The desired desire for sexual desire A first exploration of the effect of an online cognitive-behavioral treatment program for women with low sexual desire
Summary
The problem of low sexual desire is highly prevalent in the general female population. It is the most common Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) and is often accompanied with personal distress and interpersonal difficulties. Unfortunately, there has been limited evaluation of the effectiveness of psychological interventions for these women. Furthermore, none of these studies have evaluated the effectiveness of these programs delivered over the Internet. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to extend past research by evaluating the effect of an online cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) program for women with low sexual desire. The treatment program consisted of a combination of psycho-education, cognitive restructuring and sexual fantasy training, and concluded with a future oriented writing assignment. For all participants there was the possibility for regular e-mail contact with the researchers, and personal feedback on the completed assignments. Outcome measures were level of sexual desire, level of subjective distress and presence of dysfunctional cognitions, and were measured with questionnaires before and after the intervention. It was expected that the women would improve on all outcomes measures, as a consequence of the online treatment. In total, eight women completed the two-week treatment program and filled out both sets of questionnaires. Because of recruitment problems, no control group was used. The mean age was 22.8 (standard deviation = 3.7). All women had a heterosexual preference and were involved in a relationship. The main results demonstrated that, on average, the women reported a significant increase in level of sexual desire, and a significantly diminishing of personal distress after the treatment. With respect to the dysfunctional cognitions, an interesting and hopeful -non-significant- trend in the expected direction was found. Overall, the findings are promising and could be seen as some initial support for the effectiveness of the CBT program. It also highlights the suitability of the Internet for providing psychological therapy for women with low sexual desire, and for targeting the individual distress and cognitive factors often associated with this sexual dysfunction. However, it should be emphasized that the current study served as a pilot study, and that future controlled treatment outcome studies are needed to further inquire the efficacy of this online intervention. Additional limitations and implications of the study are discussed and several recommendations for follow-up studies are suggested.