New patients sometimes look at me quizzically when I greet them in the waiting room and introduce myself as a behavioral therapist. After all, if they’re struggling with pelvic pain or discomfort, what’s the relevance of mental health care? I can appreciate their confusion. So, once we’re behind closed doors in the comfort of our …
Continue ReadingWhy the FDA approval of Flibanserin is important.
Here is the most significant thing to remember: sex is not just about what happens in the bedroom. My friend used to say that sex in a relationship is like the third leg of a stool. When it’s there, you don’t spend much time thinking about it, but when it’s gone the whole stool starts …
Continue ReadingAsk for it.
We had a patient today who told us that her sex life had improved significantly but that sometimes she just wanted more. I pushed her a bit to talk about what “more” was for her and she struggled with the answer. Finally she sighed. “I guess, like, sometimes I want more orgasms.” I looked at …
Continue ReadingThe difference between desire and arousal.
It happens every few days. A woman comes in and says that she has a problem with “my desire.” Then she goes on to say that she really wants to have sex, but she just doesn’t get turned on or it takes forever to get turned on, “so you see…” she sighs. “I have a …
Continue ReadingMen vs women.
A recent NY Times opinion piece discussed how much of our sex-related behavior is “hard-wired.” The articles questioned those behaviors which we believe to be inherited in men vs. women. For example we know that men think about sex way more often than women do, and we’ve seen studies that show that men are way less …
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