Demystifying "sex therapy"

A mystique has grown around sex therapy in the belief that "sex therapists" possess some specialized skills unavailable to the otherwise competent psychiatrists or trained psychotherapists. The use of movies, gadgetry, and neologisms such as "sexological examination" aid greatly in creating this impression. Careful evaluation of a sexual function disorder requires evaluation of four areas: physical, intrapsychic, interpersonal, and learning. There is nothing in the "sexual therapist's" armamentarium that makes him more of an expert in any of these four except the last. However, the gadgetry and gimmickry attached to sex therapy is used to accomplish the basic principle of desensitization. There is no systematic evidence yet available that demonstrates that any particular set of films, exercises, drills, etc. are more or less successful in accomplishing this task. Specific skill training is the only area that might require additional postgraduate education for the trained psychotherapist who wants to treat diagnosed sexual function disorders.