenner: That sounds wonderful. Dr. Barry McCarthy, so glad you were able to join me today and look forward to talking with you again.