Practical Intimacy Helps Couples Improve Their Connections Through Coaching

The Short Version: Jodie Milton and Reece Stockhausen created Practical Intimacy after encountering problems in their relationship and realizing that they can help other couples become stronger. The website offers online coaching and education on sex, intimacy, relationships, and personal development. The coaches behind Practical Intimacy believe that a relationship can change your life for the better when you have the tools to improve it.  

Everybody knows that communication is essential to building a healthy relationship, yet many of us fail to establish the intimacy necessary to hold a serious relationship conversation. It’s scary to sit down with a partner and talk about what you want out of the relationship. You risk feeling embarrassed if you misread their cues. It’s especially tough when your wants do not align with those of your partner, and you’re left wondering whether you should walk away from the relationship. 

Although having an open dialogue with your partner can be anxiety-inducing, the ability to have such conversations is indicative of a good relationship. You don’t want to be in a committed relationship where neither party feels comfortable talking about their feelings. When conflicts arise, nobody speaks up and the conflict goes unsolved. Such relationships don’t have longevity, so overcoming fears of “The Talk” is a game changer. 

Enter Practical Intimacy: An online company dedicated to offering sex, intimacy, relationship, and empowerment education that creates strong relationships. Run by relationship and intimacy coaches Jodie Milton & Reece Stockhausen, Practical Intimacy views relationships as a way to heal from your past and transform your life and has the coaching resources you need to build a life-changing relationship. 

Having dialogue around what’s working and what isn’t in your relationship is fundamental to improving it. But it can be overwhelming to sit in the sterile office of a relationship therapist and awkwardly run through your problems. 

Practical Intimacy was founded by Jodie Milton, an educator, and Reece Stockhausen, a personal development expert, who started dating and realized that, to have a healthy relationship, they would need to work hard to overcome anxieties stemming from past relationships.

Practical Intimacy was born from the success Jodie and Reece found in their own relationship. Building a strong, healthy relationship is achievable with the open dialogue and coaching resources offered by Practical Intimacy. 

With Practical Intimacy, coaching is intimate and collaborative. “We like to share our personal stories, we like to use our own relationship as an example, we encourage couples to ask us specific questions, and there’s this two-way feedback loop,” Jodie said. “It’s a two way conversation.” 

Jodie’s affinity for sharing personal stories helps clients come to their own conclusions about their relationship. She looks for her clients to feel empowered to find their own answers. “It’s a mix of calling out their BS and getting them to look at the uncomfortable things,” she said. Undergoing coaching with Practical Intimacy well help you find your own answers in your relationship. Jodie and Reece won’t just tell you what to do, or try to fit you into a pre-defined mould. Instead, they guide their clients to look within themselves and engage in personal reflection to make an informed decision that’s right for them.

Every client is the expert on themselves, and Jodie and Reece are there to encourage that client to step into that knowledge. This strategy equips clients to solve future problems independently in the relationship, instead of relying on a coach or therapist every time an issue arises. Practical Intimacy sets couples up for long-term success. 

Emotional intimacy is also central to Practical Intimacy’s mission. “It’s about helping people to connect deeply. And that emotional intimacy comes from knowing ourselves deeply, and being able to share that with another person,” said Jodie. She knows how good it feels to be seen and heard by somebody else. “That’s the most incredible, life affirming feeling on the planet,” Jodie said. “It’s very nourishing.” That feeling of connection shapes who we are, so it’s important to carry into relationships. 

Jodie and Reece said they aim to show other couples how to find that connection and that feeling of deep respect in a relationship. Building a healthy relationship requires more than just understanding the theory of emotional intimacy. It requires you to truly feel that intimacy. 

Reece and Jodie said they are cognizant that emotional intimacy with another person is particularly difficult for men. There is a lot more stigma for men around seeking mental health counseling or support with their relationship. “It’s so important,” Jodie said, “Especially because some of the skills that helped our relationship, such as emotional intelligence and communication, we do not teach to boys and men.” Society has set men up to feel shame around their relationships, which underscores the importance of the work Reece and Jodie do. Reece, especially, can empathize with male clients and help them feel secure seeking advice and improving their relationship. 

Name a relationship problem: Practical Intimacy has the solution in its wide variety of courses. A communication course is a good starter for couples who want to get better at resolving conflicts, having difficult conversations, and finding emotional intimacy through conversation. Practical Intimacy also offers a course on reigniting your love life, which is a good fit for couples who feel mismatched in sexual desire. 

“It’s a great fit for couples who are really clear on that problem and where both people want to do something about it,” Jodie said. “It helps them to go through that course in the privacy of their own home, and then specifically look at the issue.” Another course launching soon will aim to help people create experiences of connection. “It’s sort of like a fun date night experience at home!” Jodie said. 

Jodie also does more tailored, individual coaching, in which she helps women who are experiencing anything from finding themselves after a separation to wanting to feel more confident in their relationship. She might coach them on how to talk to their partner, how to encourage their partner to be more open to taking a course and improving the relationship, and even on how to enrich their personal life in a non-romantic way. 

To tap into Jodie and Reece’s expertise, book a free discovery call with a coach. That first session can help you figure out whether the coach is a good fit and whether they have the skills for the specific issue you’re facing, whether that’s sexual incompatibility or simply unhappiness in the relationship. “I think it’s important to identify your key goals and what it is that you would like to create,” said Jodie. 

Clients often join calls unsure of their goals because they’re so focused on the problem. To help get clarity on what you want to create, Jodie and Reece encourage clients to journal and reflect on what they want their relationship to feel like now, and where they want to be in 6 months time – personally and relationally. It’s hard to improve as a couple without pinpointing a specific goal for the relationship. Practical Intimacy can help clients set goals, improve relationship dialogue, and find true happiness together, and so much more.