Interdisciplinary sex therapist, Jamila M. Dawson, joins Jess and Brandon in to discuss how sexual pleasure can be part of healing from trauma, the elements of happy relationships, how to be emotionally present, strategies for responding to anxiety and rejection, power dynamics in therapy and much more. Jamila sees suffering not as a failure of your body or your mind but as responses to a culture that has damaging and unhealthy views on sex, religion, relationships, bodies, race, and gender. Her work is strongly rooted in somatic practices, self-discovery, social justice, and helping clients navigate not just their own relationships, but the cultures in which they live. Her success with clients is shaped by her pleasure-based, trauma informed framework and her concept of the 5 C’s (Curiosity, Creativity, Collaboration, Courage, Compassion). Her goal is to break down sexual stigma and help people design mindful, vibrant relationships. Listen to this episode to get started today! Follow Jamila on Twitter & Instagram. This podcast is brought to you by Desire Resorts.       If you’ve got questions or topic suggestions for the podcast, submit them here. As well, you can now record your messages for us! Please record your message/question in a quiet room and use your phone’s headphones with a built-in mic if possible. And be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music & Stitcher! Rough Transcript: This is a computer-generated rough transcript, so please excuse any typos. This podcast is an informational conversation and is not a substitute for medical, health or other professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the services of an appropriate professional should you have individual questions or concerns. Expand Pleasure, Navigate Trauma, Manage Anxiety & Have More Fulfilling Relationships 00:00:10 - 00:05:10 relationship advice you can use tonight you're listening to the sacs with dr jasser podcast sacks wins owning and considering your own power is sex therapist activist in speaker jamila m dawson from los angeles back to communicate having those difficult conversations are so fruitful in terms of the results well here to talk about those difficult conversation the last few days so that's thanks to the sex down south conference which is a conference down in atlanta and you attended a session are attended a session on for board i started i used to work in the film industry and the company i was working for was going under and one day saw an advertisement getting in navigating the the gentleman that was presenting disgust his his sexual about sex helping people you know they would come in and seem very ashamed and quiet in their body language was so kind of hunched over will feelings and how his desires is probably a better description of what he shared with the group and it was it was interesting it was and some of the strongest miss creative most powerful people i know are s types you create things run things and to that's an i relate to that our dynamics there's still kind of meth that if you're an ass type of your slave or even a submissive that your doormat that you have no will of your own curious about socks even though my family's rather conservative and sir working at the store and i just fell in love fell in love with reading about sex all day talking great great feeling definitely know i'm feeling i'm feeling good i'm feeling inspired him feeling like i've learned tape like a like MS dynamics that's the so for me it's not like i like very intense authority exchange and that feels uh all day long so why would somebody who is so powerful want to be an ass tight want to be a submissive want to play a slave role i'm in this person and to me when you know that you have value then you can give that to somebody if you know you have no value you've given nothing thanks for being here it's wonderful to be here thank you you are a s...