Abstract
Medical family therapy (MedFT) has shown to be an effective treatment model in helping individuals and families cope with chronic illness; yet this approach has never been applied to couples dealing with sexual dysfunction as a result of illness. The purpose of this article is to broaden the scope of a MedFT practice through presenting an approach applying MedFT principles to clients experiencing sexual dysfunction as a result of their chronic illness or treatments. We review research on the effects of illness and treatment on sexual functioning, provide a rationale for integrating MedFT principles, and present the framework through a case study.
Notes
1 See CitationSegraves and Balon (2003) for a discussion of the sexual side effects from commonly used medications which can be used to educate the couple on the impact of medications taken by both of them.
2 See Elliott (2002) for specific strategies to work toward sexual rehabilitation.