It's Not "All in Your Head", the Bermans Tell Women

Has your desire for sex tanked? Have you stopped fantasizing, having erotic thoughts? Do you no longer feel aroused and excited during sex? Are you actually having pain during intercourse? Worst of all, do you think: "It's all my fault?" If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are not unlike the scores of women who flock to Drs. Jennifer and Laura Berman's clinic in Los Angeles in search of solutions to their sexual problems. The Berman sisters are leading experts in sexual health and well-being. Happily, the Bermans' patients usually find both psychological relief and a course of treatment that works. You can too, because chances are that your sexual problems are "not in your head," say the Bermans, but rooted in one or more of four sexual disorders specific to women: hypoactive sexual desire disorder sexual arousal disorder orgasmic disorder sexual pain disorders Female Sexual Dissatisfaction Officially, these four conditions have been grouped under the label "female sexual dysfunction," but the Bermans prefer the term "female sexual dissatisfaction" (FSD). The last thing women need is another stigma "when so many of them suffer from these complaints," they write in their book, For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Sexual Dysfunction and Reclaiming Your Sex Life. Straight Talk About Sex So let's talk straight about female sexual dissatisfaction with the goal of figuring out why your sex life may be less satisfying than you'd like—and exactly what you can do to improve it. "Our goal," says Jennifer Berman, one of the few female urologists in the country, "is to heighten public awareness of female sexuality and sexual problems to provide not only information but resources for women, so they can seek help for their problems, if they exist, and to let them know there is help out there and that they're not alone."