Pilot Study of a Brief Cognitive Behavioral Versus Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Women With Sexual Distress and a History of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Although sexual difficulties related to a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are common, there are no efficacious treatments to address sexual distress. Recent evidence for the benefits of mindfulness, which emphasizes present-moment non-judgmental awareness, in the treatment of women's sexual concerns provided the impetus for this pilot study. Twenty partnered women with sexual difficulties and significant sexual distress, and a history of CSA were randomized to two sessions of either a cognitive behavioral (CBT, n = 8) or mindfulness-based (MBT, n = 12) group treatment (age: M = 35.8 years, range: 22-54 years). Hierarchical Linear Modeling to assess changes in concordance between laboratory-based subjective and genital sexual arousal revealed a significant effect of MBT on concordance such that women in the MBT group experienced a significantly greater subjective sexual arousal response to the same level of genital arousal compared to the CBT group and to pre-treatment. Both groups also experienced a significant decrease in sexual distress. These data support the further study of mindfulness-based approaches in the treatment of sexual difficulties characterized by a disconnection between genital and subjective sexual response.

Incorporating Mindfulness and Chat Groups Into an Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mixed Female Sexual Problems

“…When applied to female sexual problems, mindfulness exercises may help decrease cognitive distraction and performance anxiety during sexual activity and increase awareness of pleasurable sensations (Brotto & Heiman, 2007;Brotto, Krychman, & Jacobson, 2008;Silverstein, Brown, Roth, & Britton, 2011). To date, four studies have evaluated the incorporation of mindfulness training into a CBT intervention for women with female sexual problems (Brotto, Basson, & Luria, 2008b;Brotto, Heiman, et al, 2008;Brotto, Basson, Carlson, & Zhu, 2013;Brotto, Seal, & Rellini, 2012), demonstrating improvements in sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, and related distress. It has also been theorized that mindfulness training may benefit women with sexual pain disorders (Basson, 2012;Brotto et al, 2013).…”

Mindfulness as Mediator and Moderator of Post-traumatic Symptomatology in Adolescence Following Childhood Sexual Abuse or Assault

“…Mindfulness-based interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (A-Tjak et al 2015;Ost 2014), are among those that are rapidly gaining in popularity to help decrease a variety of mental health problems in children and adolescents (Tovote et al 2014;Broderick and Jennings 2012;Cotton et al 2015;Zoogman et al 2015), as well as in children, adolescents and adult survivors of childhood maltreatment (Kimbrough et al 2010;Caldwell and Shaver 2015;Lanktree et al 2012;Mannarino et al 2012). Mindfulness training has been found to help diminish symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sexual dysfunction and general distress in adult women reporting CSA (Earley et al 2014;Kimbrough et al 2010;Brotto et al 2012) and to reduce behavioural, externalized and internalized problems among youth reporting various types of childhood maltreatment (Swart and Apsche 2014).…”

The Mediating Effect of Daily Stress on the Sexual Arousal Function of Women With a History of Childhood Sexual Abuse

“…Future studies should test the efficacy of therapies that teach women with a history of CSA how to cope with daily stressors. Of particular interest is the newly emerging literature on the positive effects of mindfulness techniques Downloaded by [The University of Manchester Library] at 08:56 12 October 2014 specifically for CSA survivors (Brotto, Basson, & Luria, 2008;Brotto, Seal, & Rellini, 2012). These techniques help women to focus on sexually relevant cues and ignore distractions.…”