Content and aim: It is remarkable that men and women experience sexual pleasure differently while their sexual system is organized similarly. The commonly observed pleasure gap between men and women is not biologically driven and thus needs to be approached from a biopsychosocial perspective. Ellen Laan made it her lifework to promote a positive approach on sexual health and advocated the idea that the experience of sexual pleasure is embedded in a gendered context in which heterosexual women’s sexual pleasure …

Content and Aim: We all want to use the evidence-based approaches to assessment and treatment of sexual problems. In that we rely on the published and reviewed literature to implement best evidence. However – many treatments in clinical sexology haven’t been investigated in larger scale studies, the evidence can be unclear, our patient groups may not be the same studied or may have more complex presentations than in published literature. In addition – some treatments make a lot of sense …

Content and Aim: At the first glance, most of us would assume that this lecture is only for those who are involved in research. But this is certainly not true! For those who are involved in conduction of research, it is mandatory that they perform the research well to curtail wastage of time and money. They are also expected to publish it later in a peer-reviewed journal so that the research can be presented to the world without any ambiguity. …

Content and aim: Sexologists are usually not adequately equipped to understand the biological mechanism of erectile function and dysfunction. This may be an obstacle in a) using the sexual history to identify the possible contributing role of biological factors, b) understanding the clinical presentation of erectile dysfunction with various organic etiologies, and c) understanding how psychological factors contribute to the mechanism of the erection. Sexologists are required to be knowledgeable of the biological mechanisms that are involved in erectile function …

Content and Aim: People suffering from mental disorders commonly face sexual difficulties such as sexual dysfunction, out-of-control sexual behavior, sexual identity concerns and problems within sexual relationships. Counseling and sexual therapy may be especially challenging in these patients as sexologists usually don’t have enough expertise in approaching mental health conditions while psychiatrists and psychologists are lacking expertise in sexual health issues. Safety concerns related to psychiatric conditions may additionally complicate decisions on therapeutic interventions. The aim of the webinar is …

Content and Aim: This lecture is focused on providing clinical knowledge on the management of patients with premature ejaculation (PE). How fast is ‘premature ejaculation’? Why is it a problem and for whom? Is it a problem for the man or his partner or both? Which factors explain the problem? Are they biological, psychological, interpersonal? This lecture gives a good understanding of the causes of premature ejaculation and the crucial parts of the diagnostic procedure. The possible treatment options are …

Content and Aim: The paedophilic disorder is a devastating condition, being often accompanied by intensive personal stress and high comorbidity on the one hand and being a major risk factor for child sexual abuse on the other hand. However, there is still little known about this paraphilic disorder and it often is falsely equated with sexual offending, especially by public media. Consequently, affected persons hardly seek professional help because of the fear of being socially rejected. Moreover, pedophilia is a …

Content and Aim: This lecture gives a good understanding of low sexual arousal in women. It starts with a description of what changes occur with arousal and the data that are relevant to subjective sexual arousal vs genital sexual arousal. The speaker provides a clear description of the various definitions and explains important aspects of these. The speaker also talks about the clinical presentation of sexual arousal disorder and shed light on the variations with which sexual arousal is experienced …

Content and Aim: This lecture gives a description of the conditions of dyspareunia, vaginism, vestibulodynia and vulvodynia (provoked, unprovoked, mixed). The lecturer aims to give practical suggestions and organizes this lecture around four clinical types of pain that are quite discrete in clinical practice and have different clinical presentation. The assessment steps that need to be followed in genital pain are described. In addition, treatment options according to the type of pain is described. Learning Objectives: Know the key aspects …

Content and aim: The menopausal transition is the gradual change from pre- to postmenopause- menopause being defined retrospectively 12 months after the last menstrual period. This phase is characterized by significant hormonal, emotional and social challenges, such as hot flashes, mood and cognition changes, while empty nest syndrome, retirement or illness of a partner may coincide. As a result, sexual problems are common and multifaceted. In this webinar we will go through the complexities of the woman’s sexuality throughout mid-life; …

Content and Aim: This is a state of the art lecture on hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women. It covers important aspects of the definitions that have triggered a lot of discussion during the last years. What is high and what is low sexual desire? What is the connection with arousal? How frequent is this problem, what are the risk factors and how we can assess women with such a complain. In addition, this lecture covers briefly how sexologists can …

Content and Aim: Compared to the literature on low sexual desire in women, very little has been written about men. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in men has most frequently been considered as hypogonadism. Although testosterone supplementation in some cases may be an effective treatment, this may not always be the solution. Biological factors are important but don’t always explain the sexual response. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in men is a problem that requires a bio-psychosocial management approach. Understanding the biological, …

Content and Aim: Issues of orgasm and pleasure have attracted considerably less attention compared to other sexual problems. This lecture answers a lot of questions that shed light on issues of women’s orgasm. Although most women can reach orgasm through masturbation, orgasm during partnered sexual activity of any sort is less frequent and consistent. However, lesbian couples are more likely to reach orgasm during partnered sexual activity compared to heterosexual couples. The importance of orgasm and faking of orgasm are …

Content and Aim: Psychogenic Erectile dysfunction is probably one of the most common problems that a sexologist will manage. This lecture focuses on the diagnostic procedure and questions that are indicative of psychogenic erectile dysfunction. It also provides a good understanding of the mechanism of performance anxiety, as well as factors that maintain or exacerbate it. Therapeutic strategies such as stress management for performance anxiety, sensate focus, cognitive behavioral therapy and medications are presented. Since, no one therapeutic strategy is …

Content: In this lecture, Evie Kirana gives an overview of psychogenic aspects of erectile dysfunction and ejaculatory disorders. The most common presentation of psychogenic erectile dysfunction with performance anxiety playing a central role is explained. Factors maintaining the problem are also described. The most critical questions in sexual history taking and the implications of the relative answers are explained. Concerning premature ejaculation, Evie Kirana describes the clinical presentation and the aspect of time till ejaculation. Diagnostic considerations and steps overview …

Content: This lecture is designed for sexologists who would like to increase their competence in diagnosing female sexual dysfunctions. Francesca Tripodi guides the listener through the differences between DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnostic criteria, explaining why clinicians should also consider the ICSM and ISSWSH recommendations on female sexual dysfunction. A specific pathway for the sexual interview is presented, focusing on assessing genital pain, arousal, orgasm and desire disorders. Biological and medical conditions that can cause sexual problems are examined to highlight …

Content and Aim: The use of radical new sexual technologies – digisexualities – are here, and as technologies advance, their adoption is increasing, including engagement with sex dolls and robots. Researchers have found that both lay people, and clinicians, have mixed feelings about digisexualities. Yet, clinicians need to be aware of digisexualities, as well as the opportunities and challenges in engaging with such sexual technologies. Indeed, in order to remain ethical and viable, clinicians need to be prepared to work …

Content and aim: Why are female orgasms still shrouded in mystery?  Why does there continue to be an apparent dichotomy between clitoral and vaginal orgasms?  Are all orgasms the same?  Can all women experience them?  Must they serve an obvious reproductive purpose to be considered “valid”?  How do arousal and experience play a role in orgasm function and dysfunction? This webinar will examine female orgasms from different perspectives: historical, subjective, and objective, and will take a neurobiological approach in humans …

Content and aim: Sexual desire and sexual pleasure are interwoven into the brain’s neurochemistry. Systems that excite desire, such as dopamine, and bonding, such as oxytocin, are sensitized by the systems that come online to produce the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction we have when pursuing, flirting, having sex, and experiencing orgasms with our partner(s), such as opioids and serotonin.  In this webinar we will discuss how those systems work across the sexual response cycle and how the systems for …

Content and Aim: In general, in medicine our practice is deductive. We have a catalogue of defined diseases and we check whether the suffering of the individual woman fits into one of these definitions. The disease and the person are separated entities. The disease afflicts the woman. A sexual dysfunction is not an independent «objective» disease. There is no measurable marker. It is all about the person and her story. Each story is individual and fascinating and allows us to …

Content and Aim: Genital pain is a prevalent, complex and disabling health concern in women. Given that genital pain is heterogeneous and includes different pain syndromes that are determined by a wide variety of biological and psychosocial factors, the aim of the webinar is at increasing awareness of the different profiles of women complaining about genital pain, thereby focusing specifically on vaginismus and vulvodynia because these are the most common causes of genital pain in sexual medicine. We will discuss …

Content: Annamaria Giraldi talked about the management of the sexual adverse events related to psychopharmacology. The new knowledge coming from brain studies is crucial in understanding the pharmacological effects. The role of the dopaminergic system, the serotonergic system various receptors in sexual function were presented. Annamaria illustrated how the pharmacological knowledge in combination with the brain knowledge can help us predict the sexual side effects. Post SSRI sexual dysfunctions were also presented as well as their possible etiology. Tips and …

Content: Fernando Facio talked about advances in medical treatments for erectile dysfunction. He spoke about regenerative treatments for male sexual dysfunctions. Specifically, new findings on shockwave therapy, Plasma Rich Platelet (PRP) therapy and stem cells were presented. This lecture is part of a special IOSS event titled “Scientific Advances in Sexual Medicine’ dedicated to our colleague and friend Ariel Gustavo Scafuri MD, PhD, FACS, FECSM. Ariel was a board-certified urologist and obstetrician-gynecologist and a full Professor of Anatomy at Federal …

Content: Carlo Bettocchi presented some surgical techniques and their benefits. He talked about the subcoronal incision approach for the penile prosthesis surgery; the multiple slit technique as well as an innovative non grafting technique for penile curvature; novel shunts and penile decompression for priapism. Pros and cons of these techniques were described. This lecture is part of a special IOSS event titled “Scientific Advances in Sexual Medicine’ dedicated to our colleague and friend Ariel Gustavo Scafuri MD, PhD, FACS, FECSM. …

Content: Dr Bruno Nascimento focused on erectile dysfunction induced by radical prostatectomy. He explained why this surgery may cause erectile dysfunction and illustrated the respective mechanism. Psychosocial perspectives on sexual recovery after prostate cancer were also discussed as well as data on the medical management of erectile dysfunctions after surgery. This lecture is part of a special IOSS event titled “Scientific Advances in Sexual Medicine’ dedicated to our colleague and friend Ariel Gustavo Scafuri MD, PhD, FACS, FECSM. Ariel was …

Content: Sue Goldstein presented the latest advances in female sexual dysfunctions. She talked about current pharmacologic treatment in sexual desire and presented the ISSWSH guide on how to use testosterone in women in a safe way. In the domain of arousal, Sue Goldstein talked about the efforts of ISSWSH to suggest a different name for persistent genital arousal syndrome and the significance of such a change. She also talked about characteristics of this problem, contributing factors, treatment goals and algorithms. …