Effects of group systematic desensitization on female orgasmic dysfunction

This study investigated the impact of group systematic desensitization (SD) on varied aspects of sexual functioning in primary and secondary nonorgasmic women. After serving as their own controls, 22 women (eight primary, 14 secondary) received 15 sessions of group SD using four common hierarchies of sexual scenes. The measures were administered to each subject and her regular sex partner at each of the testing periods. Significant positive treatment effects were found on measures of general and specific sexual adjustment and in extracoital orgasmic frequency. Treatment also enhanced sexual communication among subjects and their partners, increased the females' acceptance of their mates as being satisfactory sexual partners, and increased the females' self-acceptance as sexual beings. All but one of the treatment effects (degree of pleasure experienced during extracoital stimulation) were maintained at the 6-week follow-up. Secondary subjects reported significantly greater pleasure from coital and extracoital stimulation and significantly increased frequency of orgasm in response to extracoital stimulation than primary subjects. Primary and secondary subjects did not differ in their evaluation of the experiment. The need for controlled comparative treatment investigations is stressed.