What I Learned at SPSP’s Sexuality Preconference This Year

Last month, we were in Denver, Colorado for the twelfth annual SPSP Sexuality Preconference. We were fortunate to have Sexual Health Alliance (based in Denver!) as our headline sponsor for this event, and even more fortunate to have sex researchers from all over the world join us. Our day was filled with tons of sex and sexuality-related research, awesome conversations between sex researchers, as well as some incredible giveaways (more on that later). In this blog, I’ll discuss three things I learned from some of the research presented this year. 

Table of giveaways and raffle prizes available during the preconference.

#1: Psychedelics Can Help Treat Sexual and Relationship Problems 

The theme of this year’s conference was “Rocky Mountain High: Sex, Drugs, and Science” to pay homage to the conference location and highlight research on the topic (Colorado was the first U.S. state to legalize marijuana and Denver was the first city to decriminalize psilocybin). We were able to learn a lot about how psychedelics can be used in sexual and relationship therapy during our keynote session with Dr. Jim Grigsby. Jim taught us about the chemical makeup of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (more commonly referred to as MDMA), which may prove beneficial during sex and relationship therapy given its ability to help alter fear memories.[1] Here, psychedelics like MDMA might be especially useful in the treatment of previous sexual and relationship traumas. 

Additional research has highlighted the benefits of psilocybin, a naturally-occurring psychedelic in over 200 different mushrooms, in the treatment of sexual and relationship problems as well. For example, one study found positive associations between individuals who used psychedelics and their overall wellbeing. Specifically, individuals who used psilocybin mushrooms experienced increased sexual pleasure, better communication during sex, and greater satisfaction with their sexual and romantic partners.[2]

If you’re interested in learning more about the subject, you can also check out our podcast episode with Jeff Lundgren, who has published an entire book on psychedelic-assisted sex therapy!

#2: Helping People Believe That Planned Sex Can Be Good Actually Makes Planned Sex Good 

One of the pieces of sex advice that is often given to couples struggling to make time for intimacy is to “put sex on the schedule.” However, a lot of people believe that spontaneous sex is more fun, exciting, and sexy, and that planned sex (or scheduled sex) takes away some of the appeal. 

Given the benefits of planned sex for relationships, it seems important to change people’s beliefs surrounding planned sex. At the preconference, we heard from PhD student Katarina Kovacevic about research conducted by the SHaRe Lab about this very topic. In their study, participants were instructed to plan sex with their partner, reminded about the benefits of planning sex, and then asked to report on their sexual experiences over the past three weeks. The participants in this study were parents with young kids, which reflects a demographic that often has a lot of difficulty finding time for intimacy with a partner, especially spontaneously. 

The big takeaway from this presentation was that reminding people of the benefits of planned sex can be great for their relationships and overall sex lives! Planning sex “ensure[s] that sex happens,” especially for couples who feel overwhelmed with everything else they may have going on. Great sex can be either spontaneous or planned. It’s all about your mindset!

#3: Couples Who Have Sex More Often Have More Even Divisions of Labor 

For my third takeaway, we turn to another project conducted within the SHaRe Lab, this time presented by MA student Akshita Uppot. Akshita spoke to us during a data blitz presentation about how the amount of sex people are having changes over the course of someone’s life, and why the amount of sex people are having might differ from couple to couple. 

The results of this study indicated that although everyone’s sexual frequency seems to decline over the course of their lives, some people maintain very different frequencies within that decline. For example, over the course of five years, people who have sex once a month or less at the start might see less of a decline in the amount of times they have sex as compared to people who have sex two or three times a week at the start. 

However, we also learned that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the couples having the most frequent sex were younger and didn’t have kids. But one of the most important takeaways from this presentation was the finding that couples who had sex at least once a week reported a more equal division of labor than those couples who were having sex less than once a week. Here, we see how relationship equity may play an important role in sexual frequency and associated sexual satisfaction. When household work becomes very lopsided, the partner who is doing more of the labor may become too stressed to feel desire for or interest in sex. Keeping things equitable may open up more opportunities to connect. 

BONUS! #4: The Sexuality Preconference has the Best Sponsors 

Every attendee’s “swag bag” and its contents.

I mentioned earlier that we had some pretty incredible giveaways at the Sexuality Preconference this year. Thanks to some amazing sponsors, we were able to provide every participant with a swag bag full of sexy supplies to take home. These bags included lube samples, playing cards, and stationary from Astroglide, lube, condoms, and stickers from LUWI, innovative self-pleasure devices from TENGA, wearable protection from Lorals, condoms and liners from Winx Health, and vibrators from plusOne. We were also able to raffle off some merchandise from POPSTAR and some high-end sex toys from Lovehoney to go home with a few lucky winners. Last, the generosity of Sexual Health Alliance enabled research awards for the top-ranked symposium presentation, data blitz presentation, and poster. Thank you to all of our sponsors!

We hope to see you at the Sexuality Preconference next year in Chicago! Learn more here and mark your calendar!

If you have a sex question of your own, record a voicemail at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology to have it answered on the blog or the podcast. 

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Title graphic made with Canva. Image credits to Dr Justin Lehmiller.

References 

1: Hake, H. S., Davis, J. K. P., Wood, R. R., Tanner, M. K., Loetz, E. C., Sanchez, A., Ostrovskyy, M., Oleson, E. B., Grigsby, J., Doblin, R., & Greenwood, B. N. (2019). 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) impairs the extinction and reconsolidation of fear memory in rats. Physiology & Behavior, 199, 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.12.007

2: Barba, T., Kettner, H., Radu, C., Peill, J. M., Roseman, L., Nutt, D. J., Erritzoe, D., Carhart-Harris, R., & Giribaldi, B. (2024). Psychedelics and sexual functioning: A mixed-methods study. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49817-4