The co-effect of sensate focus technique and sexual position changing on sexual function of women who use medical treatment for endometriosis.

Endometriosis is one of the most common chronic diseases of women. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sensate focus technique and sexual position changing on sexual function of women who used medical treatment for endometriosis. This clinical trial study was performed on 80 women who used medical treatment for endometriosis. Women were randomly assigned to two groups: in the intervention group, 2 h of verbal educational session were held and at the end of the session, an instruction booklet about sensate focus technique was given to them, the control group received routine treatment. The sexual function and the dyspareunia of the participants were evaluated after 4 and 8 weeks. Eight weeks after the intervention, the mean total score of sexual function in the intervention group was significantly improved compared to before the intervention (p < 0.001). The mean score of sexual pain in the follow-up periods in the intervention group was significantly different compared to before the intervention and control groups (p < 0.001). The sensate focus technique and sexual position change simultaneously improve sexual function in women with endometriosis who used medication.Trial registration: Approval number from Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT2200617047812N1 (Registration date: 2020-11-05).Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? The role of endometriosis in the genesis of sexual dysfunction in women has been mentioned in several articles. Researches have shown that some sexual positions put less pressure on parts of the pelvis that contain endometrial tissue. The sensate focus technique can improve sexual dysfunction, including hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) and female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD), orgasm, dyspareunia, and vaginismus.What do the results of this study add? Have a positive effect on sexual function and dyspareunia in women with endometriosis undergoing medical treatment and improve their sexual function.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Medical staff recommended becoming familiar with these techniques to teach sensate focus and sexual position changing to women with endometriosis to improve their sexual function.

The stepwise development of an interactive web-based sex education programme for subfertile couples: the Pleasure & Pregnancy programme.

STUDY QUESTION: Can we develop a web-based sex education programme (programme running in a web browser) that addresses the needs of subfertile couples who are advised expectant management for at least 6 months? SUMMARY ANSWER: The 'Pleasure & Pregnancy' programme addresses couples' needs, is likely to improve couples' sexual functioning, and is subsequently hypothesised to improve the chance of natural pregnancy. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: According to professional guidelines (e.g. the Netherlands and UK) couples with unexplained subfertility and a good chance of natural pregnancy, should be advised at least 6 months of expectant management. Adherence to expectant management is challenging as couples and gynaecologist prefer a more active approach. Targeting sexuality may be useful as subfertility is a risk factor for decreased sexual functioning. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A novel programme was developed according to the three steps of the Medical Research Councils' (MRC) framework. First, relevant literature was explored. Second, an interdisciplinary expert panel developed a theory (based on a systematic literature review and patient interviews) on how the chance of natural conception can be improved. Third, the expected process and outcomes were modelled. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Two licenced clinical sexologists, two gynaecologists, a clinical embryologist and two midwife-researchers, all from Belgium and the Netherlands, proposed components for the sex education programme. PubMed was searched systematically for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the proposed components in different patient populations. The needs of 12 heterosexual Dutch or Belgian couples who were advised expectant management were explored with in-depth interviews. The content and delivery characteristics of the novel programme were described in detail with the aid of 'Intervention Taxonomy'. To model the outcomes, a protocol for an RCT was designed, registered and submitted for publication. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: To help maintain or improve sexual functioning, mainly pleasure, and hence increase pregnancy rates, the web-based Pleasure & Pregnancy programme contains a combination of psychosexual education and couple communication, mindfulness and sensate focus exercises. Information on the biology of conception and interaction with fertility clinic staff and peers were added based on couples' needs to increase potential acceptability. LIMITATIONS AND REASON FOR CAUTION: This paper outlines the development phase of a sex education programme according to the MRC-framework. Whether the Pleasure & Pregnancy programme actually is acceptable, improves sexual functioning, increases pregnancy rates and is cost-effective remains to be determined. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: No previous interactive web-based sex education programme has aimed to increase the natural pregnancy rate of subfertile couples by targeting their sexual pleasure. The Pleasure & Pregnancy programme addresses couples' needs and its effect on sexual functioning and pregnancy rate is plausible but remains to be demonstrated by an RCT which is currently ongoing. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): Funding was provided by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), Flanders Research Foundation and the University of Amsterdam. C.B.L. is editor-in-chief of Human Reproductionbut was blinded to all parts of the peer review process. The remaining authors have no conflict of interest to report. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Not applicable.

Betrayal of the Body: Group Approaches to Hypo-Sexuality for Adult Female Sufferers of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

Hypo-sexuality, self-reported hypoactive sexual desire and/or sexual aversion, is a common symptom experienced by women who were victims of childhood sexual abuse. This symptom may be distressing to the patient herself, and may place strain on her romantic relationships in adulthood. Unfortunately, this problem often remains undiscussed between patient and provider, in part due to the provider's lack of comfort or knowledge regarding how best to address this issue. In this article, we explore several strategies that providers may employ in a group setting in order to help women realize their sexuality while minimizing untoward side effects such as feelings of guilt or shame, or flashbacks. We highlight the merits of each technique, and provide insights from clinical experience to guide practitioners to help their patients facing this difficult issue.

The Impact of Body Awareness on Women's Sexual Health: A Comprehensive Review.

INTRODUCTION: Body awareness has been linked to female sexual response in laboratory manipulation studies and is used in clinical settings to ameliorate sexual difficulties. AIM: To evaluate and review the literature on body awareness and female sexual function. METHODS: A literature review was conducted through PsycInfo, PsycARTICLES, and PubMed using terms such as body awareness and sexual function. A manual search also was conducted using reference lists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Studies were included if manipulated body awareness was a main variable of interest and if outcome variables included female sexual functioning or sexual response. RESULTS: 29 studies were included in this review and grouped into 3 categories: sensate focus (n = 7), mindfulness (n = 13), and laboratory manipulations of body awareness (n = 9). Body awareness is identified as an area of importance for female sexuality. Explicit instructions aimed at increasing body awareness, including those used in the clinical techniques of sensate focus and mindfulness, appear to enhance sexual response for many women, including women with low sexual arousal, hypoactive desire, anorgasmia, and sexual pain and in non-clinical samples. Induction of implicit body awareness also resulted in increased arousal in 1 study. CONCLUSION: Body awareness appears to enhance sexual well-being for some women. This is supported by laboratory manipulation studies conducted on women with and without sexual difficulties and by intervention studies using sensate focus and mindfulness for women with a range of sexual problems. The extent to which enhanced body awareness accounts for results in intervention studies is often unclear because of other features of the interventions and/or study design. This review provides the field with a summary of intervention and laboratory studies on body awareness, with results pointing toward body awareness as an integral component of treatment for sexual dysfunction. Seal BN, Meston CM. The Impact of Body Awareness on Women's Sexual Health: A Comprehensive Review. Sex Med Rev 2020;8:242-255.

Clinical study on treatment of premature ejaculation with modified Masters-Johnson sensate focus exercise / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To study and evaluate the feasibility and clinical effects of the treatment of premature ejaculation with modified Masters-Johnson sensate focus exercise.Methods 100 male outpatients with premature ejaculation were divided randomly into two equal groups randomly.The experiment group was treated with the modified Masters-Johnson sensate focus exercise and oral sertraline 50 mg/day for 8 weeks.The control group was given oral sertraline 50 mg/day for 8 weeks.The scores were evaluated with CIPE-5 and compared between the groups before and after the treatment and after the flown-up for 6 moths.Results After treatment,the score of CIPE-5 were better in experiment group than that in control group (P＜0.01).The effective rate 92％ (46/50) in experiment group was significantly higher than that in control group 68％ (34/50) (P＜0.01).The relapse cases (6 cases) were significantly lower than that in the control group (22 cases) (P＜0.01).Conclusions The method of Masters-Johnson sensate focus exercise for treatment of premature ejaculation has a good curative effect,and low recurrence rate,which is worth the clinical promotion.