Efficacy of Psychological Interventions for Sexual Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in the general population and associated with psychological distress and impaired sexual satisfaction. Psychological interventions are promising treatment options, as sexual dysfunction is frequently caused by and deteriorates because of psychological factors. However, research into the efficacy of psychological interventions is rather scarce and an up-to-date review of outcome studies is currently lacking. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available studies from 1980 to 2009 to examine the efficacy of psychological interventions for patients with sexual dysfunction. A total of 20 randomized controlled studies comparing a psychological intervention with a wait-list were included in the meta-analysis. The overall post-treatment effect size for symptom severity was d = 0.58 (95% CI: 0.40 to 0.77) and for sexual satisfaction d = 0.47 (95% CI: 0.27 to 0.70). Psychological interventions were shown to especially improve symptom severity for women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and orgasmic disorder. Our systematic review of 14 studies comparing at least two active interventions head-to-head revealed that very few comparative studies are available with large variability in effect sizes across studies (d between -0.69 and 2.29 for symptom severity and -0.56 and 14.02 for sexual satisfaction). In conclusion, psychological interventions are effective treatment options for sexual dysfunction. However, evidence varies considerably across single disorders. Good evidence exists to date for female hypoactive sexual desire disorder and female orgasmic disorder. Further research is needed on psychological interventions for other sexual dysfunctions, their long-term and comparative effects.

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Challenges in Designing Psychological Treatment Studies for Sexual Dysfunction

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Consommation de substances psychoactives et sexualité chez les jeunes : une vision globale de la sphère sexuelle

“…Alors que l'efficacité des interventions psychologiques pour réduire les symptômes associés aux troubles sexuels et pour améliorer la satisfaction sexuelle a été démontrée pour certains troubles sexuels (Frühauf, Gerger, Schmidt, Munder et Barth, 2013), celle-ci n'a pas fait l'objet de validation auprès de personnes ayant des problèmes de consommation de SPA. De fait, même lorsque des personnes recevant des services en dépendance rapportent des troubles sexuels, ceux-ci sont généralement exempts des plans d'intervention individualisés (Carroll et al, 2001).…”