ABSTRACT
There are nine major diagnostic categories of male sexual dysfunction in the DSM-IV. Psychotherapy outcome studies focusing on these problems are reviewed. Currently, there appears to be little evidence that effective psychological interventions exist for these problems. Reasons for this include numerous methodological problems of existing research, effect sizes that are not clearly clinically significant, lack of compelling follow-up data indicating durability of treatment gains, and lack of treatment manuals that allow replication. Also, some disorders have been ignored by researchers. Guidelines for sample selection and description, assessment and diagnosis, and research design are provided.
Subject(s)
Psychotherapy/methods , Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological/therapy , Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Male , Outcome Assessment, Health Care/methods , Research DesignABSTRACT
The increasing recognition of the significant incidence of female sexual dysfunction as well as the increasing acceptance of sex therapy as the preferred option for addressing problems in sexual functioning give rise to questions as to effectiveness of psychotherapy for female sexual dysfunction. This article presents a review of empirical studies of the treatment of female sexual dysfunction that meet minimal methodological criteria. Because of the variety and seriousness of methodological problems in the studies reviewed, guidelines for sample selection and description, research design, assessment and classification, and data analysis are provided. In addition, the 21 studies reviewed are examined for information they give about the treatment of female sexual dysfunction.
