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A Mindfulness Psychoeducational Group Intervention Targeting Sexual Adjustment for Women with Multiple Sclerosis and Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study

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Abstract

The high prevalence of sexual difficulties experienced by women with a neurological disability, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury (SCI), is well documented in the literature. The link has also been established between sexual problems of this population and decreased quality of life. Despite the frequency of sexual difficulties and the importance of sexual health for persons with MS or SCI, sexual dysfunction is an area largely un-addressed in practice settings and there are surprisingly few intervention studies in this area. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of an existing, previously tested, group psychoeducational intervention in the population of women with neurological disabilities. Six women were recruited to participate in the psychoeducational sessions, which involved education, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioural therapy. Despite a very small sample size, this study suggests that this intervention may be beneficial for women with MS or SCI in improving sexual functioning (especially in the domains of sexual desire and arousal) and in being less judgmental of their inner experiences. Findings suggest a psychoeducational approach (including mindfulness) has the potential to positively influence sexual adjustment for women with MS and SCI.

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Notes

  1. Sexual health clinicians (registered nurses with background in neurological rehabilitation and specialty training and education in sexual medicine and sexual health); a consultant sexual medicine physician, and other members of the client care team on an ad hoc basis (including: psychologists, urologists, physiatrists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists).

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Acknowledgments

This research was made possible by a grant awarded to the authors by the William Fraser Research Fund through the British Columbia Rehab Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sexual Health Rehabilitation Service, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Shea Hocaloski, Stacy Elliott & Kate McBride

  2. Sexual Health Rehabilitation Service and Sperm Retrieval Clinic, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Shea Hocaloski & Stacy Elliott

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Urological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Stacy Elliott

  4. International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Stacy Elliott

  5. BC Centre for Sexual Medicine, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Stacy Elliott

  6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Lori A. Brotto & Erin Breckon

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  1. Shea Hocaloski
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  4. Erin Breckon
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Correspondence to Shea Hocaloski.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest associated with the research/clinical work outlined in this paper submission.

Ethical Standards

This study was approved by the appropriate research ethics board (the Behavioural Research Ethics Board at the University of British Columbia) and therefore was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. Details that might disclose the identity of the study subjects were omitted from this manuscript.

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Hocaloski, S., Elliott, S., Brotto, L.A. et al. A Mindfulness Psychoeducational Group Intervention Targeting Sexual Adjustment for Women with Multiple Sclerosis and Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study. Sex Disabil 34, 183–198 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-016-9426-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-016-9426-z

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