Psychosexual Counselling

The Psychosexual Effects of Menopause

June 28, 2016 by Albert

Female’s transition through three definitive periods in their life: the pre-reproductive period of prepubescence, the reproductive age, and finally the end of fertility. Whereas the transition from child to woman is characterized by puberty, the end of fertility in midlife is ushered in by. Menopause signifies the permanent cessation of menstruation or reproductive fertility that brings about profound physical, emotional, and social changes to females. Unlike in past centuries or even today in countries with lower life expectancies such as Afghanistan where women live up to only 44 years on average, women of today may spend more than half their lives living the post-menopausal life. As a result, psychologists are increasingly conducting research that investigates the post-menopausal lifestyles of women. In particular, because menopause is rooted in the sexual function of women, psychosexual psychiatrists have paid attention to the psychosexual effects that menopause has.

Although menopause signals the end of menses, it is actually quite a gradual process that occurs over the course of a few years. Perimenopause is highlighted by decreased levels of circulating estrogen and has many symptoms associated with it, such as hot flashes, migraine headaches, and psychosomatic symptoms such as irritability and forgetfulness. Because menopause is caused by the natural cessation of hormone production by the ovaries, scientists analyze ovarian hormones ñ in particular, estrogens, androgens, and progesterone ñ and how the alteration in their bodily production influences the psychological and sexual makeup of post-menopausal women. As it regards female sexuality, menopause impacts psychologically as much as it does physiologically.

Among the biggest misconception concerning post-menopausal women is that they lose their libido, whereas men never lose their lust and capacity to sexually perform. That is absolutely incorrect as post-menopausal women can remain quite sexual. However, because females do undergo more dramatic biological changes than their male counterparts, menopause is more likely to challenge previous sexual functioning and have psychosexual effects, including the reduction in their sexual drive. The most common psychosexual effect menopause has in females includes the increase of psychosexual dysfunctions, such as orgasmic disorder, hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or even sexual pain disorders. Sexual arousal becomes more challenging with the fatigue and irritations that accompany menopause. Libido is hurt by (more…)

Psychosexual Effects of Circumcision

June 28, 2016 by Albert

Circumcision poses an interesting dilemma concerning its psychosexual effects and possibly trauma it inflicts. Increasingly there is a prevalent mentality in society that because humans now have the technology and capability to alter their physical appearance, that they should be allowed to do so on the basis that it boosts their self-value. Sometimes the reasons for reconstructive surgery are entirely understandable, such as those disfigured in accidents. Curiously, the reasons are more often rooted in insecurities about bodily features that biology did not intend for them to have, such as the perfect nose, perky breasts, or bulging biceps. Nonetheless, the mantra “To each their own” rings true, and if people want to remedy their imperfections, no harm done. Although reconstructive surgery procedures have grown more intricate, it is the oldest procedures whose merit continues to be vigorously debated: Circumcision. It has become sufficient to argue that religious, cultural, or societal norms underlie whether circumcision should be undertaken. Yet, many of the critics towards circumcision argue that this is not excusable because it dismisses the effect circumcision has not only physiologically, but psychologically.

For clarification, circumcision limits itself to signify the cutting off part or the entire foreskin of a penis and permanently exposing the glans. The reason to clarify this is because the medical community discerns between male circumcisions that require no damage to the sexual organ itself to its female equivalent. The female counterpart is known as “female genital cutting” which removes partially or totally the external female genitalia, and is rarely performed because it is generally viewed as mutilation.

Today, infant male circumcision rates grow despite increasing number of questions from the medical community concerning its medical justification. In a 2007 report entitled Male circumcision: Global trends and (more…)

The Psychological and psychosexual Effects of Abortion

June 28, 2016 by Albert

Abortion has long been and remains a source of considerable controversy, particularly in regards to the mental health and psychological effects of the procedure. The value system that favors or condemns abortion is rooted in so many layers, such as the individual’s interpretation of morality, ethics, legality, and science. Some equate abortion to cold blooded murder. To others, abortion needs to be left to the decision of those who undergo the procedure which is dependent on many factors, such as whether they can afford the child, whether it was desired in the first place etc. Then, there are those shades of grey areas concerning abortion: What if the baby is wanted, yet amniocentesis warn of defects that may well cripple the child for his entire life? Or, what if a woman becomes impregnated as a victim of rape? Public opinion throughout the world remains debated, but what is often ignored in the midst of screaming debates are the potential psychological, rather than physiological, effects and mental health ramifications of abortion. Yet, even that argument is controversial for numerous reasons.

When discussing the traumatic psychological effects of abortion, it is important to discern between forced abortion and elective abortions. In the case of forced abortions, women are often forced into unwanted abortions by lovers, relatives, and other influential persons in their lives. Forced abortions are particularly common in developing countries where socioeconomic conditions, lack of legal procedures preceding the abortion, and gender identities all contribute to the lack of say by women concerning their pregnancy. By contrast, elective abortions occur when the decision rests entirely on the woman herself. Context and justification for the abortion plays an important role on how the incident in internalized by and traumatic to the woman. Studies correlate a higher rate of diagnosable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the cases of the traumatic experience of forced abortion. PTSD is a psychological dysfunction in where a person’s coping mechanisms are distorted giving way to feelings of intense fear and helplessness. According to Dr. David C. Reardon of The Elliot Institute – a pro-life organization that (more…)

The Psychosexual dysfunctions in Brazil

June 28, 2016 by Albert

Traditional Christians welcome the first day of Lent with modest practices, such as attending mass. Not the Brazilians. The Brazilian Carnaval is a five day extravaganza of nonstop music and sexual decadence that ends the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The celebration itself is believed to have roots in the pagan festival of Saturnalia which, in Christian terms, is a final celebration before committing to sexual dormancy for purposes of religious discipline. Brazil is often characterized by outsiders as having a sexually inclined culture, whether it is the impressive physical looks of Brazilians, their cultural openness towards sexuality, or that a source of national pride is bedroom performances. The possibility that Brazilian sexuality could be undermined by any form of psychosexual dysfunction counters what people view the Brazilian sexual identity to be. Yet, psychosexual dysfunctions are common in Brazil. Because psychosexual disorders are rooted in the psychological rather than the physiological, Brazilians face many social, economic, and stresses of culture that may make them more vulnerable to suffering from psychosexual dysfunctions than most other cultures.

Sexual dysfunctions are characterized as a disturbance in sexual desire or arousal. Studies investigating psychosexual dysfunctions in Brazilian society reflect the profound influence external pressures have on psychosexual health of ordinary Brazilians. In particular, psychosexual attitudes are dictated by three aspects of Brazilian society: the political, the social, and the economic.

The predominant religion in Brazil is Roman Catholicism with 70% of its near 200 million population practicing Catholicism. The predominance of the Christian faith has had a powerful influence in enabling policies that support Christian doctrine and attitudes become legislation and become accepted by Brazilian society, particularly concerning sexuality. For example, in Brazil, abortion is officially illegal except if the pregnancy puts the life of the woman in danger, or if the pregnancy is the result of a rape. Yet, even that compromise remains a source of tension and has earned the ire of the Roman Catholic Church. In March 2009, a national debate broke out after Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho announced the excommunication of a mother and the doctors who performed an abortion on a nine year old that became pregnant with (more…)