Artwork for podcast What Your Therapist Thinks
How Can We Get The Spark Back? Strategies for Long-Term Relationship Intimacy
Episode 8 • 15th April 2026 • What Your Therapist Thinks • Felicia Keller Boyle & Kristie Plantinga
00:00:00 00:56:26

Share Episode

Shownotes

Dr. Lindsay Cavanagh, psychologist and marriage expert, joins Kristie and Felicia to unpack the strategies for long-term intimacy. They discuss the emotional aspect of desire: how mental load and systemic stressors can make or break the spark in parenthood.

Some takeaways:

• Why spontaneity fails when it meets the exhausting logistics of parenthood.

• The difference between intentional pursuit and weaponized incompetence.

• How to start integrating emotional safety into your connection.

• How mental load influences your libido more than "lost attraction" does.

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Join our Substack community

Follow WYTT on Instagram

Follow Felicia on Instagram

Connect with Lindsay.

Follow Lindsay on Instagram.

Listen to Lindsay’s Podcast: Married After Kids.

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube

More Episodes
8. How Can We Get The Spark Back? Strategies for Long-Term Relationship Intimacy
00:56:26
7. How Do I Regulate My Nervous System? Resetting Your System & Managing Stress
01:01:10
6. Why Am I Anxious About Money? Healing Your Financial Psychology
00:59:57
5. Talking in Therapy isn’t Enough? Reprocessing Trauma with EMDR
00:58:02
4. How Do I Get Over Someone? The Science of Heartbreak with Colette J. Fehr
01:01:12
3. Why Am I So Messy? Reasons You’re Messy with KC Davis
00:59:34
2. How Can I Enjoy Dating? Dating Advice From Therapy Jeff
00:59:17
1. Do I Have ADHD? What ADHD Looks Like In Women
00:54:27
trailer Season 2 is here!
00:02:51
14. bonus Why Did We Start a Mental Health Podcast? Felicia & Kristie's Origin Story
00:50:51
13. bonus How Do I Set Boundaries With Family? A Guide To Surviving The Holidays
00:47:08
12. How Do I Overcome Performance Anxiety? The Fear Behind Performance
01:06:35
11. What Type Of Trauma Do I Have? Understanding Trauma
01:10:57
10. Why Do People Cheat? Understanding the Psychology of Infidelity
01:03:07
9. Am I Just “Nice,” Or Am I A People Pleaser? Signs You’re People Pleasing
01:08:03
8. What Does Contempt In Relationships Look Like? How To Keep Your Relationship Contempt-Free
01:03:57
7. What is Coregulation & Parenting? How Coregulation Helps Build The Best Child-Parent Relationships
01:02:06
6. What Should I Talk About During Ketamine Therapy? How to Get The Most Out Of A Session
01:00:46
5. Are My Intrusive Thoughts "Normal" Or Do I Have OCD?
01:12:24
4. Am I Enmeshed With My Mom? Signs of Mother-Son Enmeshment & What To Do
00:57:24
3. Are My Parents Emotionally Abusive? Signs You've Been Abused & What To Do
01:08:34
2. Am I Emotionally Numb? Signs Of Emotional Numbness and What To Do Next
00:55:30
1. Am I Hypervigilant? Signs Of Hypervigilance & How To Get Better
01:11:47
trailer Trailer
00:02:06