The sexual and relationship needs of people with psychosis — a neglected topic

Sexual and Marital Therapy was established to address sexual and marital dysfunction in a wide range of clinical and professional settings. Over the past 11 years we have published papers on work with couples and individuals in primary care; on forensic issues; marriage guidance; genitourinary medicine; neurology; learning and physical disability; oncology; and outpatient psychiatry, but only four papers in the field of serious mental disorder (Hudson, 1992; Taylor Segraves, 1993; Rowlands, 1995; Attenborough & Watson, 1997). This is despite the fact that 1% of the population worldwide suffers from schizophrenia (Kaplan, 1992), an illness which has a devastating effect on interpersonal and social relationships, as well as on libido (Bancroft, 1989). Twelve percent of the entire National Health Service budget in the UK is spent on the provision of mental health services including services for those suffering from psychosis (Sheppard, 1995). What is unclear is how much of this is allocated to sexual disorders, needs, problems and difficulties in intimate relationships. The numbers of papers received by the journal does not suggest that this topic has a high priority, but there are signs that this is changing.