Sexual Feelings Toward Clients in the Psychotherapeutic Relationship: The Taboo Revealed

Talking about sexual feelings toward clients is still difficult for many mental health professionals. This is unfortunate, because exploring and talking about these feelings with peers (especially senior ones) or supervisors can help professionals to recognize, acknowledge, accept, and handle these feelings well. This focus group study explores the various factors that contribute to psychotherapists’ hesitancy to talk about these feelings. The analysis revealed two important impeding factors: the psychotherapists felt discomfortable and a safe environment was lacking. Young, less experienced psychotherapists and psychiatrists seemed to be most vulnerable. Furthermore, more profound sexual feelings were “disguised” in some cases by using a more acceptable narrative, such as “ intimate feelings,” which possibly also impeded acknowledgment and discussion of these feelings. These insights might help to open up the way for psychotherapists to explore and come forward with their sexual feelings and experiences.

Suppressed Sexuality in Gendered Institutions: A Re-examination of Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis Trilogy

Socializing factors like, schools, parents, peer groups, and legal forces etc. all of them combine together to alienate women from fulfilling their own sexual desires and transform their sexual appetites into a subdued residue. The double standard of sexual morality forbade certain sexual activities for women while permitting the same actions for men. Women themselves know very well that they are not permitted by society to express their sexual feelings or even to enjoy sex in many contexts. Amitav Ghosh explores this double standard of sexual morality in his novels.He stresses on the need to deconstruct the cultural construct of sexual morality, which prohibited certain sexual behaviours for women while approving the same behaviours for men. Through an exploration of mainly Ghosh’s The River of Smoke, Sea of Poppies and Flood of Fire I have shown that the political purposes of men have often been rested on restraining women from enjoying satisfying sexual pleasure. Sexuality is not at all as restricted or as palpable as most of us believe. I have also argued in this paper that the restriction on human sexual activity to the lone task of producing babies is not at all a natural requirement, but it is the outcome of a very precise cultural construction.

Sexual Satisfaction in Fully Ambulatory People with Multiple Sclerosis: Does Disability Matter?

Primary sexual dysfunctions (SD) are a direct result of neurological changes that affect the sexual response. Secondary SD result from the symptoms that do not directly involve nervous pathways to the genital system, such as bladder and bowel problems, fatigue, spasticity, or muscle weakness. Tertiary SD are the result of disability-related psychosocial and cultural issues that can interfere with sexual feelings and experiences. The aim of this study was to assess the sexual satisfaction (SS) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) without significant mobility impairment and to estimate the influence of SD, the score on the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), lowered mood, and stress coping strategies on SS. Methods. 76 PwMS with the EDSS score<5.0 points were enrolled in the study. The subjects completed the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire (MSISQ-19), and the Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ). Results. The level of SS in PwMS was not significantly lower compared to that of the general population. It correlated with the primary, secondary, and tertiary SD and lowered mood. However, it did not correlate with disability measured by the EDSS. Conclusions. The level of SS in PwMS with the EDSS score below 5.0 points was not significantly lower. SS depended on SD, lowered mood, and stress coping style, and it was not significantly related to the level of disability in patients with the EDDS score below 5.0.

A Short Measure of Sexual Self Concept

Sexual self-concept (SSC), or the self-evaluation of sexual feelings and behaviors, can influence various health outcomes, such as sexual risk-taking and contraceptive use. Much of the research on SSC has been limited to highly specialized samples, and it is not yet widely present in the general social science literature, despite fundamental, far-reaching implications of the construct. One likely limiting factor in a broader examination of the SSC construct is the perceived complexity.Lack of availability of short measures makes an assessment as part of larger batteries relatively impractical. In a sample of over 17,000participants, we identified and replicated four factors (Sexual Satisfaction, Sexual Desire, Sexual Agency, and Sexual Anxiety)within a previously developed and validated 100-item, 20-facet measure of SSC (the Multidimensional Sexual Self-Concept Questionnaire, MSSCQ; Snell, 1998) and created a 16-item short-form suitable for inclusion in broader research paradigms. The availability of an efficient assessment of SSC will allow an acceleration of research into the development of this critically important, and yet historically under-investigated, identity construct.

Objectum sexuality: A sexual orientation linked with autism and synaesthesia

Objectum-sexuality (OS) is a sexual orientation which has received little attention in the academic literature. Individuals who identify as OS experience emotional, romantic and/or sexual feelings towards inanimate objects (e.g. a bridge, a statue). We tested 34 OS individuals and 88 controls, and provide the first empirical evidence that OS is linked to two separate neurodevelopmental traits - autism and synaesthesia. We show that OS individuals possess significantly higher rates of diagnosed autism and significantly stronger autistic traits compared to controls, as well as a significantly higher prevalence of synaesthesia, and significant synaesthetic traits inherent in the nature of their attractions. Our results suggest that OS may encapsulate autism and synaesthesia within its phenomenology. Our data speak to debates concerning the biological underpinnings of sexuality, to models of autism and synaesthesia, and to psychological and philosophical models of romantic love.

Phenomenology of female sexual feelings

We present data of studying female sexual feelings. Hypothesis: sexual feelings have a complicated multilevel structure reflecting the individual’s sexual experience with peculiarities of evaluating satisfaction and regulation of behavior. 429 women aged 18-60 years (mean age — 28,69±0,42 years) have been studied, among them 291 (67,83%) were married and 138 (32,17%) were single. Te mean age of starting sexual life was 18,22±0,12 years. 365 (85,08%) women experienced orgasm, while 64 (14,92%) did not. We used our authorial questionnaire including an instruction and a list of 204 signs characterizing emotions, states, qualitative descriptions of comprehension. Te women noted the signs corresponding to their ordinary experience during an ordinary sexual act. Sexual feelings were found to have a multilevel structure of estimating the person’s sexual experience presented by the correlation of satisfaction, sexual interest, internal comfort, shame, disphoria, intensity emotional reacting, non-corresponding to expectations, acuity of rectption, physical discomfort and distaste. Teir manifestation reflects the expressions of self-relation, of states with regard to attaining the goal and communication with the partner.

Chemsex among men who have sex with men in Germany: motives, consequences and the response of the support system

Background In Germany, drug use in sexual settings (i.e. chemsex) among men who have sex with men (MSM) has increasingly been the subject of discussion for considerable time. At the same time, however, little is known about this practice. It is against this background that what is currently known about chemsex among MSM in Germany is discussed. Methods: The present study observations are essentially based on the results of two research projects of a qualitative–explorative nature. In-depth interviews with drug-using MSM (n = 14), as well as qualitative, problem-centred interviews with drug-using MSM (n = 75) and expert interviews (n = 27) were conducted within these research projects. Results: Chemsex is a minority behaviour among MSM in Germany. The reasons for using drugs in sexual settings are manifold. For the most part, the effects of the drugs are used to intensify sexual feelings and to achieve greater intimacy. Men who consider their consumption to be problematic, in particular, report a range of negative consequences, such as sexually transmissible infections. Even though chemsex is a minority behaviour, suitable offers of support are, hence, necessary, especially for these men. However, such offers are not yet available in most German cities. Conclusions: In order to close this gap in provision of support services, tangible practical steps, such as further training of people who work at drug and gay advisory services, are necessary, along with further research into the backgrounds and contexts of chemsex.