Happy New 2014!  Isn't this photo great?  It reminds me that having great sex doesn't stop in your 30's or 40's - or even your 50's!  If you're healthy - and differentiated - you can have great sex!  Make 2014 a year to focus on improving how you function in relationships, especially your love relationship.  Learning how to be direct, express your needs, experiment sexually, encourage novelty in bed, and taking care of yourself emotionally, are only a handful of ways you can improve your sex life.  Of course, taking care of yourself physically can definitely improve your sex life - and being healthier is on many of our minds this time of year.  I also encourage you to be more COMPASSIONATE with yourself and your partner as you strive for improvement - especially when it comes to sex!  Patience, love and compassion for self and other can improve your relationship in many ways.  So cheers to a better relationship in 2014 - and to better, more satisfying sex! - Dr. Sandoval

Check out crucible4points.com!
Dr. David Schnarch writes interesting and informative articles for couples and therapists looking for up-to-date information - and information that sets him apart from the rest of the field. He focuses on self-confrontation ('how can I change the things that I can control in order to improve my self and relationships') and differentiation ('I am a separate person within an intimate couple. I don't own my partner. I know myself and can manage my emotions in order to be the best I can be in an intimate relationship') which is very different from traditional couple therapy that tends to focus on just attachment or communication problems. The website is full of free info as well as ways to connect with other couples.

Del Mar Couple and Sex Therapy Blog by me, Dr. Jennifer Sandoval is up and running!  I'm so excited and have so much to share!

I'm going to start with the basics. Whether you are a couple seeking to improve your relationship or a seasoned therapist there are two seminal books you must read. I also recommend these books for singles who want to be better in any relationship.

The first 2 books are by David Schnarch, Ph.D. (really, ANYTHING by Dr. Schnarch is incredible):  Passionate Marriage and Intimacy and Desire. He focuses on one very key concept to revolutionizing the way you will be in relationships - DIFFERENTIATION. He also offers a unique definition/approach to INTIMACY.  Dr. Schnarch knows relationships and sex - he will be awarded the 2013 American Psychological Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Independent Practice at this year's APA convention. These books changed not only the way I do therapy but also how I am in relation to self and others. Check them out at:
http://desirebook.com/    and   http://passionatemarriage.com

The third book I highly recommend is John Gottman, Ph.D.'s 7 Principles of Making Marriage Work. Dr. Gottman is a couple therapy researcher, clinician and Guru! He has been studying and working with couples since the '70's to see what happy, stable couples in committed relationships are doing right. He is also behavioral so there are easy to understand and easy to follow exercises to improve your relationship. Check it out at
http://www.gottman.com/57329/558737/Books-DVDs-and-Workshops/Seven-Principles-for-Making-Marriage-Work.html
Think of this as great springtime reading! And I'd love to hear what you think.
Take care, Dr. Sandoval

Welcome to my blog! Hello! I'd like to introduce myself and my blog, "Del Mar Couple and Sex Therapy." I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in couple therapy and the treatment of sexual problems. I hope my blog will be informative, motivating and challenging. I say motivating and challenging because my hope is we're all striving to better ourselves and our relationships. This is a BIG CHALLENGE because it often requires us to take a good, hard look at ourselves and our behavior. But the exciting part is, if we're up to the challenge of facing growing pains, we can have more fulfilling relationships! My hope is to help blog readers and therapy consumers do the following:

* get info about couple and sex therapy
* learn to enhance your relationship and sex life
* find a good couple therapist and/or sex therapist
* learn about treatment options for a variety of issues
* answers frequently asked questions about relationships and sexual problems
* gain access to helpful resources, books, websites, experts in couple and sex therapy
* discuss topics on blogger's/therapy consumer's minds
* help people challenge selves to lead more differentiated lives - and write about how I am
continually challenged to lead a more differentiated life! (more about what every
person needs to know - DIFFERENTIATION - in blogs to come...)

I look forward to serving the people of San Diego, especially North County San Diego (San Diego is a pretty big county!) - Del Mar, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Carlsbad - to name a few cities - because San Diego is quite large and it's a way to bring the communities together. Also, I hope it helps people narrow their searches for couple therapists and information about relationship/sex issues.

So, this and more to come! Here's to embracing change, striving for better relationships and leading more differentiated lives! Posted by Jennifer Sandoval, Psy.D.  Labels: Del Mar Couple Therapist, San Diego Couple Therapist, San Diego Sex Therapist Newer Posts Home Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)