Sex Therapy

During the 1970s sex researches develop a number of ways to treat people with sexual problems. In Masters and Johnson's original program, couples traveled to their treatment center in St. Louis, stayed in a motel, and went through an intensive, highly structured two week program with two therapists (one a man and the other a woman, and at least one of them a physician).

Since then, other therapists have devised more flexible and less expensive approaches. Some therapists have the couple visit a sex clinic once a week. In one case, a twenty two year old woman and her husband were referred to a clinic because the woman greatly dislike sexual activity. A brief history revealed that the couple's first sexual encounter had been disastrous, with both partners anxious, inexperienced, and uncomfortable. The woman said her husband had tried to penetrate after only a few minutes of foreplay, leaving her unsatisfied and dissapointed. After several such experiences, she said, she began to think of sex as "nauseating," even though she very much wanted to enjoy marital intercourse.