{"podcast":{"title":"Sex For Couples with Heather Shannon","slug":"sex-for-couples-with-heather-shannon-5845078","podcast_index_feed_id":5845078,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/ask-a-sex-therapist-with-heather-shannon/","website_url":"https://heathershannon.co/podcast/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/dcbb0239-9ee5-409e-8b0d-71903234ff7d/Sex-For-Couples-Podcast-Tile-2k-Square-Pixels.jpg","author":"Heather Shannon","episode_count":184,"summary":"Sex For Couples is a podcast for committed couples who feel stressed, guilty, or frustrated about their sex life—and want to feel excited, close, and playful again. New episodes are released every Monday. Hosted by Heather Shannon, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist with 19 years of experience as a counselor and coach, the show breaks down the emotional and psychological reasons intimacy fades and what actually helps couples reconnect. Heather has been featured on BloomTV and quoted in Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, SELF, Glamour, and more. She is a Gottman-trained couples counselor, an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist and has spent 13 years as a practicing Buddhist. Through both solo and guest episodes, Sex For Couples offers approachable advice, open conversations, and helpful tools so couples can communicate better about sex, reduce shame and stigma, and enjoy rediscovering each other. This podcast isn’t about performance or perfection—it’s about helping couples stop overthinking sex and start having fun with it again. For more on Heather's work, visit HeatherShannnon.co. NOTE: This show was formerly called \"Ask A Sex Therapist with Heather Shannon\" and was renamed on Vale…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-13T10:20:21.504059+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sex-for-couples-with-heather-shannon-5845078"},"episode":{"title":"Why So Many Couples End Up in a Dead Bedroom","slug":"why-so-many-couples-end-up-in-a-dead-bedroom","published_at":"2026-05-25T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sex-for-couples-with-heather-shannon-5845078/why-so-many-couples-end-up-in-a-dead-bedroom","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sex-for-couples-with-heather-shannon-5845078","url":"https://heathershannon.co/podcast/","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/f76d7540-06da-46ee-adf3-c35194662be9.mp3","summary":"If you still love each other but sex has become rare, tense, or complicated, this episode will help you understand what changed. In this episode of Sex for Couples, Certified Sex Therapist Heather Shannon talks with Author & Founder Ralph Brewer who wrote The Dead Bedroom Fix and founded of HelpForMen.com. The explore why sex can feel effortless early in a relationship — and then slowly start to feel like work. They discuss the emotional reality of dead bedrooms, sexless marriage, mismatched libido, attachment styles, long-term monogamy, parenting stress, and why many couples feel confused when love is still there but desire has faded. You’ll hear why this pattern is so common, why it can feel especially painful for men, and what couples can start paying attention to if they want to rebuild sexual connection without blame or pressure. 🔑 In This Episode • Why sex often changes after marriage, commitment, and kids • How dead bedrooms happen even in loving relationships • Why men often experience low sexual connection as rejection • How anxious and avoidant attachment patterns affect intimacy • What self-improvement has to do with rebuilding desire ⏱ Chapters 00:00 – Introduction to Ralph Brewer and His Journey 02:43 – Coping with Infidelity and the Importance of Male Friendships 05:36 – The Impact of Sexual Dynamics in Long-Term Relationships 08:31 – Understanding the Dead Bedroom Phenomenon 11:27 – The Role of Hormones and Aging in Relationships 14:14 – Community Support and Its Importance in Parenting 17:13 – Adjusting Expectations in Long-Term Relationships 21:42 – Navigating Relationship Changes 23:50 – The Impact of Life Stressors on Relationships 25:31 – Reviving the Bedroom: A Focus on Self-Improvement 28:40 – The Importance of Secure Communication 30:32 – Und…","meta_description":"If you still love each other but sex has become rare, tense, or complicated, this episode will help you understand what changed. In this episode of Sex fo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2716,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sex-for-couples-with-heather-shannon-5845078/episodes/why-so-many-couples-end-up-in-a-dead-bedroom/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sex-for-couples-with-heather-shannon-5845078/why-so-many-couples-end-up-in-a-dead-bedroom.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}