Dealing with Sexual Dysfunction Problems
As part of their practice, mental health and other professionals may be called upon to counsel individuals suffering from sexual problems. In my experience in marriage counseling and sexual dysfunction problems, I have found some of the following.
• Impotence in men often has a physical basis. Side effects of certain medication, injury or other difficulties related to medical problems may cause partial or complete impotence.
Psychological problems such as depression and anxiety should be explored after ruling out any physical explanation of the problem.
• In the female, difficult or painful intercourse should first be referred to a physician for an explanation.
If the problem is psychological, a variety of past experiences may account for the difficulties. Sexual abuse and inaccurate information given by parents or others are examples of how our past can negatively influence our present.
• Premature ejaculation is a condition that is often responsive to treatment by someone qualified in treating sexual dysfunction.
The majority of sexual problems experienced in marriages, however, are the result of difficulties in the relationship itself. These include communication problems and faulty information and education about “normal” sexual functioning.
One of the most frequent complaints heard by mental health professionals is the difference in libido, or desire for sexual intercourse, between the husband and the wife.
Husbands complain that wives are not interested as they are in sex. Wives complain that husbands have insatiable sexual appetites.
Many women complain that their husbands are interested only in the sex act itself and pay little or no attention to the other important elements in a healthy sexual relationship.
Helping the wife relax and become interested is often assisted greatly if the husband shows interest and is involved in providing tenderness and love.
Many men become so interested in hobbies and roles they feel are appropriate for a man that they neglect their wives. This causes resentment and detachment. A breakdown in communication causes the couple to grow apart.
Women become so involved in child-rearing and other activities that they are chronically fatigued and unresponsive. At times this may be due to an unconscious attempt to develop an “excuse” for disinterest.
Problems sometimes arise from inaccurate information passed on from parent to child, friend to friend or from the media. The definition of a healthy and normal pattern of sexual behavior is a topic of frequent misinformation.
Counselors trained and experienced in attending to problems of sexual dysfunction within a marriage can frequently improve these problems in a relatively short period of time.
For fear of embarrassment, these difficulties often remain cloaked in secrecy and are never addressed, thus depriving individuals one of the most important and healthy elements in a martial relationship.
