Differentiated Love & Sex Podcast
Conversations on relationships, intimacy, desire, communication, and personal growth through a differentiation lens. Hosted by licensed psychotherapist & relationship coach Jackie Aston and relationship coach Catherine Roebuck.
Relationship Insights in Under a Minute
Not ready for a full podcast episode? Start here. These bite-sized clips highlight some of our most popular conversations about relationships, intimacy, personal growth, and emotional connection.
Couples often become harsh with each other when they forget that both people are struggling in different ways.
In this clip, we explore how recognizing our own imperfections can create more empathy, compassion, and emotional connection with our partner.
Healthy relationships aren’t built on perfection. They’re built on accountability, honesty, and the ability to see each other as human beings.
Why do the qualities that attracted you to your partner often become the things that frustrate you most?
In this short clip, we discuss a powerful differentiation concept: we're often drawn to partners who embody qualities we've underdeveloped in ourselves.
Over time, the relationship challenges us to grow in those very areas. If your partner feels controlling, distant, needy, or overly independent, there may be more happening beneath the surface than you realize.
Sometimes couples get stuck focusing only on the behavior: the drinking, the spending, the pornography use, the shutting down, the avoidance.
And while those behaviors absolutely matter, couples often miss the deeper question: What emotional issue is driving the behavior?
When a partner starts talking honestly about what’s happening internally—their stress, shame, loneliness, overwhelm, pressure, or anxiety—that’s often a sign they are actually engaging with the problem rather than avoiding it.