The Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions - Introduction

Modern Sex Research

It seems that sexual problems of one kind or another have plagued many people in many societies since the dawn of history. We know, for example, that ancient and medieval physicians studied these problems and sought various medical remedies. However, it also seems that sexual dysfunctions have become more severe and widespread in modern times. In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were often treated by psychiatrists, and the rate of "cure" was not always encouraging. Today, we can see that this could hardly have been otherwise, since the physiological processes involved in sexual functioning were still poorly understood.

Three researchers who contributed to our understanding of the sexual response. Robert L. Dickinson Ernst Gräfenberg Alfred C. Kinsey

It was only the specific research of scientists like Robert L. Dickinson, Ernst Gräfenberg, Alfred C. Kinsey, Arnold H. Kegel, Masters and Johnson which finally allowed therapists to approach sexual dysfunctions directly, instead of treating them as symptoms of something else.