All Things Love and Intimacy with Katie Ziskind

In this deeply insightful episode, we explore how unresolved childhood experiences shape the negative behaviors we bring into our marriages—often leading to self-sabotaging actions like infidelity, gambling, prescription drug abuse, or pornography use. As we discuss the emotional wounds from childhood and their impact on your marriage bond, we delve into how these behaviors are often an "emotional...

Welcome to another episode of All Things Love and Intimacy ! In this episode, we’re diving into a sensitive yet transformative topic: how to talk about eroticism, sexuality, sexual expression, and needs with your partner in a way that fosters connection, intimacy, and understanding—without triggering feelings of insecurity, judgement, self-consciousness, or inadequacy. These conversations can feel...

In this episode, Katie Ziskind is diving into the mental and invisible load that many women carry and how it affects libido, sexual desire, and intimacy. Katie Ziskind speaks to the mental and invisible load for women and vulva owners and how it affects libido, sexual desire, and intimacy. If you’ve ever wondered why sex feels like the last thing on your mind after a long day of juggling work, par...

Katie Ziskind dives into the complex and often misunderstood reasons why women may lose desire for sex. Hormonal changes, life transitions, stress, emotional disconnection, past traumas, body image issues, self-esteem, caregiving roles, emotional disconnection impact sexual intimacy. Hormonal Changes : Hormones play a major role in sexual desire, and fluctuations can cause libido to decrease. Horm...

Sex has been historically considered taboo or dirty for a variety of cultural, religious, and societal reasons, many of which trace back to ancient beliefs, cultural norms, and religious doctrines. These views have created a framework that often associates sex, masturbation, and other sexual activities with shame, guilt, and moral impurity. Many cultures and religions, especially in the Western wo...

Improving a marriage often means cultivating specific skills that foster emotional intimacy, communication, and mutual respect. Here are five essential skills that can help strengthen your relationship and create a more fulfilling partnership: Effective Communication Good communication involves not just talking but truly listening. This skill includes being able to express your needs clearly witho...

In episode 89 of "The All Things Love and Intimacy," podcast with Katie Ziskind, we dive into the deep-rooted patterns that fuel conflicts in marriages and relationships, especially when one partner feels criticized and shuts down, while the other fears abandonment and pushes for connection. Often, our angry reactions in these moments are linked to unresolved childhood wounds, such as growing up w...

If you’re in a relationship stuck in conflict, this episode can save your marriage. Imago therapy, founded by Dr. Harville Hendrix and Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, focuses on understanding the deeper, often unconscious roots of relationship patterns like the pursuer-distancer dynamic. According to Imago theory, many of the conflicts we face in adult relationships are driven by unresolved emotional woun...

Welcome to episode, "87: Reclaiming Your Life After Narcissistic Abuse: Healing from Betrayal, Infidelity, and Emotional Trauma" with Katie Ziskind, LMFT, Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional, Gottman Level Two Marriage Specialist. We discuss the aftermath of leaving a 25 or 30 year marriage to a spouse with narcissistic personality disorder. If you’ve recently emerged from a long-term marr...

Women and vulva owners typically need 45-90 minutes of emotional and sexual foreplay to reach full arousal and be ready for orgasm, and experience responsive sexual desire. Men often experience spontaneous sexual desire and may only need 4-8 minutes of foreplay. By focusing on her needs and spending more time on emotional and sexual foreplay, you’re not only helping her feel prioritized, but you’r...

Imago Therapy, developed by Dr. Harville Hendrix and Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, is a form of relationship counseling that aims to help couples understand and transform their conflicts into opportunities for growth and connection. Katie Ziskind helps you understand the deep emotional patterns that drive conflict. Your marriage and relationship offers an opportunity to heal unresolved childhood wounds,...

Do you get stuck in high conflict fights, where you can't find your way out? Wishing you could de-esclate fights and talk in calm, loving ways when experiencing big, intense emotions? Finding that inner child wounds and childhood trauma is coming up in current arguments? Are you and your partner wanting a long-lasting, meaningful connection that withstands the tests of time? Looking for skills to...

In this episode, Katie Ziskind, sex and intimacy specialist with couples, dives into the raw, emotional journey of Lisa and Greg, a couple married for 30 years, as they navigate the devastating effects of pornography addiction, alcoholism, infidelity, and childhood trauma. Greg's compulsive behaviors, fueled by deep-rooted feelings of inadequacy and emotional wounds from an abusive father, hav...

In this episode, "82: Sarah and Bob's Story: Healing Childhood Attachment Trauma Through Couples Therapy" of the "All Things Love and Intimacy" podcast with Katie Ziskind, we dive deep into the impact of childhood attachment trauma and how early relationships with abusive, neglectful, or emotionally unavailable parents can shape the way we connect in adulthood. When your cu...

In episode, "81: Prioritizing Emotional Check-Ins: How Scheduling Intimacy Time Enhances Your Sex Life," of "All Things Love and Intimacy" with Katie Ziskind, we explore the often-overlooked connection between emotional intimacy and sexual desire. If you are in a sexless marriage, there is a need to rend to your marriage's emotional garden. For many couples, a healthy sex l...

In this episode of "All Things Love and Intimacy ," we delve into the complex journey of overcoming pornography addiction within a relationship and the crucial process of rebuilding trust. First, we explore the emotional and relational impacts of porn addiction, offering insights into how it can create distance, erode trust, and lead to feelings of betrayal. We discuss practical trust-bu...

In episode "79: Foreplay Needs in Female and Male Bodies" of "All Things Love and Intimacy," host Katie Ziskind dives deep into the fascinating world of foreplay, exploring the distinct needs of female and male bodies. Discover why the female body typically requires 45 to 90 minutes of foreplay to reach peak arousal, while the male body often only needs about 4 to 8 minutes. Ka...

In this episode of "All Things Love and Intimacy," we delve into the underlying fears that often fuel frustration and irritation in marriage. Join us as we explore how expressing core fears like abandonment and feelings of inadequacy can transform your relationship. Discover practical strategies for co-creating a strong, healthy couple bubble that fosters emotional safety, trust, and int...

In episode, "77: Building A Stronger Connection: Enhancing Emotional Intelligence in Relationships And As A Precursor For Sexual Intimacy," of "All Things Love and Intimacy," Katie Ziskind dives deep into the essential components of emotional intelligence and how they can transform your relationship. Emotional intelligence is a foundational part to sexual intimacy and a healthy...

In episode, "76: The Power of Vulnerability: Crafting a Loving Couple Bubble, Intimate Connection, and Stronger Bond Through Inner Child Work," of "All Things Love and Intimacy," your host Katie Ziskind delves into the transformative power of emotional vulnerability in building a strong and loving couple bubble. As a sex-positive, LGBTQIA+, queer-affirming relationship coach an...

In episode 75, Katie Ziskind discusses the differences in sexual arousal between penis owners and males, and vulva owners and females. Females need 45 to 90 minutes of foreplay where as males needs four to eight minutes of foreplay to reach that same level of peak climax and max sexual arousal to be prepared for orgasming. Foreplay is often too short. We also grow up with negative, shame-based, fe...

Do you want a connected love life, but feel unwanted, insecure, and alone because your spouse pushes your physical touch away? In this episode, Katie Ziskind was a guest on the "Breaking Free Authentically" podcast with Karine Bedard. Katie Ziskind specializes in coaching disconnected couples who want to stay together and want to work together after high conflict fights, anger issues, af...

In episode, "73: Fears of Abandonment and Emotionally Vulnerability To Break Conflict Cycles" of the "All Things Love and Intimacy," podcast, Katie Ziskind shares ways and skills to support a strong, healthy, and thriving couple bubble and marriage. When you are in conflict, it means you deeply love and care about each other. Anger is a common emotion in cycles of conflict and...

Imagine your spouse as a child experiencing physical and emotional abuse from a parent. A narcissistic parent may be physically or emotionally abusing their sibling. And, they feel helpless and powerless to intervene or protect them. Such experiences breed profound feelings of fear, anxiety, and a pervasive sense of unpredictability. In childhood, love becomes associated with fear, uncertainty, ch...

Do you and your partner get into high conflict fights? Does it feel like you are stuck in a vicious cycle of negative communication, hurtful conflict, and feeling on edge around each other all the time? Are you and your partner survivors of childhood abuse, emotional trauma, and narcissistic abuse? Did you grow up with an alcoholic mother, father, or caregiver who was hot and cold, up and down emo...