Compassion Focused Psychosexual Therapy for Women Who Experience Pain during Sex

Abstract

Genito-Pelvic Pain Penetration Disorder (GPPPD) affects between eight and twenty percent of women. There is recent evidence that compassion focused therapy (CFT) can help those with general health conditions and persistent pain. This study aims to investigate application of CFT techniques to an existing psychosexual therapy group of women with GPPPD and establish an effect size that could be used in a fully powered trial in future. The study took place within a routine clinical setting. Women who attended a group workshop for GPPPD were invited to complete outcome measures pre-and post-intervention. This study was uncontrolled and unpowered, with the aim of evaluating effectiveness of a novel intervention piloted within a sexual health service. Findings indicated that for the majority of the participants, their self- confidence in managing their sexual difficulty improved over the course of the workshop and their pain frequency and intensity reduced over the sessions. A significant improvement in positive and negative self-compassion and confidence was found. Improvements in sexual distress were also found. The negative aspects of self-compassion were significantly correlated with sexual distress at both pre- and post- intervention. Result from this pilot study appear encouraging and indicate that CFT interventions, specifically related to sexual health and pain, warrant further investigation. Further research would benefit from completing a comparison study and using a larger sample and validated measures.