The other day a patient who was coming from very far away on the train said to us, “I was going to read 50 Shades of Grey on the way down here, but then I figured I might get turned on and couldn’t do anything about it.” Hmmmm…It occurred to me that many of my …
Continue ReadingArousal and anxiety in women.
Arousal in women is typically marked by a woman’s ability to lubricate. Physiologically, many things are happening to create a physical response. I have found in my work at the Center that that physical response is extremely important to women. Though arousal may be harder to physically detect in a woman than in a man, …
Continue ReadingInspiration.
I am often inspired by my patients, by their courage to face their issues, by their commitment to the process of getting better and often by their fearlessness to do things that are completely foreign and that make them feel incredibly uncomfortable. I saw a patient yesterday who did all of the above. When we …
Continue ReadingMass erotic choice as a social organizer — from “Beatlemania” to “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
The questions never change. Working as a sex therapist, I have more than a passing interest in what the culture happens to be serving up about eros. Part of it is simply curiosity about what my clients are reading. But the greater part involves a search for conceptual tools with which to understand the erotic …
Continue ReadingAnother type of birth control — IUD.
Decisions about birth control can be very stressful. Although birth control pills are praised widely on television commercials, magazine and internet ads, not all women react so positively to birth control in their system. Not all women act like the actresses in the commercials. We often see women coming to us complaining about changes in …
Continue ReadingThe pill…what you need to know.
In 1961, the FDA approved the use of female oral contraceptive pills (commonly known as birth control pills). As of this writing, there are over 60 different birth control pills on the market. There are an estimated 12 million women in the United States using birth control pills. The consensus is that most women do …
Continue ReadingWe are here for you.
In a recent blog post, The Medical Center for Female Sexuality asked to hear from you, the readers. Here is one of the questions we received: Question: I am 19 years old and have been with my boyfriend for over a year. He is 22 and like any normal young man, his sex drive is …
Continue ReadingPersistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD).
In my opinion, persistent genital arousal disorder is one of the most frustrating syndromes that I’ve faced while practicing at MCFS. Typically, a patient complaining of PGAD symptoms presents to us after some time of suffering. Since this syndrome affects each woman differently, a careful history must be taken. Although more research is being dedicated …
Continue ReadingThe year in clinical sexuality, 2011.
As we get ready to leave 2011 behind, I would like as always to express my gratitude to family, friends and colleagues for your support and encouragement over the past year; and to my patients for your trust and confidence. May we all merit much happiness in 2012. Here’s my list of 2011′s most interesting …
Continue ReadingHuman sexual response.
Masters and Johnson (1970), the pioneering sex researchers, described a woman’s cycles of sexual arousal as having several phases. They believed that women moved through each phase in a linear fashion. They called this cycle the “human sexual response cycle.” The phases are described as: the excitement phase: this phase is marked by an elevated …
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