Low interest in sexual activity and impaired sexual response are among women's most frequent sexual concerns. Mindfulness-based treatments improve low sexual desire and arousal and associated distress. One theorized mechanism of change is the cultivation of increased mind-body awareness via greater concordance between psychological and physiological components of sexual response. We examined sexual psychophysiology data from 148 cisgender women randomized to receive mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MCBT: n = 70) or supportive sex education (STEP: n = 78) over eight weekly group sessions. Women completed in-lab assessments of subjective, affective, and genital sexual responses to an erotic film pre- and post-treatment, and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Both groups showed positive changes in sexual and affective responses, but these were generally more pronounced for MBCT. MCBT increased sexual concordance to a greater degree, and gains in sexual concordance predicted improvements in sexual distress throughout treatment.
Keyphrases
- mental health
- healthcare
- randomized controlled trial
- clinical trial
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- stem cells
- pregnant women
- open label
- depressive symptoms
- double blind
- gold nanoparticles
- adipose tissue
- insulin resistance
- physical activity
- quality improvement
- bone marrow
- ionic liquid
- big data
- cell therapy
- deep learning
- pregnancy outcomes
- phase ii
- combination therapy