Waitlist Controlled Comparison of Cognitive-behavioral vs. Mindfulness-based Online-treatments for Women With Low Sexual Desire

Randomized-controlled Comparison of Two Online-interventions: How Effective Are Cognitive-behavioral and Mindfulness-based Sexual Therapy in Improving Sexual Desire in Women With Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder?

Problems with sexual function are common and distressing. The most frequent sexual difficulty in women is a lack of sexual desire with a prevalence of 20-30%. When low sexual desire is experienced over several months and causes significant personal distress, a sexual dysfunction can be diagnosed (ICD-10: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: HSDD). A distressing lack of desire is reported by 6% of sexually active women. Psychological interventions are the treatment of choice for women with HSDD. Promising treatment approaches include cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based interventions. A recent meta-analysis also showed that Internet-delivered programs are a valid alternative to face-to-face treatments. Aim of this project to assess the effectivity of two eight-week online-programs consisting of cognitive-behavioral (COPE) and mindfulness-based (MIND) interventions for women with HSDD. Both treatments will be compared to a waitlist-control group. For this project, two well-established group-treatment manuals will be translated into German and adapted to a multimedia online-environment. All participants will be guided through the programs by well-qualified eCoaches.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older
• female gender
• able to read, write and speak German
• Meet criteria of ICD-10 criteria of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (established via online-screening and telephone interview)
• Experience significant sexuality-related personal distress (established via online-screening and telephone interview)

Exclusion Criteria:

• currently pregnant
• ongoing medical or psychological treatment for low desire or other sexual dysfunctions or plans to enter such treatment (e.g., in-person sexual therapy, couples therapy) during study participation
• suicide ideation (established via telephone interview)
• currently experiencing significant symptoms of a mental disorder that might interfere with study participation (e.g., Eating Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder) as established via telephone interview
• currently experiencing significant symptoms of a physical condition that might interfere with study participation (e.g., cancer, multiple sclerosis) as established via telephone interview
• current Substance-Abuse Disorder
• current or lifetime Psychotic Disorder
• significant relationship discord or violence