David Yarian in the Media

Publications

• "Tantric Sexuality Education"

  Invited chapter in Earning a Living Outside of Managed Mental Health Care: 50 Ways to Expand Your Practice, ed. by Steven Walfish, American Psychological Association, 2010.

• "All I Want Is To Be Wanted"

  Chapter 4 in He Said/She Said: What's the One Thing That Men and Women Want in the Bedroom, ed. by Liberty Kontranowski AccessRX.com, 2010.

• Continuity and Change: The Impact of Deaths on a Family System Over Five Generations, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1982.

References and Reviews

• My extensive Tantra and Ecstatic Sexuality Resources web page was referenced on p. 248 of a respected sex therapy text: A Clinician’s Guide to Systemic Sex Therapy, 2 ed., by Gerald R. Weeks, Nancy Gambescia, and Katherine M. Hertlein, New York: Routledge, 2016.

• My chapter in Earning a Living Outside of Managed Mental Health Care: 50 Ways to Expand Your Practice, ed. By Steven Walfish, APA, 2010 was referenced in the Association for Humanistic Psychology Perspective’s favorable review of the book (Oct./Nov. 2010, pp. 23-24).

• Ruth Cohn’s terrific book Coming Home to Passion: Restoring Loving Sexuality in Couples with Histories of Childhood Trauma and Neglect (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2011) included this nice note on page 175:

David Yarian is a clinical psychologist and certified sex therapist in Nashville, TN. I am indebted to him for the Tantric Gazing and Heart Flow practices.

Online Published Works

• The Guide to Self Help Books

This extensive guide to the best self help books reviews and recommends over 900 books in 46 categories of self help, personal growth, and self-improvement.

• The Joy of Making Love

A resource for adult erotic education, with review of more than 500 books, cds, and videos. Topics covered include intimate relationships, eroticism and desire, erotic art, sexual technique, the science of sex and more.

• Saving The Earth

Another book review site, created to provide useful resources to better understand and respond to our critical environmental dilemmas. It includes sections on ecology, climate change, conservation, renewable energy, as well as an extensive section on the best in nature writing.

Blogs

Dr. Yarian contributes to a number of blogs where he shares his thoughts on psychotherapy, sexuality and sex therapy, intimate relationships, and Nature.

• David Yarian PhD Blog

Here I muse about psychotherapy, relationships, and the process of growth and change.

• Notes from a Sex Therapist

Some of my thoughts on sexuality and sex therapy.

• Talking About Sex

With my sex therapist hat on, I talk about sex and relationships.

• Self Esteem

Short pieces dedicated to the notion that self esteem and self confidence can be learned and developed.

• Earth Orbit

Some writings about my responses to the crisis of climate change, overpopulation, and the consuming of natural resources.

• Voyage of Discovery

My tumblr blog of images of Nature and Art that move me.

• Healthy Sexuality

Curated Pinterest blog drawn from the best resources on healthy sexuality.

Media Products

• The Alchemy of Peace & Love: Magical Meditations to Calm Your Mind and Lift Your Spirit

Dr. Yarian co-wrote the text for this 2 CD set which provides a guided relaxation meditation and a self-esteem building meditation.

David Is Quoted in the Media

• Men's Fitness

  ?Too much alcohol, too much rich food – too much food in general – is going to make the person sleepy and not that interested,? says David Yarian, sex therapist. ?The general guidelines about being healthy are what we need to know about sexual desire.?

  See more at: Foods that Kill your Sex Drive

• Portland OR Monthly Magazine, August 2005

  Tantric sex, according to Dr. Yarian, is more a form of meditation than a sexual practice.

• Spirited Loving: If You Want to Improve Your Lovemaking, Consider the Tantric Approach Nashville Scene, Feb. 10-16, 2005

  See complete article

• Knoxville News-Sentinel, Dec. 29, 2010 UT: Sex helps a ‘neurotic’ partner: Marriage survey finds frequency may ease tensions

  ?Because many people seek comfort and relaxation in sex, the findings of the study are not surprising,?said David Yarian, a licensed clinical psychiatrist and certified sex therapist based in Nashville.

  Still, he warned, it's important not to oversimplify the role of sex in the marital satisfaction of these couples. “Overall, the goal is to have highest quality of connection possible. Our culture has a pretty limited way of thinking about this, so with frequency, more is better is seen as the bottom line. I think it's more complex than that.”

• The Huntsville Times Dec 3, 2013

  Huntsville romance store Pleasures expands; founder writing book about battle to overturn Alabama's adult toy ban

  David Yarian, who works as a licensed sex therapist and psychologist in Nashville, is a consultant with the new boutique and provides educational programs at the store.

  Yarian said the shop carries items that are already sold in several Davidson County stores, including Spencer's, Wal-Mart, Target, pharmacies, as well as Amazon.com.

  "Our main goal is help couples with intimacy," he said. "Unfortunately, due to stress, lack of time, and sometimes, ignorance, couples aren't fulfilled with their level of intimacy . . . We want to educate couples with products and information that will help them in their married life."

• Libido Training All the Rage, July 14, 2005

  See complete article

• AccesRX Expert Interviews, July 10, 2010

  Interview With Transcendent Sex Expert and Author Dr. David Yarian – How Common are Sexual Difficulties in Relationships?

  I would advise three practices, or processes that I believe can lead to reawakening sexual desire in loving couples.

  The first practice is Relaxation. By this I mean removing stressfulness from the intimate relationship. If there is anger or resentment or hurt – address it and find ways to move to genuine resolution. We can only relax our guardedness when we feel safe and secure. If there are performance expectations – let them go. Forget about being the world’s best lover! Forget about equating sex with intercourse; there are a million ways to make fabulous love to your partner that do not require putting a penis into a vagina. Forget about doing anything fast. What’s the hurry? Forget about counting orgasms, or lovers, or erections. Relax. Take a breath. Give yourself credit for addressing this vital part of your life and your relationship.

  The second practice is Tell the Truth. This means to speak honestly and directly about what you want and what you need. It also means that you listen deeply and openly to what your partner wants and needs. (It may be important here to remember the first practice, and put it into action!) Great sex happens between two people who know themselves, and who are open to each other. True intimacy comes only when we are vulnerable and our hearts are open. Being genuine is of fundamental importance to a thriving sexual relationship. It is no gift of love to go along with something that is painful or boring or abhorrent. Allowing this only subtracts from the desirability of connecting sexually in the future.

  The third practice is to Play. Someone once said that great sex is like being part of a pile of puppies – all wiggly and delighted to be together. As I mentioned before, performance expectations tend to diminish the playfulness and curiosity of healthy sex and substitute performance anxiety and sexual phobias in their place. Play means being experimental, being curious and open to new experience. It means enjoying who you are playing with. Play does not mean being competitive – sex is not a competitive sport! Play could mean trying on new identities or dressing up or playing games. Sex is where it’s okay for adults to be playful, to relax our guard and give into the inclination of the moment with the playmate we’ve chosen. Practices One and Two are important here as well. We can’t play unless we are Relaxed; and Telling the Truth makes playing safe. If my partner wants to play in a way that makes me uncomfortable, I have to let her know this and we have to come to a resolution we both feel good about.

• Telenoche, Argentina TV news program

  Dr. Yarian was interviewed in October 2015 by Telenoche, Argentina’s most prestigious evening TV News edition, about flibanserin, hyped as “the female Viagra.”

Dr. Yarian has provided opinion and professional expertise to many other media outlets, including MSN, The Scene, The Tennesseean, WSMV, WKRN, WTVF, Esquire Magazine.