The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Sex-ual Function in Infertile Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Infertility and its consequences can have effects on various aspects of a couple’s life and also bring about se-rious problems in their marital relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on sexual function in infertile women.Materials and Methods: The participants included a total number of 52 infertile women randomly assigned tointerven-tion and control groups. Moreover, a group-based six-session sexual counseling using a CBT approach was also performed for the intervention group but the controls received routine care and education. Female sexual functions of the participants in both groups were then assessed via Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) at 3 times. The findings revealed no statistically significant difference in the baseline FSFI mean scores of both groups.Results: A significant difference was also reported for FSFI mean scores in the intervention group (29.35 ± 2.71) incompar-ison with those in the control group (25.84 ± 2.52) (P<0.001) one month after intervention with an effect size of 0.32. The mean scores of all the sexual function domains including sexual desire (P<0.001), arousal (P<0.001), lubrication (P<0.001), or-gasm (P<0.001). satisfaction (P<0.001), and pain (P<0.001)Conclusion: Among the participants in the intervention group had also significantly increased following CBT implementa-tion. The results of this study could be used to promote sexual health status in infertile women.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ، Sexual Counseling ، Female Infertility ، Mental Health Services