| Popis: |
Vaginismus (spastic contractions of the vaginal musculature that make intercourse impossible) has long been considered difficult, if not impossible, to treat with traditional psychotherapy. Surgical removal of the hymen is also ineffective, as the problem is a muscle spasm, not an imperforate hymen. In this article, the use of systematic desensitization with sexual imagery is described, as is actual (in vivo) use of a series of graduated dilators. Note that although the authors do not emphasize it, the use of dilators was much more effective. All thirty-one patients who completed dilator therapy (out of thirty-four who began therapy) were cured, while only six of nine desensitization patients were cured. Other clinical work has indicated that use of dilators—with or without the hypnosis these therapists used—is indeed the treatment of choice for vaginismus. |
