[00:00:00] Molly Maloof: I mentioned the whole story about Stanford and being like, oh [00:00:03] my gosh, human relationships are really important. [00:00:06] And yet, and actually, if you actually do the [00:00:09] research, like there’s actually some statistics out there that, [00:00:12] you know, the more orgasms you have, the longer you live. [00:00:15] So I’m a big believer that we are not [00:00:18] looking at sexuality as a wholesome thing.

[00:00:20] Molly Maloof: We’re looking at it [00:00:21] as like a taboo thing or a thing that has problems [00:00:24] that need fixing. And I love this [00:00:27] concept of I’m build, creating sexual fitness [00:00:30] which is like you might be out of shape right now, but you could actually be in [00:00:33] phenomenal shape if you just had a program to follow to actually [00:00:36] improve this facet of our lives that we often [00:00:39] just ignore or we don’t talk about.

[00:00:40] Molly Maloof: And as somebody [00:00:42] who has dealt with the sexual trauma herself and [00:00:45] overcome it, part of the reason I founded this company was because [00:00:48] I, Was using MDMA with a partner in my early [00:00:51] thirties and accidentally healed a bunch of sexual dysfunction, which [00:00:54] I’m not claiming MDMA does, but in my case, [00:00:57] I had a bunch of unresolved trauma and [00:01:00] MAPS is coming along trying to approve MDMA for [00:01:03] PTSD.

[00:01:03] Molly Maloof: And I looked at the diagnosis of PTSD and I said, this is weird. I [00:01:06] didn’t have this criteria. So what did I have? And so I [00:01:09] dug really into the research and I was like, whoa, [00:01:12] for women who’ve had sexual trauma, 30 percent will [00:01:15] end up with PTSD, but 60 to 80 percent will end up with [00:01:18] sexual dysfunction. And I was like, I want to build a [00:01:21] company around solving this problem.

[00:01:22] Molly Maloof: So initially we [00:01:24] were a pharmaceutical company developing an MDMA alternative, but [00:01:27] quickly I realized I didn’t want to run a pharmaceutical company because it’s crazy. [00:01:30] And so I still wanted to keep with the mission. So we [00:01:33] decided to build a new sex therapy and in the process of [00:01:36] developing the sex therapy, which is, which is basically it’s [00:01:39] not designed in particular for trauma, but it’s very trauma [00:01:42] informed.

[00:01:43] Molly Maloof: So one of the things that we [00:01:45] really try to subscribe to is this concept of you’re not broken, you don’t need [00:01:48] fixing. So this program is really about optimizing your [00:01:51] sexual function and realizing that in the process you can overcome [00:01:54] dysfunction. So a lot of people just don’t even [00:01:57] understand their, their anatomy.

[00:01:58] Molly Maloof: So we’ve made videos on [00:02:00] teaching people actually, what does your pleasure anatomy look like? Mo [00:02:03] the, the, the female clitoris wasn’t mapped properly until [00:02:06] 2005. In anatomical textbooks. So [00:02:09] we’ve been operating with this whole black box of like, [00:02:12] lack of knowledge. Men have had all of [00:02:15] these drugs approved by the way, for erectile dysfunction, [00:02:18] which by the way, most of them go off in three years of taking [00:02:21] it because most erectile dysfunction is psychological, [00:02:24] not biological.

[00:02:25] Molly Maloof: And so I wanted to build [00:02:27] a sex therapy that could be able to help [00:02:30] heterosexual people, homosexual people, gay, [00:02:33] straight, trans, heterosexual people. You name it, it could help [00:02:36] anybody. And the reason why we decided to develop [00:02:39] a new sex therapy was because it hadn’t been reinvented [00:02:42] since Masters and Johnson in the sixties.

[00:02:44] Molly Maloof: And one of the [00:02:45] most primary sex therapies is sensate therapy, which is a [00:02:48] very effective therapy for certain cases. It’s basically [00:02:51] don’t have sex for a month, use mindfulness based [00:02:54] sensual touch, reconnect with your partner by taking sex off the table. [00:02:57] This is great. And sometimes it doesn’t [00:03:00] work. So we wanted to figure out what, [00:03:03] what about those cases where this thing doesn’t work?

[00:03:04] Molly Maloof: And we realized that there was [00:03:06] no sex therapy that actually addressed sex itself. [00:03:09] It was all about everything before sex. And so [00:03:12] we decided we would create a new, a new paradigm shift in teaching [00:03:15] people how to have a different kind of interaction with their [00:03:18] partners than what we typically see in porn, which is [00:03:21] unfortunately, It’s not particularly [00:03:24] pleasurable for most women because women take about 20 minutes to get [00:03:27] fully aroused.

[00:03:28] Molly Maloof: Most women and men, and there are [00:03:30] spontaneously aroused women, but that’s about 20 percent of women, not 80%. [00:03:33] So we designed a, a therapeutic paradigm [00:03:36] shift. We’re teaching people about how to have more [00:03:39] pleasurable, more satisfying, more pleasant relationships. More connected [00:03:42] sex that addresses all facets of [00:03:45] human love, which is the sex drive, the romantic love drive, and [00:03:48] the drive to attach.

[00:03:49] Molly Maloof: So we actually designed this program [00:03:51] around the science of love, which my, my advisors are like [00:03:54] luminaries in, and we’re testing it in our first clinical study in [00:03:57] January. We are actually launching it as a, as [00:04:00] like a live program, because we, I believe it works cause I’ve [00:04:03] already learned it. And honestly I thought that my sex life was great [00:04:06] and that it, I I was like nine out of 10 in, [00:04:09] in like skill sets.

[00:04:10] Molly Maloof: I realized that I was probably more like [00:04:12] six out of 10 until I did this program. I had a lot of room for [00:04:15] improvement. And this is the thing about sexual fitness is like, we are [00:04:18] not looking at physical fitness the same way as we’re like, [00:04:21] we’re not looking at sexual fitness as a thing we’re looking at is like, I go to the [00:04:24] doctor, I have a problem.

[00:04:25] Molly Maloof: But if I’m, if I [00:04:27] have, if I, you know, if, as long as I’m having a normal sex life, [00:04:30] then like normal sex life, then nothing’s wrong. But if [00:04:33] you actually pull women in the world and ask them, [00:04:36] what. It makes great sex. They say it [00:04:39] doesn’t hurt. And this is what Oh my gosh. [00:04:42] When I realized that this was like the [00:04:45] baseline of what women are dealing with, I realized, well, we actually have a much [00:04:48] bigger product on our hands than just helping people with [00:04:51] dysfunction, which is about 30 percent of women.

[00:04:53] Molly Maloof: Seven, there’s a [00:04:54] whole 70 percent of women that don’t realize that they could be having better [00:04:57] sex, more connected sex and sex that [00:05:00] creates a more stronger, a stronger bond between partners. [00:05:03] And so You know, this is what the Adamo method is about. I can go into [00:05:06] more detail if you have questions.

[00:05:07] Molly Maloof: Questions. I have like a [00:05:09] page full of

[00:05:09] JJ: questions because it’s so interesting. [00:05:12] Like, how would someone know when you said a scale of, [00:05:15] I thought it was a scale of nine to 10, I was a scale of six to 10. I’m like, how [00:05:18] would someone know where they are in the scale? How would someone even [00:05:21] know if they had sexual dysfunction?

[00:05:23] Molly Maloof: Yeah. [00:05:24] So I spent months with researchers from Imperial [00:05:27] College dissecting all of the different clinical [00:05:30] measures for sexual dysfunction, sexual [00:05:33] satisfaction sexual communication, [00:05:36] emotional closeness, which is a surrogate way of describing love in [00:05:39] scientific terms. There’s also known as there’s this, this [00:05:42] scale called the inclusion of other.

[00:05:43] Molly Maloof: So like, and then there’s the [00:05:45] triangular theory of love scale. And then there’s the [00:05:48] attachment scales. So I was like, Whoa, like we have this like really [00:05:51] broad. This is why we’re, we’re [00:05:54] basically running their program because we are going to take all of these [00:05:57] scales, run everyone through them and show [00:06:00] and then we’re going to create a derivative scale for the, for the Adamo program [00:06:03] based on the biggest measures that change.

[00:06:05] Molly Maloof: [00:06:06] And basically for sexual dysfunction, it’s not that complicated. [00:06:09] There’s problems with arousal, which is you’re not getting [00:06:12] wet, which is like physic, like lack of physical desire. Then there’s problems with [00:06:15] desire, which is you’re not, Thinking like we have sex, but [00:06:18] you might have arousal, which is lack of sort of mental desire.[00:06:21]

[00:06:21] Molly Maloof: And then they lump those two, a desire and arousal into the [00:06:24] same, into the same category. They used to be separate categories. They have the same [00:06:27] category now. And then there’s sexual [00:06:30] pain, which is pain. Pain during intercourse, which can [00:06:33] be superficial. It can be vulvodynia. It can be [00:06:36] dyspareunia, it can be vaginismus, which vulvodynia is like you touch [00:06:39] the outer vagina and there’s pain.

[00:06:41] Molly Maloof: You get near [00:06:42] it, it’s painful. Dyspareunia is when there’s pain with [00:06:45] penetration and then vaginismus is when the vagina tightens up so [00:06:48] much that they, you can’t even have penetration or if you do, it’s [00:06:51] just spasming. And then there’s there’s anorgasmia, which [00:06:54] is situational or primary. So there’s either like [00:06:57] you’ve never been able, never been able to have an orgasm.

[00:06:59] Molly Maloof: [00:07:00] Or you can have an orgasm, but only on your own, not with your partner. [00:07:03] And then for men it’s pretty similar, but there’s like [00:07:06] premature ejaculation. There’s there’s erectile [00:07:09] dysfunction. There’s you know, there’s, there’s basically men [00:07:12] also can experience pain with with penetration. And I see it actually quite a [00:07:15] lot in men in my practice where they complain to [00:07:18] me, That they have pain after intercourse in their penis, [00:07:21] and there’s like even tears.

[00:07:22] Molly Maloof: And this is the difference between friction [00:07:24] sex versus suction sex. So friction [00:07:27] sex is what you see in pornography, which is basically there’s a lot of [00:07:30] forceful entering and exiting of a penis in a vagina or an [00:07:33] anus. Not the most pleasurable for a lot of women to have [00:07:36] friction, turns out. Especially if you’re not fully aroused.[00:07:39]

[00:07:39] Molly Maloof: It can be great if you’re fully aroused, but a lot of women just aren’t, [00:07:42] especially if you’re getting older, which is another reason why we’ve [00:07:45] designed this method for all ages. [00:07:48] Suction sex is literally changing the dynamic [00:07:51] between the receiver and the giver so that there’s an [00:07:54] active receiver learning how to bring in a partner with their [00:07:57] bodies.

[00:07:57] Molly Maloof: You’re learning literally how to suck in a partner with and [00:08:00] having agency and control over what is happening during penetration. [00:08:03] And then there’s The adaptive giver, which is they’re learning [00:08:06] to attune to their partner and read their body and say, does, is [00:08:09] my partner actually enjoying what I’m doing here or not?

[00:08:11] Molly Maloof: [00:08:12] And do I need to change things up so that I can create more pleasure? [00:08:15] And then the, this concept of suction was pioneered by [00:08:18] Aaron Michael, who’s a phenomenal sex [00:08:21] therapist. And say to desolate, who’s his partner, who I [00:08:24] basically, I believe this is the next passage of [00:08:27] Johnson. Cause they are the most innovative people I found in sexual health.

[00:08:29] Molly Maloof: [00:08:30] And basically what they’ve discovered was that you can teach people [00:08:33] how to have. Connected sex that creates [00:08:36] suction during the sexual experience so that there’s full [00:08:39] contact between the two bodies. So that instead of an [00:08:42] in and out motion, it’s the, the hips are moving in [00:08:45] unison. So there’s more contact inside the body because you’re getting more [00:08:48] pleasure.

[00:08:48] Molly Maloof: And if you have any vaginal atrophy as [00:08:51] you’re getting older, It’s a lot more it’s a lot [00:08:54] more pleasurable for a woman who’s going through menopause or [00:08:57] through perimenopause who might have struggled with friction based [00:09:00] sex. And so, you know, we’re really excited to be [00:09:03] studying this because this is basically a different way of [00:09:06] teaching people a different way of experiencing sexual contact.[00:09:09]

[00:09:09] Molly Maloof: And the funny thing is, is that I [00:09:12] learned the method in a workshop without any [00:09:15] sex at all. It was just hip movements and just body attunement [00:09:18] and just embodied consent. And I brought my gay [00:09:21] guy friend with me to be my partner during the workshop. And [00:09:24] the funny thing is we didn’t, we obviously there was no sexual contact at all, but there [00:09:27] was just learning different exercises and movements.[00:09:30]

[00:09:30] Molly Maloof: And we left this program like best [00:09:33] friends and like really attached to each other. And I was like, [00:09:36] This is really weird. Like, we’re like really close. We’re like calling each [00:09:39] other every weekend and like catching up regularly and texting each other. [00:09:42] So we designed this method for creating stronger [00:09:45] bonds.

[00:09:45] Molly Maloof: So one of the disclaimers of our program, [00:09:48] you, you, you, we don’t recommend this for people who are [00:09:51] about to get divorced. We don’t recommend this to people who are, who have any [00:09:54] violence in their relationship. We don’t recommend this for people [00:09:57] who, Early in the relationship, [00:10:00] because you may end up bonded to this person in a deeper [00:10:03] way after this program.

[00:10:05] Molly Maloof: And we don’t want people [00:10:06] to be bonded who don’t want to be bonded, especially people who might be [00:10:09] violent with one another. Or if they’re just like getting to know [00:10:12] each other, maybe they, maybe this is not the ideal program. [00:10:15] We really want to ensure that people would recognize that like, One of the [00:10:18] side effects of this program is feeling a lot more love for your partner [00:10:21] and a lot more attachment.

[00:10:22] Molly Maloof: It’s not just the sexual piece. It’s [00:10:24] like we’ve literally designed this method for addressing, because [00:10:27] the word Adamo means to fall in love in Latin. So I [00:10:30] was literally trying to build a program for [00:10:33] building, basically, I wanted to take a scientific approach to creating [00:10:36] love between partners. Wow.

[00:10:38] JJ: And how [00:10:39] would you be able to measure like First of all, the [00:10:42] program, like, is it online?

[00:10:44] JJ: Is it [00:10:45] in person? How’s it delivered? And then [00:10:48] is there, after the fact, is it a subjective scale? [00:10:51] Like, do you check oxytocin levels? Like, what do [00:10:54] you, how do you test hormone levels? Like, does [00:10:57] testosterone go up? Like, what happens?

[00:10:58] Molly Maloof: So this is our [00:11:00] first program we’re launching and we’re, we’re talking [00:11:03] to epigenetic companies to, and, and [00:11:06] also like wearable technology companies to, during our second [00:11:09] cohort to actually add more measure, like, like, [00:11:12] like empirical measures.

[00:11:13] Molly Maloof: But right now what [00:11:15] we’re currently using is like standardized [00:11:18] clinical subjective measures. And so for example, [00:11:21] inclusion of other is like a scale of two circles. [00:11:24] And it’s like, if two people completely separated is over here [00:11:27] and two people like codependent is completely overlapped, [00:11:30] we’re trying to see like, how much does a person’s [00:11:33] inclusion of other change?

[00:11:35] Molly Maloof: So that’s like one of the [00:11:36] better measures of love in modern, [00:11:39] modern research science. And then there’s the triangular theory of love, [00:11:42] which is about passion, commitment, [00:11:45] And passion, commitment, and emotional [00:11:48] closeness, right? So it’s basically intimacy. So [00:11:51] there’s emotional intimacy, right? Which is what [00:11:54] the emotional closeness scale is measuring.

[00:11:55] Molly Maloof: And then there’s [00:11:57] commitment, which is measuring like, how committed are you to a person? Passion is [00:12:00] like, how much do you desire this person? And then there’s different [00:12:03] attachment scales, which we’re using that are measuring like [00:12:06] avoidance, secure, and anxious attachment patterns. [00:12:09] And then And then sexual dysfunction is, is, is measuring [00:12:12] for men and women the things I discussed [00:12:15] earlier.

[00:12:15] Molly Maloof: And then sexual satisfaction is a scale for [00:12:18] measuring like all the different aspects of being [00:12:21] satisfied with your sexual experience. So we’re starting with these, [00:12:24] these scales because they’re standardized and we want to publish white [00:12:27] papers on this. And reputable medical journals. [00:12:30] But eventually what we really want to do is like take a derivative of [00:12:33] all these scales and create like the abdominal scale that [00:12:36] can be like the most, the measures that we know are [00:12:39] consistently changing in these different individuals.[00:12:42]

[00:12:42] JJ: Wow. And would this work [00:12:45] with someone who had trauma or do they need to do something [00:12:48] beyond this first?

[00:12:50] Molly Maloof: One of the [00:12:51] things that we do in our screening is if somebody has [00:12:54] had recent sexual trauma, we would [00:12:57] recommend that you get Pretty much mainstream trauma [00:13:00] care. So like EMDR, somatic [00:13:03] experiencing, if you need psychotherapy obviously like the [00:13:06] acute approach to trauma is like, we don’t want you [00:13:09] to come into this program with a highly dysregulated nervous system, [00:13:12] because this is a very, This program [00:13:15] is a somatic therapy.

[00:13:16] Molly Maloof: So I do think it would help [00:13:18] regulate a person’s nervous system. But I think if someone’s dealt with an acute [00:13:21] trauma, they need, there’s a certain period of [00:13:24] time where you need to like work with a team of [00:13:27] professionals, which I never got because I didn’t even know [00:13:30] that was available in my early twenties.

[00:13:31] Molly Maloof: But It’s [00:13:33] important to like do a certain amount of acute care. [00:13:36] Now, if somebody’s dealt with somebody’s, you know, somebody has [00:13:39] active PTSD the reason why we’ve designed this [00:13:42] method as an integration program is we want it to work [00:13:45] alongside mainstream trauma programs such as like, [00:13:48] you know, these existing things.

[00:13:49] Molly Maloof: So if someone’s had PTSD for a [00:13:51] long time, it’s not going to bar them from the program, but [00:13:54] we definitely want you to still have you know, [00:13:57] we, we, we don’t want you to use this as a replacement for [00:14:00] existing standard of care because it is a new program and it’s [00:14:03] just, it’s just being launched. We are actually in talks [00:14:06] with some organizations in the military [00:14:09] to develop programs for military sexual trauma.

[00:14:11] Molly Maloof: So [00:14:12] we are likely going to be launching a very [00:14:15] targeted program for actual, like pretty [00:14:18] serious sexual trauma in the near future. It’s something [00:14:21] that I’ve been passionate about for a long time. And the military is like [00:14:24] a big source. I mean, it’s, it’s clearly not a [00:14:27] problem in the space and they actually have resources to solve these [00:14:30] problems.

[00:14:30] Molly Maloof: But this first method, this first program was [00:14:33] designed to be as direct to consumer as possible, or. [00:14:36] Ideally marketed through existing [00:14:39] therapists. So we’re training psychotherapists, sex [00:14:42] therapists marriage and family therapy counselors, [00:14:45] because we want this to be just in physicians. And we want this to be [00:14:48] ideally distributed or people right now, the [00:14:51] first program that’s launching is going to be led by [00:14:54] Aaron and Seda, who are the founders.

[00:14:55] Molly Maloof: Eventually, this program will [00:14:57] be an evergreen program that you can, you can basically have [00:15:00] a therapist available to you, which will be working with our [00:15:03] company, and you can just text them questions you have and have, [00:15:06] you know, someone to work, someone to work with, but we [00:15:09] wanted it to be a, Safe enough [00:15:12] program that somebody could go through on their own and not feel [00:15:15] not be basically, we wouldn’t, we wouldn’t put anybody in danger [00:15:18] with this program.

[00:15:18] Molly Maloof: As we build it out more [00:15:21] specifically more program specific around trauma, [00:15:24] we’ll want these programs delivered by, you know, [00:15:27] like therapists likely, but [00:15:30] I’m a big believer that the healer is really inside you. [00:15:33] And they’re the same [00:15:36] Pathways that produce pain in the body also can produce [00:15:39] pleasure.

[00:15:39] Molly Maloof: So I do believe that like a [00:15:42] lot of this a lot of this, this work is best [00:15:45] done alongside therapists, which is why we want to work with therapists [00:15:48] to distribute it. But because our method is, I think, so [00:15:51] safe, eventually if people want to take it as an evergreen program [00:15:54] and go in a self guided way, they, [00:15:57] they’ll be able to do that too.

[00:15:58] JJ: Wow. And [00:16:00] first of all, how common is sexual trauma? Cause it’s [00:16:03] really common, isn’t it? Okay.

[00:16:04] Molly Maloof: So the CDC [00:16:06] says that it’s one in five women are raped. One [00:16:09] in four are abused as children and one in three are [00:16:12] assaulted. And I actually think the numbers are [00:16:15] probably double because since I started this company, One [00:16:18] of the biggest revelations, I honestly starting this company, like pretty [00:16:21] much anything that needed to be healed [00:16:24] leftover around this drama, [00:16:27] like was literally the thing that really got me fully healed was [00:16:30] dropping all shame.

[00:16:31] Molly Maloof: And when I started [00:16:33] talking to women about this company and I started talking to [00:16:36] investors and women would just start sharing their stories. [00:16:39] And [00:16:42] I would [00:16:45] just be like, there’s not a single person, there’s [00:16:48] not a single woman I know in this world who’s not been somehow affected by [00:16:51] some form of trauma or assault or, [00:16:54] or experience that was really negative sexually.

[00:16:56] Molly Maloof: [00:16:57] I really think it’s the baseline of our society that [00:17:00] versus like the, like I, it’s, the research [00:17:03] suggests that we are actually have a better off than the [00:17:06] rest of the world, that the, Like a lot of countries that [00:17:09] are highly patriarchal have much [00:17:12] higher rates of sexual trauma. [00:17:15] Epidemiologically speaking, this is just what people are gathering through survey [00:17:18] data.

[00:17:18] Molly Maloof: I, I think because Americans are so much [00:17:21] more aware of these problems because of the movement of [00:17:24] Me Too and because of just the general way society is going, [00:17:27] I think there’s a lot more people reporting it [00:17:30] than in the past. It’s a lot more common in men that I [00:17:33] realized as well. Like I’ve dealt with a number of [00:17:36] men in my practice that have confessed to me their experiences with trauma, [00:17:39] especially in children.

[00:17:40] Molly Maloof: So I think men don’t [00:17:42] report it as much.

[00:17:43] JJ: I

[00:17:44] Molly Maloof: spoke to a lot of [00:17:45] gay men and they have a very different perspective [00:17:48] on trauma. They really don’t see it. They don’t see like [00:17:51] they, they, they, they, There’s a choice in that community I’ve found [00:17:54] to not see sexual trauma as trauma. Like, and [00:17:57] there’s something about the masculine identity that doesn’t want to [00:18:00] identify with trauma, which is fine.

[00:18:01] Molly Maloof: And I’m not going to say there’s a right or [00:18:03] wrong, but I think that, you know, [00:18:06] and then I think there’s also a very big difference between [00:18:09] assault and trauma. And like, a lot of [00:18:12] people don’t know the difference between these things, right? And so there’s [00:18:15] just this is a, this is a very Taboo area to be talking [00:18:18] about.

[00:18:18] Molly Maloof: But the reason why I’m out there talking about it is [00:18:21] because the more that we just bring it to the surface. The [00:18:24] less shame we will carry and the more we can [00:18:27] all drop shame. That was like one of the best ways to heal [00:18:30] is to like, when you, when you no longer feel any, [00:18:33] any like sense of shame around it, there’s a [00:18:36] free feeling you get.

[00:18:36] Molly Maloof: You’re like, Oh, so now I can [00:18:39] actually explore all this because I don’t have anything to feel bad about anymore [00:18:42] because it shouldn’t have ever happened in the first place. The problem I [00:18:45] see is that there’s a lot of people holding it in and not talking about it and not [00:18:48] exploring paths of healing and they’re [00:18:51] suffering unnecessarily And their nervous systems are just [00:18:54] wired to be tense all the time.

[00:18:55] Molly Maloof: And I mean [00:18:57] that that’s sort of like hardening of our, of our [00:19:00] tissues is from contraction and that [00:19:03] contraction comes from just like wanting to protect ourselves over and over [00:19:06] and again and feeling unsafe. And I’m just such a [00:19:09] believer in Anything you can do to create a sense [00:19:12] of safety around you, whether it be your community, whether it be through [00:19:15] working with a trauma therapist, whether it be exploring your [00:19:18] sexuality in the clinical program working with, you know, [00:19:21] a sex coach, working with sex therapists, like, you [00:19:24] know, anything you can do to just like [00:19:27] create some space around this so that you can explore and not [00:19:30] feel shame and feel a sense of pleasure and excitement.

[00:19:32] Molly Maloof: It’s [00:19:33] one of the most phenomenal things you can do for your health and it’s changed my [00:19:36] life dramatically.

[00:19:38] JJ: I think that most [00:19:39] people, and maybe I’m just speaking for myself [00:19:42] on the safety thing, have no idea even what, like [00:19:45] until recently I had no idea that I didn’t [00:19:48] feel safe until I realized what I really [00:19:51] felt safe for the first time in my entire [00:19:54] life.

[00:19:54] JJ: At like, you know, it took till 55 to [00:19:57] feel safe.

[00:19:58] Molly Maloof: Yeah.

[00:19:58] JJ: Imagine, you [00:20:00] know, where the entire time you’re like [00:20:03] in alert, high alert situation. [00:20:06] So do you think, like, I’m hearing all of this [00:20:09] and I’m really excited [00:20:12] about what’s happening in mental health. Now I grew up, I’m [00:20:15] adopted, and they say about adopted kids, they either are like [00:20:18] super overachievers or they’re like in a ditch somewhere.

[00:20:20] JJ: [00:20:21] And I have a brother who’s profoundly [00:20:24] schizophrenic. An adopted brother, you know, [00:20:27] raised in the, I think typical household back then with a [00:20:30] very alcoholic father and a checked out mom and [00:20:33] all of that. And [00:20:36] I look at now what we’re starting to do with [00:20:39] trauma and MDMA and ketamine and these [00:20:42] types of things.

[00:20:42] JJ: And I think it is, and, and, you know, [00:20:45] psilocybin, I think it’s the most exciting stuff ever. [00:20:48] There’s going to be all sorts of You [00:20:51] know, craziness around it, [00:20:54] but this sounds like this program and then working [00:20:57] with a trauma therapist and be able to do like what you talked about [00:21:00] doing, you know?

[00:21:01] Molly Maloof: Yeah. I mean, the [00:21:03] biggest drivers of sexual dysfunction, psychosomatic sexual [00:21:06] dysfunction, are relationship problems, mood disorders, and [00:21:09] trauma.

[00:21:09] Molly Maloof: And MDMA is being studied [00:21:12] for trauma. Psilocybin is being studied [00:21:15] for depression. Treatment resistant depression, and it’s far [00:21:18] better for sexual health than [00:21:21] SSRIs. Tommaso Barba is a scientist working with me. He’s published a paper [00:21:24] on the different effects of psilocybin versus [00:21:27] SSRIs on depression and sexual function.

[00:21:29] Molly Maloof: So there’s real research [00:21:30] coming out around the fact that this may be a safer path to [00:21:33] healing. Potentially, we don’t know yet. We’re getting there. And then [00:21:36] and then relationship issues, like believe it or not, there’s [00:21:39] actually a bunch of doctors in California that are using ketamine for [00:21:42] couple therapy.

[00:21:42] Molly Maloof: And I think that MDMA will [00:21:45] eventually be approved potentially. I mean, the thing is, [00:21:48] there’s no, there’s no diagnostic code for couples not getting [00:21:51] along. So it’s going to be tricky to see how we get that [00:21:54] covered, but off label use potentially might be available. [00:21:57] There’s a lot of underground shamans and doctors [00:22:00] using MDMA for couples.

[00:22:01] Molly Maloof: It was actually given to [00:22:03] 500, 000 people legally before it was banned [00:22:06] and by the DEA. And it was largely being used in [00:22:09] couples contexts. So I think that [00:22:12] We’re like, I, I’m a huge believer in psychedelic medicine. [00:22:15] It’s changed my life dramatically and I’m just as [00:22:18] much of a critic of the problems of the [00:22:21] wild west that it is right now.

[00:22:22] Molly Maloof: Mm-Hmm. that, and I’ve seen so [00:22:24] many people have bad experiences with working with what [00:22:27] they think is like a world class sha, a shaman . Like I [00:22:30] actually is like a complete psychopath and who’s like [00:22:33] totally inexperienced, has no idea what they’re doing. So I [00:22:36] tell people the most important thing, if you’re gonna even consider [00:22:39] exploring psychedelics.

[00:22:40] Molly Maloof: Choose your shaman like you [00:22:42] would your neurosurgeon because you’re doing psychic brain [00:22:45] surgery. And so you really do not want to haphazardly [00:22:48] take these medicines. There are some phenomenal [00:22:51] resources on websites like Psychedelic Support, Influence. You can [00:22:54] get, if you’re a physician out there and you want to get educated, [00:22:57] Take these courses.

[00:22:57] Molly Maloof: Like there’s CME credit you can get. I got CME [00:23:00] credit at the MAPS conference this year for psychedelic [00:23:03] education. So the world is changing, but [00:23:06] we all as physicians and therapists and health [00:23:09] coaches and healers have a responsibility to educate people [00:23:12] that these are double edged swords. They can heal [00:23:15] people and they can hurt people.

[00:23:16] Molly Maloof: And if used properly, [00:23:18] they are phenomenal medicines. If used improperly, [00:23:21] They can lead to lasting damage. So I always add a [00:23:24] major disclaimer because I’ve never had a bad trip, but I’ve [00:23:27] been incredibly careful with these medicines. And I’m at, I’m at a [00:23:30] place in my life where the next frontier is [00:23:33] like, you get, you can get to these places on your own [00:23:36] without any medicine at all.

[00:23:37] JJ: That’s the Dr. Joe Dispenza thing. It’s like, [00:23:39] okay.

[00:23:39] Molly Maloof: Yeah. So meditation is [00:23:42] Hey, best medicine. And there’s, if you [00:23:45] like, you can get the same outcomes from [00:23:48] intensive meditation, you know, practice and you can [00:23:51] create, but meditation is just, is it has some risks too. [00:23:54] So people go to meditation retreats and sometimes sometimes [00:23:57] have psychotic breaks.

[00:23:58] Molly Maloof: So I’m always about [00:24:00] start slow, You know, start low, go slow, titrate [00:24:03] up. Be really careful with anything you’re doing to change your mind and your [00:24:06] consciousness. And always stay grounded with your [00:24:09] family and your community. Always staying grounded with nature. Always staying [00:24:12] grounded with your daily practices, your health habits.

[00:24:14] Molly Maloof: [00:24:15] And be very, very careful with adding [00:24:18] consciousness altering practices to your [00:24:21] life. And just slowly, slowly expand [00:24:24] from a place of deep safety and reverence. [00:24:27]

[00:24:27] JJ: I love it. Okay. So we have gone through, [00:24:30] we’ve gone all over the place where I want to make [00:24:33] sure of, I’m going to get all of the different things you [00:24:36] talked about into the show notes.

[00:24:37] JJ: I’m going to put the show notes [00:24:39] at jjvirgin. com forward slash spark [00:24:42] factor. I know you have an HRV optimization guide. We’ll [00:24:45] put the book in. You mentioned some different links that [00:24:48] we’ll pull up and put here too. Is this [00:24:51] course available? Like, can people, It yet, or [00:24:54] they’re still in the beta testing?

[00:24:55] Molly Maloof: You can sign up at [00:24:57] livingadamo.com. We start the third week of January, [00:25:00] so I don’t know when this is launching, but we’re still [00:25:03] recruiting people to the program. And is that living or

[00:25:05] JJ: Loving [00:25:06] Adamo? Living.

[00:25:06] Molly Maloof: Living Adamo.

[00:25:07] JJ: Okay. [00:25:09] A-D-A-M-O. Yes. I know as you’re talking, I’m like, [00:25:12] I am so running down and telling my husband about this.

[00:25:14] JJ: I’d love to [00:25:15] have you. Well, here’s the thing. Like, [00:25:18] you know, I, I believe in, I, [00:25:21] the two things I love in life are [00:25:24] marketing and health. Like those are my two favorite things. [00:25:27] And my dog’s my husband and my kids. And [00:25:30] one of the things we always teach in business [00:25:33] is strengthen your strengths. If you’ve got a [00:25:36] weakness, hire the weakness, you know, [00:25:39] like I don’t really, I’m not good at cleaning.

[00:25:41] JJ: I [00:25:42] hire for that. Right. And I don’t want to get good at it. That’s going to always be [00:25:45] a weakness. It will remain there. But, you know, you look at something and [00:25:48] go, you know, I finally met the love of my [00:25:51] life at 52 and [00:25:54] he’s just, he is my. He is my [00:25:57] perfect human. He is like absolutely the yin [00:26:00] to my yang. Like he’s weird.

[00:26:01] JJ: He is, it is so [00:26:03] effortless and easy. It’s [00:26:06] crazy. And which is great. Cause I would always be the runner. You know, [00:26:09] if a relationship went sideways, I was the first to run out. Like I’m [00:26:12] out, I’m out of here. That was me. And so [00:26:15] yeah, like that, what is it, the avoidant personality, [00:26:18] like I’m, I’m out, man, game out.

[00:26:20] JJ: So [00:26:21] really when you, when you have that kind of [00:26:24] relationship, you look at you, I’m always looking at what’s [00:26:27] the, what’s the next level. What’s, how do we go deeper? [00:26:30] How do we get closer? So this is, [00:26:33] this is great. Yeah. Yes. Cool. [00:26:36] Okay. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for [00:26:39] all of your time. I [00:26:42] appreciate you.

[00:26:42] JJ: I love your work. I think we just identified like [00:26:45] three more books that have to come out. Yep. But [00:26:48] this really like, this is game changing [00:26:51] life work that can change the planet. Wow.

[00:26:53] Molly Maloof: [00:26:54] Wow. Wow.

[00:26:55] JJ: [00:26:57] Yes.
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