There are various types of psychosocially-based sexual dysfunctions that people face. Some of these problems include premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, painful intercourse and lack of desire to engage in sexual intercourse. Erectile dysfunction is one psychosocially dysfunction that has affected men over the age of 40 year (American Psychological Association 2012, para. 2).
It is caused by abnormalities in the hormones, medications in psychological problems, vascular insufficiency and neurological diseases among other complexions. These dysfunctions cause psychological distress among men and therefore, require treatment to enable them recover from this anguish. Different kinds of treatment are administered to different categories of dysfunctions.
Lack of sexual desire in men causes distress and problems in relationships, leading to psychological problems among the victims. To treat this problem, it requires multiple steps and processes (Schover et al. 2002, p. 2397). The first step towards its treatment is for the therapist to help the clients recognize their negative approach towards sex, and to stress the origins of the negative thoughts.
They also help them to find alternative ways to think about sex, after which they focus on the behavior, whereby, clients may be required to keep track of their thoughts and imagination about sex (Schover et al. 2002, p. 2397). They may also be required to develop fantasies or watch movies that are erotic (American Psychological Association 2012, para. 2). The aim of exposing them to such movies is to make them begin to develop desire to engage in sexual intercourse.
The clients are also taken through a one-on-one program whereby, relationship problems and issue are discussed. This conversation is aimed at making the client change his perception about a bad encounter in relationship that might have affected his sexual desires. After sometime, the client is expected to develop desire towards opposite sex hence resulting to healing.
Another psychosocial dysfunction is erectile dysfunction, whereby, the penis does not erect, rendering sexual intercourse impossible (American Psychological Association 2012, para. 2). This is normally caused by sicknesses such as diabetes or side effects due to medication and anxiety after first experience in intercourse. The treatment of this dysfunction is aimed at reducing anxiety and administering appropriate medication aimed at healing or correcting the dysfunction (American Psychological Association 2012, para. 2).
The treatment of this dysfunction will basically depend on the cause of the problem. However, in most cases, the first step of action is to take PDE5 inhibitor drugs such as Viagra, which helps to stimulate the blood vessels causing a person to have an urge to engage in sexual intercourse (Schover et al. 2002, p. 2398). In other cases, treatment may involve administration of prostaglandin-type of tablets that are injected in the urethra in the penis.
The penis can also be exposed to frequent exercise to make it strong and to increase its sexual fantasies (Schover et al. 2002, p. 2398). In cases where all these methods have failed to produce positive results, then surgery can be done. Here, a procedure is done on the prosthetic implants that result to insertion of certain types of rods in the penis to make it stronger to allow for penetration.
Premature ejaculation is yet another psychosocial sexual dysfunction that occurs in men. This scenario causes an emotional stress to a man because it makes him feel incapable of sustaining his sexual desires and satisfying the partner sexually. In many of the cases, women complain of such incidences and therefore, this tends to disturb men emotionally (Gregoire, 1999, p. 315).
The cause of this dysfunction is not clearly known by researchers in the field. This dysfunction can be treated through observance of various measures. However, in most cases, therapists who provide medical treatment to such dysfunctions focus more on behavioral training.
The client is required to seek assistance from his partner in piecemeal on how to withstand stimulation. After some period of time, the client learns how to control ejaculation for a longer period of time. This requires great psychological input on the man’s side to be able to sustain the stimulation. Furthermore, the woman can also help a man by reducing the level of stimulating through reduction of movement or thrashing.
Another psychosocial sexual dysfunction is painful intercourse. This is also referred to as dyspareunia and normally causes persistent or recurrent pain in the genitals of a man, which this causes problems in the relationship as well as distress (Gregoire, 1999, p. 315). This dysfunction affects both the partners but is more prevalent in men.
The treatment is provided by a gynecologist or an urologist who carries out diagnosis and proposes a relevant medication to the problem. In women, the dysfunction is treated by putting a lot of emphasizes on the training on relaxation. Women are required to relax during sexual intercourse to avoid the pain.
In conclusion, there are various psychosocial sexual dysfunctions as discussed in the paper. These dysfunctions cause emotional distress to the victims because of the fact that they hinder an individual from normal functioning. Most of the dysfunctions have treatments that if well followed and administered, can help the victims alleviate them. However, these treatments are not similar and therefore, appropriate treatment should be adopted for a particular dysfunction.
References
American Psychological Association, (2012). Treatment of sexual problems. Web.
Gregoire, A. (1999). ABC of sexual health: assessing and managing male sexual problems. BMJ, 318:315.
Schover, L., Fouladi, R., & Warneke, C et al. (2002). The use of treatments for erectile dysfunction among survivors of prostate carcinoma. Cancer, 95:2397.