The Effectiveness of Cognitive- Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) on Self-Conscious Emotions and Sexual Self-Esteem of Women with Symptoms of Sexual Dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction is usually associated with imbalance and emotional expression. Cognitive- Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy(CBASP) is one of the evidence-based treatment used for a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral analytic psychotherapy on the self-conscious emotions of women with symptoms of sexual dysfunction.

The research method is semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up plan. The statistical population were married women suffering from sexual harassment referred to Tehran counseling centers from the months of January 2022 to May 2023. Thirty (30) women were selected by purposeful method and randomly assigned into two groups (15) for the case and (15) for the control group. The Women's Sexual Performance Index Questionnaire (SFSI), the Self-Conscious Affect Test (PFQ-2) and the Short Form of the Women's Sexual Self-Esteem Index (SSEL-W-SF) were used to collect the data. The experimental group underwent 12 sessions of analytic cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and each session lasted 90-minutes while the control group did not receive any treatment. The data was analyzed using SPSS.27 software.

The results of variance analysis with repeated measures showed that there is a significant difference between the post-test and the follow-up of the experimental and control groups in the scores of conscious emotions, sexual self-esteem and sexual performance (P≥0.001).  The therapeutic effects were maintained on the variables in the 3-months follow-up.

Cognitive- behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy decreases the feeling of guilt and shame in sexual relationship and has positive effect on women's sexual self-esteem, which improve their sexual function.