Running head discussion

1. Running head: DISCUSSION
1
DISCUSSION
1
Discussion
Student’s Name
Institution
Course
Date
Sexual Dysfunctions
The focus of this discussion shall be a sexual dysfunction.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, sexual dysfunctions are basically a heterogenous
group of disorders that are characterized by clinically
significant disturbance in the ability of an individual to respond
sexually or even to experience sexual pleasure (APA, 2013).
Sexual expression as well as sexual health are very important
aspects of a life of any individual. In fact, it is without a doubt
that scholars now recognize sexual health and sexual expression
as important aspects of quality of life as well as well -being of
an individual (Gore-Gorszewska, 2020). Therefore, it is
important to say that when an individual is suffering from a
particular sexual dysfunction, their quality of life is
significantly affected and they need an evidence-based
intervention in order to improve on their wellness. The sexual
dysfunction that shall be discussed is erectile disorder. Once the
diagnostic criteria have been presented, the available evidence -
based psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological
interventions for the disorder shall be discussed.

2. In order to diagnose erectile disorder, the client should either
complain of marked difficulty in obtaining an erection during
sexual activity, difficulty in maintaining an erection from the
start to the completion of the sexual activity or significant
decrease in erectile rigidity. The client can complain about at
least one of these symptoms. These difficulties need to have
been experienced in at least 75% of all occasions. This should
either be in an identified situation or a generalized context. The
complaint should have persisted for at least 6 months and
should have caused significant clinical distress to the
individual. It is very important to rule out other causes of the
erectile disorder such as other mental health illnesses,
relationship distress as well as other stressors. There is also
need to make sure that the difficulties as elaborates are not
caused by the use of alcohol or other drugs and substances
(APA, 2013).
It is important to specify whether the disturbance has been
lifelong, since the client started being sexually active or
acquired, meaning that the client had a period of normalcy in as
far as their sexual activities are concerned. The context is also
very important. It could be generalized, meaning that the
problem is not specific to a stimulation, a situation or a partner.
The opposite is that it may be situational such as when the
problem is limited to a particular partner. In addition, the
erectile dysfunction is mild, moderate or severe depending on
the level of distress caused by the disturbance as already
described (APA, 2013). In diagnosing the problem, some health
providers require that tests should be done such as morning
testosterone assay especially if it is suspected that the cause is
hypogonadism (Sooriyamoorthy & Leslie, 2020).
Evidence-Based Treatment
Treatment for erectile disorder can be implemented in different
ways. When psychotherapy is chosen, the use of cognitive
behavioral sex therapy has been proven to have promising

3. results especially in young men that have nonorganic erectile
dysfunction (Bilal, 2020). The psychopharmacological
intervention that ha been proved to be effective is an
antidepressant. This is Bupropion. In fact, it helps in cases that
include erectile dysfunction that is caused by other
antidepressants (Razaei et al., 2018). Most medications that are
used may not be psychopharmacological agents. It is always
important to understand the cause for the erectile disorder
before selecting the best choice that is evidence-based and
acceptable to the patient.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American
Psychiatric Pub.
Bilal, A. (2020). Cognitive Behavioral Sex Therapy: An
Emerging Treatment Option for Nonorganic Erectile
Dysfunction in Young Men: A Feasibility Pilot Study. Sexual
Medicine, 8(3), 396-407
Gore-Gorszewska, G. (2020). “Why not ask the doctor?”
Barriers in help-seeking for sexual problems among older adults
in Poland. International journal of public health, 65(8), 1507-
1515
Rezaei, O., Fadai, F., Sayadnasiri, M., Palizvan, M. A.,
Armoon, B., & Noroozi, M. (2018). The effect of bupropion on
sexual function in patients with Schizophrenia: A randomized
clinical trial. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 32(1), 11-15.
Sooriyamoorthy, T., & Leslie, S. W. (2020). Erectile
Dysfunction (Impotence). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562253/