The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Low Sexual Desire and Marital Satisfaction

Sexual problems and marital satisfaction are related to each other in a complex way. Although multiple Psychogenic and several biological factors have been introduced as the underlying decreased sexual desire in women، years of research has shown that the effect of psychogenic factors is more notable in outbreak of this problem. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on sexual desire and sexual satisfaction in women. For this purpose، in a quasi-experimental study with pretest – posttest along with the control group، 20 women with sexual desire disorder who referred to the psychology clinic were selected، in a purposeful way. They were then assigned into two groups of 10 people each، randomly. The groups were evaluated both at the beginning and end of the study in terms of sexual desire and sexual satisfaction. The experimental group underwent an eight sessions of 45-minute of group cognitive-behavioral therapy. The second group did not undergo any intervention. The results of analysis of covariance indicated that subject’s sexual desire and sexual satisfaction have shown significant difference. Cognitive behavioral therapy appears to be an effective way for improving sexual desire. Therefore the use of this therapy approach is recommended by clinical psychology specialists to people with sexual dysfunction disorder، especially women with decreased sexual desire.