Module 1 · Section 1 · Case Illustration

Language in the First Session

The client has already named the problem. The clinician's task is not to confirm the label or to deny it, but to ask the questions that establish whether it fits.

The presentation

A client presents reporting “sexual dysfunction” after reading content on social media. They describe a reduction in spontaneous sexual desire following the birth of their second child fourteen months ago. They have assumed something is clinically wrong with them.

Four questions will determine whether a clinical presentation exists. Work through them in order.

1Onset
2Desire
3Pattern
4Distress
5Synthesis

Question 1 of 4

When did this change begin?

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
  2. Basson, R. (2000). The female sexual response: A different model. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 26(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/009262300278641
  3. Kleinplatz, P. J., & Moser, C. (2005). Is SM pathological? Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 17(3–4), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1300/J056v17n03_05
  4. Leeman, L. M., & Rogers, R. G. (2012). Sex after childbirth: Postpartum sexual function. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 119(3), 647–655. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0b013e3182479611
  5. Tiefer, L. (2001). A new view of women's sexual problems: Why new, why now? Journal of Sex Research, 38(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490109552075