Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on women with dyspareunia

Background: Female dyspareunia is a sexual dysfunction manifested as pain in reproductive organs combined with sexual intercourse. It can alter a woman’s sense of sexual competency and identity. The study Aimed: At identifying risk factors to dyspareunia and evaluates the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on women with dyspareunia. Subjects and Methods: A quasi experimental study (A pre-post-test) was used. The study was conducted at two Maternal and Child health centers (MCH) and family planning out-patient clinics (FPOC) teaching hospital at Shebin-El-Kom - Egypt. Subjects consisted of 200 women (100 cases of dyspareunia and controls) to detect the risk factors of dyspareunia. The 100 cases with dyspreunia received. CBT: The cases were followed up for 12 weeks. Five tools were used to collect pertinent data. Results: This study revealed that, the mean maternal age of the women with dyspareunia were 24.74±4.01. Most of them with dyspareunia were had intermediate level of education (60%), were lived in rural community (78%) and not had enough income (56%).The common risk factors for dyspareunia were related to demographic, reproductive and obstetric history. There was statistically significant difference of women with dyspareunia before and after receiving CBT therapy regarding sexual performance, marital relationship, and psychological status and severity of sexual pain. Conclusion: CBT is an effective therapy in managing dyspareunia for improving sexual performance, marital relationship particularly with their husbands, psychological status and eliminating pain.