“Practical self-love”—A qualitative interview study on women participating in Self:Cervix: an online sexual mindfulness and sensitivity course

Abstract

There seems to be an increase in online programs offering courses for women to explore their sexuality and to attain more satisfying sexual experiences beyond the stereotypical penetrative sexual experience. One of these online programs is Self:Cervix (S:C). The pillars of S:C are sexual education about genital anatomy, self-massage to release pain and numbness in the genital area especially the cervix (called “de-armouring”), mindfulness techniques to increase pleasure, and learning about consent. Aim of the study was to analyze in-depth the experiences of S:C participants. Six women (35–41 y) participated in the semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interviews were then analyzed with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four overarching themes were identified: S:C as a desire for change and a challenge, S:C strengthens the awareness for own needs, S:C enhances sensitivity and sensations, and S:C promotes self-compassion. The participating women described not only an increase in sensitivity and orgasmic experiences but also a heightened sense of empowerment and self-compassion. Female sexuality is complex and diverse, thus it seems important to educate about sexuality and empower self-exploration which is central to S:C. Additionally, it seems possible to reduce cervical pain and numbness through self-massage called “de-armouring”.

Keywords:

• Female sexuality
• cervix
• qualitative study
• female sexual dysfunction

Acknowledgements

We thank the women for their courage and openness to participate in the interviews. We would also like to show our gratitude to Olivia Bryant, who developed S:C, for her support to conduct this study.

Disclosure statement

We have no conflict of interest.

Funding

We received no funding for this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katharina Weitkamp

Katharina Weitkamp, PhD, is a psychologist and systemic therapist. She is a senior research associate at the Department of Clinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her research interests are adolescent mental health, a holistic view of female sexuality and recently, trajectories of relationship satisfaction and dyadic coping.

Mailin Laues

Mailin Laues, M.Sc., studied psychology at the MSH Medical School Hamburg. She wrote her master’s thesis on the topic and is currently working as a psychotherapist in training.

Thomas Schnell

Prof. Dr. Thomas Schnell is a board certified psychotherapist trained in trauma therapy and dialectic behavioral therapy. He is professor for clinical psychology—behavioural therapy at the MSH Medical School Hamburg. His research focus is comorbidity of psychoses and cannabis use.