Erectile Disorder in Couple and Family Therapy

Name of Concept

Biopsychosocial model of assessment, treatment, and relapse prevention

Introduction

When Viagra (sildenafil) was introduced in 1998, it was a common belief that a stand-alone medical intervention would resolve erectile disorder (ED). ED is the major cause of secondary male hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The mistaken assumption underlying this belief was that male HSDD would dramatically be reduced with assured erectile function. Rather than solve ED, many men felt like “Viagra failures” and gave up on couple sex, leading to a shockingly high Viagra dropout rate. Some clinicians believe that Viagra has caused more nonsexual relationships since 1998 than anything else in history (Metz and McCarthy 2004).

Theoretical Context for Concept

The great majority of men learn sexual response in adolescence and young adulthood in an autonomous manner in which he experiences spontaneous erections, transitions to intercourse, and orgasm on his first erection; consequently,...