Commentary

Abstract

In the 1970s and early 198Os, interest in sex therapy techniques and research burgeoned. Outcome studies were conducted, including some longer term follow-ups. Education and training flourished. In the past several years, however, the field of sex therapy appears to be stagnating. New treatment techniques for overcoming male or female sexual dysfunctions are rarely presented. Instead, remediation of sexual dysfunctions is increasingly "medical," particularly for erectile dysfunction and hypoactive sexual desire. Not only are fewer outcome studies conducted, but research funding from government sources is almost nil, given both intense scientific competition and the current political climate. Education and training opportunities in sex therapy are shrinking. Suggestions for revitalizing our field are offered.In the 1970s the sexual revolution was in fuU swing. Self-help books and magazine articles suggested that lustfulness was the natural state of men and women. Every man could learn to make intercourse last for an hour and extend his own orgasm interminably. There was no such thiig as an inorgasmic woman, just a preorgasmic one who had not yet found a skilled partner or revved up her vibrator. Leslie R. Schover is affiliated with The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Sandra