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A Review of Patients in a Psychosexual Clinic-How Strong is the Relationship between Psychosexual Problems and a History of Sexual Abuse or Assault?

Abstract

Lucy Frances Love

The notes of 100 patients who attended a psychosexual clinic in the UK between 2011 and 2013 were analysed. The notes were searched for a disclosure of sexual abuse or assault and the frequency of disclosure was calculated. Patients with an obvious physical cause for their psychosexual problem, such as diabetes were excluded. Patients presented with a wide range of psychosexual problems and the relationship between sexual abuse/assault and the specific type of psychosexual problem was also explored. The results of this study, although small, could possibly support more financial investment into initial counselling and domestic/sexual violence services to prevent the development of serious long term psychosexual sequelae, as these can be very costly to treat, both in terms of finance and clinic time.