All About Anorgasmia & How To Overcome it with CBT, Therapy & Counselling

What is Anorgasmia?

Anorgasmia is the medical term for the inability to achieve an orgasm and figures suggest that 10-12% of women will never have an orgasm in their lives.

Men do suffer this problem in very small proportions but in general, it affects many more females.

It is also estimated that more than 70% of women will never, or hardly ever, orgasm through the act of sexual intercourse.

This is often due to the fact that stimulation during intercourse is quite difficult with manual stimulation generally much more successful.

Anorgasmia can lead both sexual partners to develop feelings of inadequacy leading to the problem developing into a more significant emotional problems such as stress and anxiety which simply create a negative cycle.

Can Anorgasmia be treated?

In most cases where this has been a temporary problem simple communication about how sexual partners can please each other will be sufficient.

If you do not communicate, or don’t feel like you can communicate what you need, then it is likely that the problem will only grow rather than go.

If this has been the case then psychological therapy can almost certainly provide a solution.

What can cause Anorgasmia?

More often than not this problem is one of “mechanics” such as a lack of physical stimulation, being tired after a long day or sometimes the effects of medication.

It is not unknown for anti-depressants to have this effect.

However, if the physical reasons can be ruled out, then Anorgasmia is most likely to be caused by Psychological factors:-

• The fear of “losing control” whilst having an Orgasm – Many women believe that this loss of control is unacceptable and must be avoided.
• Poor body or self image – If you believe that your body is ugly or that you need to lose weight then you might not want to get intimate leading to avoidance or low-self esteem (see Body Dysmorphic Disorder).
• Past Negative experiences – Previous bad experiences or abusive relationships can definitely have an effect on the ability to Orgasm.
• General Relationship problems – If you’ve got a problem in your relationship the worry can express itself at an unconscious level in the bedroom.
• Poor Surroundings or Atmosphere – Having the kids knocking on the door at the moment of passion can develop into a bigger problem if you don’t deal with it, as can trying to be passionate in messy or dirty surroundings.

All of these seemingly minor issues can easily develop into full blown psychological issues if not dealt with effectively.

Therapy & Counselling for Anorgasmia

Anorgasmia, in common with many other problems and conditions, is often made worse by “un-helpful” thinking traits or “distorted” belief systems.

The limiting beliefs associated with Anorgasmia may have been created by an actual negative experience that has now been “blown out of proportion” or indeed may be the result of “imagined experiences” which can lead to the same outcome – the experience of Anxiety related symptoms.

If we can learn how to manage these limiting beliefs or cognitive distortions using the tools and techniques contained in therapies such as our Tranceformental CBT programme then we can also learn how to control the emotional experiences that we have – ie. manage the symptoms.

It is also possible that people suffering from Anorgasmia may have some other emotional or childhood trauma problems that are indirectly related to the problem itself but still create Anxiety and Stress which make the symptoms worse.

In these cases, as it is may be more difficult to identify the distorted thinking or limiting beliefs associated with Anorgasmia itself and therefore following a course of Psychodynamic Therapy may be more beneficial.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anorgasmia

If you’re committed to overcoming your anorgasmia problems then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT 10 session programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic psychotherapy course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify how unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issue, and then show you how to make any changes to your unhelpful thinking styles or maladaptive safety behaviours that you may have developed as part of your coping strategies.

The programme is also available as an online self-help CBT programme.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an empirically supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Alternative Therapies for Anorgasmia

Although our preferred form of psychological therapy for anorgasmia is Tranceformental CBT we also offer alternative psychotherapies for those who might prefer a different approach.

These include:

Psychodynamic therapy which focuses more on emotional problems and relies on the Therapeutic Relationship to bring about change. Available with Paul.

General Counselling which is less structured but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment to discuss issues which is therapeutic in its own right.

Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of therapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.

Free Initial Consultations for Anorgasmia

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to discuss your anorgasmia prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss any therapy treatments BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.