Skip to main content

Libido Can Drop After Menopause, But This Therapy Can Help

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Sep 10, 2024.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Sept. 10, 2024 -- A form of psychotherapy can help women whose libidos have suffered as they go through menopause, a new study finds.

Cognitive behavioral therapy significantly improved sexual desire and satisfaction in a small group of middle-aged and older women, researchers said.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral therapy protocol specifically aimed to improve sexual concerns experienced during peri- and postmenopause," said lead researcher Sheryl Green. She's associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences with McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Declining estrogen levels cause sexual concerns in 68% to 87% of women in the midst of menopause or postmenopause, researchers explained in background notes.

Treatment options for sexual problems like a loss of desire or pain during sex are limited, researchers said.

For this study, researchers asked women to participate in four sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy aimed at managing sexual issues that accompany menopause.

Cognitive behavioral therapy works by helping people recognize ways of thinking or patterns of behavior that are causing them problems with their mental and physical health.

The therapist helps people come up with new thoughts or behaviors to replace the ones that are causing harm, as well as methods of meditation and problem-solving.

Following the therapy, study participants experienced significant improvement in multiple areas of sexual function, body image and sexual satisfaction, researchers report.

They also had a significant decrease in menopause symptoms, depression, anxiety and overall health, results show.

All of the participants said they were very satisfied with the treatment, and that it helped them more effectively cope with their menopause symptoms.

Researchers presented their findings at The Menopause Society’s annual meeting in Chicago. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"Results suggest that this type of therapy leads to significant improvements across several important sexual concern domains, and we hope this study will provide the basis for larger randomized clinical trials in the future,” Green said in a meeting news release.

Sources

  • The Menopause Society, news release, Sept. 10, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted September 2024

Read this next

It's High Number of Guns, Not Mental Health Crises, That Drives U.S. Gun Deaths: Study

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11, 2024 -- Widespread and easy access to guns is the reason behind the shockingly high rate of firearm deaths in the United States, and not any rise in mental...

Helicopter Parenting: Spotting It, and Expert Tips to Curb It

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11, 2024 -- It’s natural for a parent to want to protect their children and keep them from harm. But sometimes this understandable desire crosses over into...

Biden Administration Issues Rules Making Mental Health Care More Accessible

MONDAY, Sept. 9, 2024 -- Beginning Jan. 1, Americans with private health insurance coverage should gain better access to mental health care, as well as care to help ease substance...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.