Psychosexual Therapy
If your doctor finds that your ED has a psychological cause, you may be referred to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or sex therapist for treatment, e.g. viagra. In fact, even if your doctor finds a physical cause for your ED, he or she may recommend counseling to help relieve anxiety and remove unrealistic expectations associated with medical or surgical therapy. Because emotional factors are ultimately involved in almost all cases of ED, many doctors believe that some form of psychosexual counseling should be part of the treatment for many patients suffering from ED.
Three types of psychotherapy are commonly used to treat sexual dysfunction. Individual psychoanalytic therapy is based on the theory that sexual dysfunction represents an underlying subconscious conflict. If the patient’s erectile problems are associated with an emotional re-
sponse that no longer applies to him, he can learn to create a new image of himself that will break through certain emotional barriers and cure his erectile problems. The drawback of this treatment is that it requires prolonged, intense therapy. Also, no data show the long-term success of this kind of therapy.
Symptom-oriented therapy often includes the patient’s sexual partner. This therapy primarily involves explaining the cause of the dysfunction, providing sexual information, and offering reassurance, encouragement, and advice.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy also includes the patient’s sexual partner. The goal is to make couples trust each other more and help them become more comfortable with sex.j This type of therapy often focuses on lessening the fear of| failure by directing attention to sensual and sexual pleasure. Cognitive-behavioral treatment works best when the doctor takes the time to learn as much as possible about the patient to determine an individualized approach for every couple. Education is very important in this method of treatment. Couples must tell each other what arouses them. Sometimes, men and women don’t fully understand how to arouse their partners, and need to learn basic arousal skills. Generally, the more one partner learns about the other’s body, the more they both learn how to give and receive sensual pleasure. Sexual partners often develop routines that no longer work after several years. These couples need to communicate and try new things to shift their focus from performance to pleasure.
