ABSTRACT
Background: The NHS long-term plan identifies digitally-enabled care as a priority for NHS services in the next decade. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the modernisation of services as digital care needed to be adopted. To enable an NHS sexual problems service to continue during the pandemic, a virtual psychoeducational and sex therapy workshop for women experiencing painful sex was developed and delivered via a video conferencing platform. This was piloted as part of a stepped-care approach in a sexual problems service based within an integrated sexual health clinic in London. Method: All patients experiencing vulval pain during sex and/or difficulties with penetration had a psychological and medical assessment. Any underlying medical conditions were investigated and managed before patients were invited to join the psychosexual workshop. The intervention comprised six group sessions facilitated by two Clinical Psychologists conducted via a video conferencing platform, followed by an individual review session. Psychoeducation, sex therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy techniques were included, as well as an opportunity to reflect upon the contextual influences on beliefs about sex. Participants were given self-report outcome measures pre and post intervention, which included quantitative and qualitative measures of change. Results: Data for 14 participants who completed the pilot workshop are included. The table below shows the outcomes pre and post intervention. Conclusion: The virtual workshop was well-received and evaluated favourably by participants. Participants showed considerable change in understanding their sexual difficulty and in improving sexual confidence, satisfaction, and functioning. Qualitative feedback suggested the virtual format was convenient and less stressful to attend. Expanding virtual workshops for sexual problems as part of 'digital first' care options for patients will support the sustainable provision of psychosexual services in NHS sexual health settings as well as being more conducive to patients' lives. (Table Presented).