Avatar-based Therapy for Female Orgasmic Disorder

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos31 enrolled

Overview

A randomized controlled trial was conducted for testing the efficacy of a novel avatar-based intervention (IG), that was compared with a control group (CG) for women with female orgasmic disorder (FOD). Participants were 31 women who were randomly assigned to the intervention or the control conditions. Intervention was based on the cognitive behavioral therapy approach (treatment with the most empirical evidence) and previous literature about FOD. It consisted of 12 weekly online individual sessions and aimed at improving the FOD diagnosis, sexual variables, and variables that are known to affect orgasm consecution. Control group was based on minimum therapeutic contact. Changes over time in the assessed variables were analyzed using linear mixed models, considering treatment group, measurement time point, and group-by-time interactions as fixed effects. Effect sizes were computed (Cohen's d; number needed to treat - NNT; reliable change index - RCI).

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Female Orgasmic Disorder

Interventions

Intervention was aimed at improving sexual variables (sexual satisfaction, sexual function, and initiative and sexual communication), and variables that are known to affect orgasm consecution (sexual self-esteem, sex-guilt, and sexual anxiety). To achieve this objective, it focused on fostering participants' abilities to increase their levels of sexual stimulation, and the engagement in personal values, along with identifying and modifying dysfunctional thoughts about sexuality. The techniques used included psychosexual education, cognitive restructuring, virtual exposure, sexual stimulation, and engagement in personal values from the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) perspective. It was delivered via a metaverse: Second Life.

Individual informative talksOTHER

Participants were provided with information about female orgasm (e.g., what is an orgasm, neuronal orgasm, factors that may influence consecution, sexual response), masturbatory techniques (e.g., key elements to achieve pleasure, anatomy of the female genitalia, pleasure areas) and techniques to focus attention on one's body (i.e., an important factor to pleasure). Participants received three individual sessions once a month, and had a duration of one hour.

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Present the characteristics to diagnose female orgasm disorder after a clinic assessment (considering natural characteristics of the women's sexual response cycle (Conn \& Hodges, 2022) based on the DSM-5 criteria. * Provide a medical check to prove the absence of physical factors that may be the cause of the orgasm dysfunction, as this is the first part to diagnose FOD. * Be at least 18 years old (adult). * Have access to a computer with the characteristics to run Second Life and internet connection. Exclusion Criteria: * Present a diagnosis of a physical condition that may be the cause of the orgasm dysfunction (e.g., genital lesions, systemic and hormonal factors, vulvovaginal atrophy). * Presence of other psychological pathology (e.g., depression, trauma) that may be the cause of the orgasm dysfunction. * Have alcohol dependence (i.e., evaluated during the clinical assessment, according to the diagnostic criteria from the DSM-5, to determine if the individual meets the criteria for an alcohol use disorder diagnosis). * Drug use, including medication that is known to cause sexual difficulties (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), that are a particularly common drug cause of sexual dysfunction. * Have participated in a previous psychological intervention in the last year.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Sexual satisfaction assessed by the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction

Sexual satisfaction is the feeling of pleasure that one has when the sexual desire has been fulfilled. The Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction has minimum-maximum values of 0-112; higher scores mean a worse outcome. The cut-off for determining significant levels of Sexual Satisfaction is 60 (scores equal to or above 60 indicate the existence of a sexual problem).