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Gay Therapy LA with Ken Howard, LCSW, CST

Gay Therapy LA with Ken Howard, LCSW, CST

Ken Howard, LCSW, CST 217 Episodes Oct 2, 2026

Gay Therapy LA with Ken Howard, LCSW, CST is a therapy-informed podcast focused on gay men's mental health, sex, and relationships. Hosted by Ken Howard, a gay men's specialist psychotherapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist with over 32 years of experience, the show explores real clinical topics like anxiety, depression, trauma, shame, and internalized homophobia. It also discusses gay relationships, including monogamy, open relationships, consensual non-monogamy, and polycules, as well as sex therapy issues such as desire, performance, kink, porn, HIV, and sexual confidence. The podcast aims to provide deep, practical insights rather than pop psychology clichés, drawing from decades of work with gay male clients, couples, and polycules.

Episodes

The Gay High Achievement Paradox: When Success Isn't Enough
The Gay High Achievement Paradox: When Success Isn't Enough Oct 2, 2026 35:34 You've built the career, earned the recognition, and reached goals your younger self once dreamed about. Why can success still feel exhausting—or strangely unsatisfying? In this episode, Ken Howard, LCSW explores the gay high achievement paradox: how the strengths that help gay men succeed can become difficult to set aside when it's time to enjoy the lives they've built. He considers the role of r
The Psychology of 9/11: Perpetrator Motivations and Our Reactions
The Psychology of 9/11: Perpetrator Motivations and Our Reactions Sep 29, 2026 43:25 Ken Howard, LCSW, explores the psychology behind September 11 and its lasting aftermath—from absolutism and dehumanization to grief, survivor guilt, anniversary reactions, and resilience. Drawing on personal memories and his work with gay men, he considers how experiences of vulnerability and loss shape our sense of safety, while distinguishing trauma responses from PTSD.
Gay Men and Sides: Sexual Self-Empowerment Beyond Tops and Bottoms
Gay Men and Sides: Sexual Self-Empowerment Beyond Tops and Bottoms Sep 21, 2026 26:52 What if anal sex simply isn't part of the sex you want? In this episode, Ken Howard, LCSW, explores "sides"—gay men who prefer sexual expression without anal intercourse—and credits psychologist and certified sex therapist Dr. Joe Kort for originating and developing the term. Ken reframes being a side not as an absence of sexuality, but as one valid choice within a broad erotic repertoire. He disc
Aging Without a Blueprint: Gay Men, Retirement, and What Comes Next
Aging Without a Blueprint: Gay Men, Retirement, and What Comes Next Aug 25, 2026 30:58 Many gay men prepare financially for retirement, yet still feel uncertain about what they are retiring into. Ken Howard, LCSW, explores the "blueprint gap": reaching later life without an inherited picture of what a satisfying retirement should contain. Traditional retirement narratives often assume children, grandchildren, lifelong heterosexual marriage, and an extended family prepared to provide
The Quiet Ambivalence of Open Relationships in Long-Term Gay Couples
The Quiet Ambivalence of Open Relationships in Long-Term Gay Couples Aug 21, 2026 35:45 What happens when a long-term gay couple is no longer fully monogamous—but neither partner feels entirely comfortable calling the relationship open? Ken Howard, LCSW explores the emotional territory between monogamy and consensual non-monogamy: relationships that change gradually, sexual agreements that make sense intellectually but remain difficult emotionally, and the difference between genuine
Five Love Languages Reimagined for Gay Men, Part 2: Gifts, Touch & Attachment
Five Love Languages Reimagined for Gay Men, Part 2: Gifts, Touch & Attachment Jul 31, 2026 31:06 In Part 2 of Five Love Languages Reimagined for Gay Men, Ken Howard, LCSW explores why receiving gifts and physical touch can mean far more than they seem. Gifts may communicate that your partner stayed in your mind; touch can offer comfort, safety, and belonging without needing to lead to sex. Ken connects these everyday moments to attachment, the histories gay men bring into relationships, and a
Five Love Languages for Gay Men: What They Really Mean (Part 1)
Five Love Languages for Gay Men: What They Really Mean (Part 1) Jul 28, 2026 21:52 The five love languages can be useful—but for gay men, they often carry deeper psychological meaning. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Ken Howard, LCSW, reimagines the familiar framework through the lived experiences of gay men. He explores why words of affirmation can be about being seen, why acts of service can become a way of earning closeness, and why quality time is less about hours toget
Why High-Achieving Gay Men Struggle to Feel Loved
Why High-Achieving Gay Men Struggle to Feel Loved Jul 15, 2026 30:53 Many successful gay men appear to have everything: thriving careers, financial security, meaningful accomplishments, and lives that others admire. Yet beneath that success, many quietly wonder whether they are truly lovable—or simply valued for what they achieve. In this episode, Ken Howard, LCSW, explores why professional success often fails to create emotional security. Drawing on more than 34 y
Why Am I Never Invited? The Hidden Psychology of Social Exclusion Among Gay Men
Why Am I Never Invited? The Hidden Psychology of Social Exclusion Among Gay Men Jul 1, 2026 32:52 Have you ever opened Instagram only to discover your friends got together without you? Within seconds, your mind may begin asking painful questions: Did they forget me? Did they not want me there? What's wrong with me? In this episode, Ken Howard, LCSW, explores why social exclusion hurts so deeply—and why the real wound often isn't the missed invitation itself, but the meaning we attach to it. Dr
Gay Men and Self-Abandonment: The Quiet Ways We Leave Ourselves Behind
Gay Men and Self-Abandonment: The Quiet Ways We Leave Ourselves Behind Jun 22, 2026 38:45 Many gay men believe their struggles stem from anxiety, loneliness, dating frustrations, low self-esteem, or difficult relationships. But underneath many of these challenges lies a quieter and often overlooked pattern: self-abandonment. In this episode, Ken Howard, LCSW, explores how gay men learn to disconnect from their feelings, needs, boundaries, anger, instincts, and even their dignity in ord
Why Trump Feels So Powerful: The Psychology of Authoritarian Certainty
Why Trump Feels So Powerful: The Psychology of Authoritarian Certainty Jun 17, 2026 17:05 Why does Donald Trump continue to inspire such fierce loyalty among millions of Americans? In this special episode of the Gay Therapy LA Podcast, Ken Howard, LCSW, CST, steps outside his usual focus on gay men's mental health to examine a broader psychological question: what emotional needs does authoritarian communication fulfill? Drawing on more than three decades as a psychotherapist, Ken explo
Why Can't I Stay Hard Anymore? A Gay Man's Guide to Erectile Dysfunction
Why Can't I Stay Hard Anymore? A Gay Man's Guide to Erectile Dysfunction Jun 1, 2026 24:49 Why can't I stay hard anymore? Ken Howard, LCSW, CST, explores the real causes of erectile dysfunction in gay men—and what actually helps beyond pills, panic, and self-criticism.

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