Blog & Resources

Books and online resources

• Esther PerelBooks, podcasts and talks exploring relationships, intimacy, desire, conflict and connection.
• The Gottman InstituteResearch-informed articles, exercises and resources for couples exploring communication, conflict, intimacy and connection.
• The School of Life — Alain de BottonBooks, articles and films exploring relationships, emotional life, self-understanding and connection.
• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life — Marshall B. RosenbergA compassionate approach to communication centred on slowing down, recognising feelings and needs, listening empathically and expressing ourselves more clearly.
• Hold Me Tight — Dr Sue JohnsonAn attachment-based guide to understanding relationship conflict and developing greater closeness, responsiveness and emotional safety.

Podcasts, workshops and programmes

• Where Should We Begin? with Esther PerelA podcast offering an intimate window into real conversations about love, relationships and the patterns that shape how we connect.
• Imago Relationship Therapy WorkshopsCouples’ workshops using structured dialogue to support deeper listening, mutual understanding, empathy and connection.
• Couples Therapy with Dr Orna GuralnikA documentary series offering a thoughtful and absorbing window into the experiences of real couples undertaking therapy.

• Working with the Menstrual Cycle: Embodiment and Empowerment — PESI UKAn article exploring embodiment, empowerment and the importance of recognising the menstrual cycle within therapeutic work.
• Period Power — Maisie HillAn accessible and practical guide to hormones, menstrual-cycle phases, PMS and recognising your own physical and emotional patterns throughout the month.
• Wild Power — Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo WurlitzerA psychological and spiritually oriented exploration of menstrual-cycle awareness, emotional life, creativity and feminine identity.
• The Fifth Vital Sign — Lisa Hendrickson-JackA detailed guide to understanding the menstrual cycle as an important indicator of reproductive and wider health, including ovulation and fertility awareness.

• Feminism Is for Everybody — bell hooksA short, compassionate introduction to feminism as a movement against sexism rather than a conflict between women and men.
• Burnout — Emily Nagoski and Amelia NagoskiExplores how cultural expectations that women should remain attractive, agreeable, selfless and endlessly caring can contribute to stress and exhaustion. It combines social analysis with practical ways of completing the body’s stress cycle.
• Women Living Deliciously — Florence GivenAn invitation for women to reconnect with pleasure, agency, curiosity and the experience of being fully alive.
• The Vital Spark — Lisa MarchianoExplores how women can reclaim disowned energies, including anger, desire, authority, creativity and feminine power.
• Invisible Women — Caroline Criado PerezUses research and data to show how treating men as the human default affects women’s healthcare, employment, transport, technology and everyday safety.
• Rage Becomes Her — Soraya ChemalyExplores how girls and women are often taught to suppress, soften or redirect anger—and how anger can contain important information about boundaries, injustice and unmet needs.

• I Don’t Want to Talk About It — Terrence RealExplores male depression, shame, anger and the ways emotional pain can hide behind silence, withdrawal or competence.
• The Will to Change — bell hooksA compassionate book about masculinity, patriarchy, tenderness, vulnerability and love.
• Under Saturn’s Shadow — James HollisA Jungian exploration of men, shame, father wounds, loneliness, emotional inheritance and meaning.
• The Descent of Man — Grayson PerryAn accessible exploration of modern masculinity and the limitations of traditional male roles.
• What About Men? — Caitlin MoranA humorous and compassionate exploration of the pressures facing boys and men in contemporary life.
• Billy No-Mates — Max DickinsA personal exploration of male friendship, loneliness and the difficulties many men experience developing emotionally intimate relationships.
• Of Boys and Men — Richard V. ReevesExplores the social, educational, economic and emotional challenges facing boys and men, alongside possible ways forward.

Books and frameworks

• Magnificent Sex — Peggy Kleinplatz and A. Dana MénardBased on interviews with people who describe having extraordinary sex, including LGBTQ+, kinky, monogamous, non-monogamous, disabled and chronically ill participants. It focuses on presence, vulnerability, authenticity and connection rather than sexual performance.
• Come as You Are — Dr Emily NagoskiAn accessible book about the science of sexuality, desire, arousal, stress, shame and pleasure.
• The Wheel of Consent — Betty MartinA practical framework for exploring consent, boundaries and the different experiences of giving and receiving touch.
• Igniting Intimacy — Rowan BombadilExplores sexuality, intimacy, ritual, creativity and connection through a sex-positive and spiritually informed approach.
• Queer Sex — Juno RocheFrank and affirming conversations about bodies, intimacy, dating and desire from trans and non-binary perspectives.

Podcasts and exercises

• Come as You Are WorksheetsFree exercises covering sexual temperament, contexts for desire, stress and the factors that activate or inhibit arousal.
• Speaking of Sex with The Pleasure MechanicsPractical, explicit and pleasure-positive conversations about touch, communication, desire, sensation, fantasy and erotic exploration.

Watch and explore

• The Principles of PleasureA three-part Netflix documentary examining women’s pleasure, anatomy, desire, consent, cultural messages and persistent sexual myths.

• The Warrior Within Handbook — One in FourA practical handbook supporting recovery from childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence.
• An Intersectional Guide for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Their Allies: Masculinity ReconnectedAn accessible and compassionate guide for male survivors, their allies and the professionals who support them.

Books

• The Awakened Brain — Lisa MillerExplores the psychology and neuroscience of spirituality and its relationship with meaning, resilience, connection and mental health.
• Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder — Dacher KeltnerExplores how nature, music, beauty, collective experiences and everyday wonder can help us feel connected to something larger than ourselves.
• The Book of Awakening — Mark NepoDaily reflections on presence, meaning, vulnerability and being more fully engaged with life.

Guided meditations and apps

• Tara Brach’s Guided MeditationsFree guided meditations bringing together mindfulness, compassion and emotional healing.
• Jack Kornfield’s Guided MeditationsFree practices exploring mindfulness, loving-kindness, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness.
• Insight TimerAn extensive library of free guided meditations, talks, music and sleep resources.
• HeadspaceAn accessible meditation and mindfulness app with guided practices for sleep, stress, focus and emotional wellbeing.

Podcasts and talks

• Tara Brach PodcastFree talks and guided meditations combining mindfulness, compassion, emotional healing and Buddhist psychology. Her work may be particularly helpful when exploring shame, grief, fear and feelings of inadequacy.
• On Being with Krista TippettThoughtful conversations about spirituality, psychology, science, poetry, grief, meaning and social healing.
• The Way Out Is In — Plum VillageA warm and accessible podcast inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings. It explores fear, anger, compassion, relationships, suffering and living with greater awareness.
• Lisa Miller on The Rich Roll PodcastA long-form conversation about The Awakened Brain, the neuroscience of spirituality, resilience and discovering rather than controlling our way through life.

• The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der KolkA well-known book exploring trauma, the body, memory and approaches to healing.
• Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors — Janina FisherExplores trauma, dissociation and internal fragmentation through a compassionate, parts-informed approach.
• Healing Developmental Trauma — Laurence Heller and Aline LaPierreExplores how early trauma can affect self-regulation, self-image and the capacity for relationships.
• My Grandmother’s Hands — Resmaa MenakemExplores racialised trauma, its effects on the body and the ways trauma may be carried across generations and communities.

• Life Isn’t Binary — Meg-John Barker and Alex IantaffiExplores moving beyond rigid either/or thinking around gender, sexuality, relationships and identity.
• The Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook — Anneliese SinghPractical exercises exploring resilience, self-worth, internalised shame, discrimination and the importance of supportive community.
• Queering Psychotherapy — edited by Jane C. CzyzselskaExplores queer and trans experiences, shame, desire and ways of making therapy more spacious and affirming.