Sexual Therapy and Borderline Personality Disorder
1h 20m
Francesca Tripodi
Psychotherapist & Sexologist


Content:
Julie, a 28-years-old woman, is referred by her GP because of depression and suicidal thoughts. Life seems too painful to be lived, and she is quite sure to commit suicide within a year. Nevertheless, she would like to have sex, but she did not succeed yet. That is why she accepted the referral to a psychotherapist who is also a sexologist. She explains her sexual problem wording as follows: “I am stuck with sex. I want to do it, but I feel disgusted about sexual intercourse. I am still a virgin. I can flirt, I can have some foreplay, but then I feel rigid with my body, and my mind turns off”. She feels great need of help and thinks she can trust the therapist. She wants to get a chance to solve her sexual problem before she dies.
Francesca Tripodi discusses the case presented by Evie Kirana, where the following crucial points are stressed:
- Do we need to take the suicidal thoughts seriously, or shall we focus on the sexual problem instead?
- How to make a differential diagnosis and approach the treatment goals?
- Which are the main steps in clinical management?
Produced in 2021

Francesca Tripodi
Psychotherapist & Sexologist
Lecturer and Supervisor
Francesca Tripodi, PsyD, is a systemic psychotherapist, sexologist, and clinical supervisor working at the Institute of Clinical Sexology in Rome. She attended the Oxford School of Sexual Medicine and is an EFS-ESSM Certified Psychosexologist (ECPS).
With more than 25 years of clinical experience, she covers a wide range of sexual issues, focusing primarily on sexual dysfunction and couple therapy. She is an active Italian Federation of Scientific Sexology (FISS) member. Lecturer at the Training School of Clinical Sexology in Rome and the FISS symposia.
Since 2013, she has been co-director of and lecturer at the ESSM School of Sexual Medicine. Current member of the ESSM Educational and Scientific Committees, the EFS/ESSM Exam Committee, and the European Accreditation of Psycho-sexology (EPSA). From 2014 to 2022, member of the EFS Executive and Educational Committees. Lecturer at the ABC course and the Exam pre-course, held during the ESSM congresses. Lecturer at several ESSM and EFS symposia held during congresses or professional training courses.
In 2019 co-founder and current executive board director of International Online Sexology Supervisors (IOSS), an educational initiative that aims to cover gaps within the field of life-long learning in Clinical Sexology for professionals worldwide.
Author of more than 100 national and international publications in the field, she also contributed and is co-editor of the EFS-ESSM Syllabus of Clinical Sexology (2014), the ESSM Manual of Sexual Medicine (2015), and the Textbook of Rare Sexual Medicine Conditions (2022). Â
Over the last 25 years, she participated in lectures, oral communications, or posters of the most important conferences and international meetings organized by the main scientific societies of sexology (EFS, WAS, ESSM, ISSM). She has participated in many research projects as a scientific collaborator or coordinator.Â
Languages
English, Italian