Efficacy of psychological interventions for sexual dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Talking therapy for sexual problems has moderate evidence behind it — is there a therapist trained in sex therapy you can refer me to, rather than starting with a pill?
Reasonable evidence with real limitations. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Every pooled effect is against a waitlist, not an active or placebo control, so attention and expectancy are baked into the d = 0.58 figure. The search ends at 2009, predating the internet-delivered treatments that now dominate access. No total participant count is reported in the abstract, and the MEDLINE record lists the publication type "Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't", indicating unnamed external support.
Across 20 randomised trials from 1980 to 2009 comparing a psychological treatment with a waitlist, symptom severity improved by d = 0.58 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.77) and sexual satisfaction by d = 0.47 (95% CI 0.27 to 0.70) — moderate effects. The evidence was good for female hypoactive sexual desire disorder and female orgasmic disorder and thin everywhere else, and of 14 head-to-head comparisons the effect sizes ranged from d = -0.69 to 2.29, meaning nobody knows which therapy is best.
Worth asking
Talking therapy for sexual problems has moderate evidence behind it — is there a therapist trained in sex therapy you can refer me to, rather than starting with a pill?
What to watch for
Evidence quality tells you whether to trust the finding — not whether the treatment is safe. These are the risks this research reports.
- Sexual side effects
Source
Efficacy of psychological interventions for sexual dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. — Frühauf S, Gerger H, Schmidt HM, Munder T, Barth J. (2013)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0062-0
DOI: 10.1007/s10508-012-0062-0
How this was scored
- Study design
- Systematic review of randomised trials
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- not recorded
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "moderate evidence". Reasonable evidence with real limitations. It scores 62 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Every pooled effect is against a waitlist, not an active or placebo control, so attention and expectancy are baked into the d = 0.58 figure. The search ends at 2009, predating the internet-delivered treatments that now dominate access. No total participant count is reported in the abstract, and the MEDLINE record lists the publication type "Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't", indicating unnamed external support. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Efficacy of psychological interventions for sexual dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. — Frühauf S, Gerger H, Schmidt HM, Munder T, Barth J. (2013). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-012-0062-0. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Systematic review of randomised trials. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.