MORE ABOUT WORKSHOPS
Workshops for Latter-day Saint Couples
Some things are easier to learn in a room than in a therapy office. A workshop gives couples language for conversations they have never had, research that corrects what silence taught them, and skills they can use that same week. You learn alongside other couples facing the same thing, which by itself tells you something worth knowing: you are not the only ones.
When desires differ
Our current workshop is built around the most common concern couples bring to sex therapy: wanting sex at different frequencies. One spouse reaches for closeness and feels rejected. The other feels pressured and pulls away. Both start to wonder whether something is wrong with them.
Differences in sexual desire are normal in long term marriage, and they are workable. The gap is rarely about love, and it is almost never solved by one person trying harder.
What we cover
Why desire differences show up in healthy marriages, and what the research actually says about them.
The pursue and withdraw cycle, how it forms, and why it widens the gap over time.
Responsive desire, meaning desire that arrives after things begin rather than before. It is common in both women and men and is regularly mistaken for a lack of interest.
Arousal and the body, including what changes with stress, medication, childbirth, and age.
Then we move to practice. How to talk about sex without blame. How to handle a no so that it does not become a wound. How to build the kind of safety between you that desire actually grows in. You will leave with specific things to do, not just things to think about.
Who these are for
Married couples who want a stronger sexual relationship, whether or not anything is wrong. Couples who cannot talk about sex without it turning into conflict. Newly married couples who found the switch did not flip after the wedding. Couples who grew up with more silence than instruction and want accurate information from someone who understands their faith.
You do not need to be in therapy, and you do not need a problem to bring. Couples attend together.
Who leads them
Workshops are led by Dr. Anthony Hughes, PhD, LMFT, an AASECT certified sex therapist, author of You, Me, and We, and founder of Covenant Sex Therapy. His doctoral research followed married couples over five years studying exactly this, the gap between what each spouse wants and what the couple has. He has taught human sexuality and sex therapy in a range of settings from graduate students at Brigham Young University and to medical residents at Intermountain Healthcare.
Format
A half day, in person, at our Provo office. Group size is kept small on purpose, so the conversation stays useful and nobody is lost in a crowd. Everything you share is yours to share. Nobody is put on the spot.
Join the interest list
We schedule a workshop once enough couples are on the list, which keeps the group the right size. Add your name and we will send you the date, location, and cost before it is announced anywhere else. Being on the list does not commit you to anything.
Common questions
Will we have to talk in front of other people?
No. You can participate as much or as little as you want. Most of the practice happens between you and your spouse, not in front of the group.
Is this therapy?
No. A workshop is education and skill building, not treatment, and it is not a substitute for therapy. If what you are facing needs individual attention, we will tell you honestly and help you find the right therapist.
Do we have to be Latter-day Saint to attend?
No. The workshop is built with Latter-day Saint couples in mind, so you will not have to explain your beliefs from scratch. Couples of every background and belief are welcome.
Can I come without my spouse?
These workshops are designed for couples attending together. If you want to work on this on your own, individual sex therapy is a better fit, and we can help you start.
Written by Dr. Anthony Hughes, PhD, LMFT, AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist and author of You, Me, and We. Last reviewed September 2026.
