1. 迷誤——人類“正常的”性狀態

從希波克拉底到瑪斯特斯和詹森，各種各樣的臨床醫學家們不僅治療性功能障礙，而且也治療性偏離(sexual deviance)。

就是說：他們不僅試圖恢復、增強或減弱性活力，而且試圖把性引入社會能夠接納的軌道內，他們已經把自己當作“正常的奴僕”，並且對此不辭辛勞，也就是說，他們首先只不過幫助人們達成該達到的“恢復正常”。如此這般，性治療裏第一個和最主要的無根無據的定勢思維一直是迷信於“自然”賦予和健康的性，認為性功能障礙或性偏離僅僅是由於(各種)衝突的結果。反過來，一旦衝突停止了或者病理作用消除了，人體就會自動恢復“正常的性狀態(natural sexuality)”。

然而，長期以來，現行的性治療實踐已經顯示這種定勢思維並不是事物的本來面目。

1. The Myth of a "Natural" Human Sexuality

From Hippocrates to Masters and Johnson, therapists of various kinds have treated not only sexual dysfunctions but also sexual deviance.

That is to say: They have tried not only to restore, increase, or reduce sexual vigor but also to channel it into socially acceptable outlets, and they have done so on the assumption that they were "handmaidens of nature," i.e. that they simply helped people to achieve what should have "come naturally" in the first place. Thus, the first and greatest silent assumption of all sexual therapy has been the belief in a "naturally" given, healthy sexuality which becomes dysfunctional or deviant only as a result of interference. Conversely, once this interference has been stopped, and its ill effects have been eliminated, the human "natural sexuality" is automatically restored.

However, the actual practice of sex therapy through the ages has shown that this assumption cannot be true.