Dr. Erika Schwartz has been at the forefront of advanced patient care for more than 20 years. She was one of the first doctors in the US to treat patients with bio-identical hormones, conduct biomarker testing, and to administer preventative IVs.

She continues to deliver cutting edge care to all of her patients in a warm, friendly office. For Dr. Erika, work is pure joy, her legacy is to improve health care for the individual and remove fear and arrogance from the system.

Dr. Erika is a graduate of NYU and received her MD from SUNY-Downstate College of Medicine Cum Laude. She is a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha honor society and has authored six best selling books for the public along with medical articles and numerous blogs, YouTube channel and bylined articles in the highest circulation publications of the world.

[00:04:17] The book was written to empower readers and assist people with the challenges they experience with intimacy and sex. It was built around the premise of the different ways of managing challenges applying to different phases in one’s life.

[00:06:00] The lack of openness towards intimacy and sexuality is a cultural issue:

• Physically – a lot of people are a-sexual and not interested in sex. Their B receptors on their cells that will respond to sexual stimulation, don’t.
• Emotionally – some people are not able to develop mature relationships where sexuality is an expression of intimacy.
• Gender differences – men and women think about and express intimacy and sexuality in different ways.
• Trauma - both men and women who have been sexually abused at a young age, tend to have a skewed view of sex.

[00:11:34] EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy) is being utilized by many practitioners to assist in i.e., PTSD.

[00:12:13] The different sexual phases can be classified as follows:

• hormone driven (purely physical sex)
• need to multiply (procreation)
• emotion driven intimacy (sharing your life with someone)

[00:25:00] Sexuality and intimacy is a biological and spiritual need and discussions on needs and desires should be open and honest.

[00:39:47] In 1992 John Gottman (psychologist from Washington University) identified what the predictable factors were, for couples to get divorced:

• Criticism
• Defensiveness
• Stonewalling
• Contempt / Resentment

[00:41:59] People get divorced for completely correctable reasons. The solution:

• respect and adore the other person
• be kind to them
• don't be defensive
• let them be who they are
• don’t criticize
• don’t have hidden agendas
• communicate