PSYCHOSEXUAL THERAPY
This is all about searching for the contributory causes of the problem and then treating it in as precise a way as possible. Such therapy is, of course, highly personal and unique to the individual or couple being treated. Nearly always the unravelling of the problem involves uncovering layer after layer of complexity and is something like solving a detective mystery. As in the practice of medicine generally, making an accurate diagnosis is the key to success, but one difficulty is to assess the importance of the mass of symptoms and material which is produced. Almost anything could have contributed to the current sexual problem and, often quite unconsciously, many people whilst wanting to be helped, put all kinds of difficulties in the way of establishing the truth. The examples of the underlying causes of sexual problems we have outlined in this chapter are very elementary. They do little to show how complex the origin of all sexual problems really is. Frequently there are several contributory causes and these are further affected by interactions with the partner. The sexual problem is often the final symptom produced by a host of varied underlying currents, many of them nothing at all directly to do with
*104\164\2*
