Erectile Dysfunction: Integrating Couple Therapy, Sex Therapy, and Medical Treatment

With the release of Viagra, erectile dysfunction has become an acceptable topic of advertising and public discussion.

Impotence is a widespread phenomenon; about half of couples entering sex therapy and one quarter of those entering marital therapy will complain of this problem. As baby boomers enter their fifties and grow older during the next few decades, many more men will be affected by this problem. In this groundbreaking work, Gerald Weeks and Nancy Gambescia present the first serious discussion of comprehensive psychological and medical treatments for erectile dysfunction after the advent of Viagra.

Though most recently Viagra has catapulted discussion of erectile dysfunction to the front pages of major newspapers and, via television, American living rooms, there are actually a number of different treatment options available. In fact, medical therapies for erectile dysfunction have developed at an ever-increasing pace in the last 20 years. Yet, despite widespread advances made in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, the field of sex therapy has lagged significantly behind in how it addresses the problem.

The authors offer an integrated approach that examines both the organic and psychological factors contributing to erectile dysfunction. With this treatment model integrating both medical and psychological therapies, the authors also stress the role of the couple's relationship in the etiology and treatment of the dysfunction. The book presents medical information (about various kinds of drugs as well as other interventions); physiological information (why certain drugs work and why some don't); psychological information (the effects of the disorder on both the individual and the couple); and practical information (when and how to seek treatment and what type of treatment works best under different conditions).

For sex and couple therapists and physicians, Erectile Dysfunction presents a systematic method for evaluating erectile dysfunction, determining whether its basis is primarily organic or psychogenic, and treating it by integrating medical interventions with sex and marital therapy. For the person seeking treatment (and for his spouse), the book offers a thorough and impartial discussion of the disorder.

Nancy Gambescia, Ph. D., teaches and supervises psychotherapists in the assessment and treatment of sexual dysfunctions and couples therapy. Gambescia is an Approved Supervisor and a Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as certified by the American Board of Sexology. She maintains a private practice specializing in relationship and sex therapy in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. She is coauthor of Erectile Dysfunction (Norton) and Hypoactive Sexual Desire (Norton).

Gerald R. Weeks, Ph. D., ABPP, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. Weeks is an Approved Supervisor and a Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as certified by the American Board of Sexology. He has currently completed his 16th professional textbook having published in the fields of sex, marital, and family therapy. He is coauthor of Erectile Dysfunction (Norton) and Hypoactive Sexual Desire (Norton).