Male Sexual Dysfunctions and Multimedia Immersion Therapy (Follow-Up)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficiency, after 1 year, of combined use of psychodynamic psychotherapy integrating virtual reality (VR) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE) in 160 heterosexual males who had neither any prior sexual therapy nor had made use (either before, during or after therapy) of any specific pharmaceuticals for the treatment of primary sexual dysfunction. All subjects had given their informed consent. After a clinical diagnosis in an andrologic center, 50 presumably psychological ED (average age 43.7 years), 60 mixed ED (53.9 years) and 50 primary PE (39 years) who suffered these problems over 6 months were undergoing a cycle of 12 sessions, over a 25-week period, of psychotherapy, integrating an audio CD and helmet with miniature television screens that projected specially designed CD-ROM program on the ontogenetic development of male sexual identity. The clinical follow up was done after 6 and 12 months after the cycle. After one year, the overall partial (two times out of three) and complete positive response rate for psychological ED was 75%, for mixed ED was 47% and for PE was 54%. We considered drop-out cases as only before the 7th session of the treatment cycle, the drop-outs after session 7 and the patients that did not show up for follow-up are counted as negative results. Two patients reported nausea and one, vertigo during the first 15-min virtual reality experience. Considering the particular way that full-immersion virtual reality involves the subject who experiences it, we hypothesized that this methodological approach could speed up the therapeutic process. The evidence that positive results persist over time allows us to hypothesize that certain changes in cerebral function can be possible and that these changes are correlated to favorable sexual performance in the male.

Developments in Technology-Delivered Psychological Interventions

“…In the last 15 years virtual reality systems have been developed to treat anxiety disorders, phobias, panic disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders (Riva, 2005). Emerging applications of VR include sexual disorders (Optale, Marin, Pastore, Nasta & Pianon, 2003), pain management (Hoffman, 2004), addictions (Bordnick, Graap, Copp, Brooks & Ferrer, 2005), stress management (Villani, Riva & Riva, 2007) and eating disorders (Riva et al, 2006).…”

Description of a Treatment Manual for in virtuo Exposure with Specific Phobia

“…A literature search revealed a few papers from the field of psychodynamic therapy or reflections from a psychodynamic perspective. The research of Optale and collaborators [56] addressed the treatment of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation in 160 males. In their experiment, the virtual environment depicted different pathways through a forest in order to symbolically bring male patients back to their childhood, adolescence and later teens.…”

Virtual Realities in the Treatment of Mental Disorders: A Review of the Current State of Research

“…In the aforesaid study, the prevalence of acrophobia amounted to 5.3% and therefore closely followed the prevalence of fear of animals. While women usually tend to develop specific phobias substantially more often than men [12], merely 55 to 70% of acrophobic persons are female.…”

“…However, there are conceptual considerations about how to integrate VR in psychodynamic therapy [11], and a few studies have already been conducted to examine the use of VR within the psychodynamic approach (e.g. [12]). …”

“…In one study, VR was integrated into psychodynamic psychotherapy for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation in N= 160 men [12]. VR seemed to help to work through events and associations that were creating the sexual problems.…”