A four-year survey of an inner-city psychosexual problems clinic

Despite progress in the variety and availability of different psychological and physical approaches offered as treatment for sexual dysfunction, there have been relatively few studies on the characteristics of people seeking help for sexual problems. This paper aims to describe the demographic characteristics, sources of referral and types of problem of patients referred to an inner-city psychosexual problems clinic over a recent four-year period and to study the relationship between measures of psychological distress reported and primary presenting problems. Patients described in this paper were broadly comparable with those reported in other recent studies, although there was a higher ratio of males to females, more patients were from a working class background and more referrals originated from GPs. However, during the last decade an increase in referrals to the clinic of ethnic minorities and patients suffering from the sequelae of childhood sexual abuse was noted. A frequent presence of psychiatric morbidity was recorded, with a significant sex difference: females scored significantly higher than males on measures of psychopathology, interpersonal problems and depression. Factors accounting for these differences are discussed and suggestions for further research into prognostic factors affecting treatment for sexual dysfunction offered.