Approaches in clinical sexology
In Quebec, we recognize presently 5
approaches:
The cognitive-behavioral approach
aims to identify and confront erroneous beliefs that sustain sexual difficulties
as well as to identify and correct behaviors that maintain the sexual difficulty. This approach takes generally less time to
bring a result because it doesn't work on the unconscious reasons of the
difficulty. However, it is more effective for difficulties which only recently
established themselves in the life of the person or the couple, differently from
the problems which have always been there.
Sexoanalysis works to dissolve the sexual difficulty by seeking to
understand it through the sexual unconscious of the person. Thus, it is an
analytic approach which encourages self awareness of unresolved internal
conflicts coming from personal history and producing this difficulty. This approach is generally most useful for
difficulties which have been there for a while or even all lifelong, or still,
which present themselves on a recurring basis under some specific circumstances.
The humanistic-existentialist approach
helps people to understand their sexual difficulties through self experience of
their identity as a man or as a woman. This is an approach which focuses on the
here-and-now and on the behaviors, feelings, emotions and needs of the person.
This is an average to long term approach which encourages self responsibility
toward one’s own experience as a man or as a woman.
The sexo-corporal approach
understands sexual difficulties as being related to unconscious emotions and to
specific tensions within the body. This approach helps to correct sexual
difficulties and to develop a better capacity of sexual pleasure by the use of
postural exercises that encourage awareness of one’s own body and unconscious
emotions as well as of the symbolical meaning of the sexual difficulty.
The systemic and interactional approach
is most often the best approach for couples. It understands sexual difficulties
which established themselves during conjugal life as being most often produced
by the way each partner interacts with the other. Thus, even if only one partner
has a sexual difficulty, both spouses will have to bring in their combined
efforts in other to dissolve the difficulty and to rediscover, together, a more
harmonious and satisfying conjugal sexual life.