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ABSTRACT
Self-treatments have previously shown some efficacy in treating premature ejaculation (PE). It has been hypothesized that adding professional support to cognitive-behaviour bibliotherapy could improve self-treatment outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare treatment outcomes for participants with PE who used bibliotherapy alone (pure self-treatment) versus those who used the bibliotherapy with brief support from a health professional (guided self-treatment). Health professionals were not experienced sex therapists, but had attended a short training session in order to equip them to support the self-help process. In total, 135 men reporting difficulties with PE were recruited between February and June 2013. Seventy-one (52.59%) completed the protocol: 37 in the pure self-treatment condition, 34 in the guided self-treatment condition. Thirty-five participants (50%) met criteria for ISSM definition of lifelong PE, 14 (20%) for acquired PE, and 22 (30%) presented other forms of PE complaints. At 4–8 months post-treatment, improvements were found in both groups and in each subtype of PE on self-reported measures of sexual functioning and sexual cognitions. Univariate analyses indicated slightly greater treatment effects in the guided self-treatment group, but multivariate tests failed to identify a significant effect of therapist support. These mixed findings raise questions regarding the amount and quality of therapist input used in this study, and also about a possible ceiling effect of cognitive-behaviour therapy for PE.
Acknowledgement
This study was led in collaboration by the University of Liege (B), Departments of Psychology and Urology, and Province of Liege Department of Health and Quality of Life (B) .
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Liege (Belgium) on 11 July 2012.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Philippe Kempeneers
Philippe Kempeneers, MS, MA, PhD, is a psychologist and sexologist. He teaches certificate specialization programs in clinical sexology at Universities of Liege, Brussels and Louvain. From 2009 to 2014, he led the BibliothEP project, a study evaluating the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for premature ejaculation, under the auspices of University and Province of Liege. He is past-president of the SSUB, the French-speaking Belgian society of sexology.
Robert Andrianne
Robert Andrianne, MD, PhD, is senior urologist and professor of sexual medicine at the University of Liege.
Marion Cuddy
Marion Cuddy, DClinPsy, PhD, is clinical psychologist based in London. She specialises in cognitive behaviour therapy for individual and couples, and is currently Secretary of the Couple Special Interest Group of the British Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapies.
Isabelle Georis
Isabelle Georis, BA, MS, is a sexologist and sex therapist in Liege.
Quentin Longrée
Quentin Longrée, MS, is a clinical psychologist in Liege.
Sylvie Blairy
Sylvie Blairy, MS, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Liege. She teaches cognitive behaviour therapies and the psychology of emotions. She is Chief editor of RFCCC, a French-speaking journal of cognitive and behavioural therapies.