Group Psychoeducational Treatment for Women With Sexual Arousal Difficulties, Phase II
Condition: Low Female Sexual Arousal; Low Female Sexual Desire
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to pilot test and determine the efficacy of a psychoeducational
      intervention (PED) we recently piloted in a group format for women with acquired sexual
      arousal disorder (FSAD).

      HYPOTHESES:

        1. - Compared to baseline measures, the PED will result in significant improvement in
           self-report measures of: (a) subjective sexual arousal; (b) perception of genital
           arousal/genital sensitivity; (c) orgasmic experience; (d) sexual desire; (e) sexual
           distress; (f) relationship satisfaction; (g) depressive symptoms; and (h) quality of
           life.

        2. - It is unknown what effect the PED will have on actual physiological sexual arousal.

        3. - The group format will be a feasible and cost-effective method of delivering
           empirically supported treatment to women with sexual arousal difficulties and will
           contribute towards meeting the needs for sexual health care for women on the clinic
           wait-list at the BC Centre for Sexual Medicine.
    

Detailed description: 
      Sexual arousal difficulties are common among women, affecting approximately 22% of women
      between the ages of 18 and 59 (Laumann, Paik & Rosen, 1999). Although there are
      evidence-based psychological treatments available for women with orgasmic and pain disorders,
      there are currently no empirically-supported treatments for women with acquired Sexual
      Arousal Disorder (FSAD). Moreover, there have been numerous attempts to find evidence for a
      pharmacological agent effective at treating women's sexual arousal complaints; however, to
      date these studies have been inconclusive. Given the significant role that sexual health
      plays in quality of life, the fact that effective psychological treatments for women's sexual
      dysfunction are not widely available, and the fact that wait-lists to see health care
      professionals with expertise in the area of sexual dysfunction are often unwieldy, there is a
      need to establish brief, evidence-based approaches to treat women's acquired FSAD.
      Psychological therapy in a group format is a standard practice at the BC Centre for Sexual
      Medicine. However, in this study we would like to collect information from participants that
      would help us in determining the specific efficacy of the PED as well as identifying
      demographic or participant variables that might predict a positive response to the PED.
      Because we are using this information to determine the treatment's efficacy and because we
      will use this information as the basis for a publication, we deem this to be a research trial
      in which ethics review is necessary.

      OBJECTIVES: We have recently developed and tested a new psychoeducational treatment (PED) for
      the treatment of FSAD due to early-stage gynecologic cancer treatment, and for healthy women
      with FSAD. Our data show this PED to significantly improve self-reported sexual desire,
      arousal, mood, relationship distress, and quality of life. We are currently testing the
      efficacy of this PED in a larger sample of cancer survivors with FSAD. The goal for this
      study is to determine the efficacy of the group PED for currently seeking treatment at the BC
      Centre for Sexual Medicine for FSAD. By using a waitlist control group, we can determine if
      any improvement in sexual function is due to treatment or the passage of time.
    

Intervention name(s): Brief psychoeducational intervention for female sexual arousal disorder
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): four 1.5 hour long group psychoeducational sessions, spaced 2 weeks apart for a total of 8 weeks.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: female sexual arousal; female sexual desire; psychoeducational intervention