Vaginismus treatment. Hypnotherapy versus behavior therapy

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness ofhypnotherapy in the treatment of vaginismus compared tobehavior therapy.Method: A consecutive sample of 36 women withvaginismus (DSM-IV criteria) referred to the out-patientpsychiatry clinic at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospitalin Riyadh between 1999-2003 were divided into 2 groupsfor either treatment on a random basis. A femalepsychologist independently and carefully assessedpatients before and after treatment. Patients were treateduntil they achieved satisfactory sexual intercourse.Results: Although both behavior therapy andhypnotherapy were successful in treating vaginismus,hypnotherapy performed better than behavior therapy inreducing the level of the wife’s sex-related anxiety and inimproving the husband’s sexual satisfaction score.Success tended to occur faster in women treated withhypnotherapy as they received fewer treatment sessions.Women with vaginismus can be successfully treated byhypnotherapy without simultaneous treatment of theirhusbands.Conclusion: Hypnotherapy can provide an acceptabletime and cost effective therapeutic tool that helps resolvevaginismus and improves sexual satisfaction in bothspouses.