title: Clincal observations of sex as a reverberation of the total relationship.
abstract: In the psychiatric treatment of sexual dysfunctioning the generally accepted method has been to concentrate heavily on the intrapsychic conflicts of one or both spouses. There now is increasing evidence that treatment is sometimes more effective if the therapeutic intervention takes place directly in the interpersonal system. Such evidence has been provided by those therapists with clinical experience in marital systems who are prepared to utilize theories evolved from a multidisciplinary approach to marital problems. This paper is meant to discuss and illustrate this shift in treatment strategy as it applies to sexual dysfunctioning and deals with the function of the interplay of sex, love, and commitment through the illustrative cases.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000628:therapy*