All About Vaginismus and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is Vaginismus?

Vaginismus is a fairly common problem in which the muscles at the entrance to the vagina tighten-up and make penetration almost impossible and certainly painful.

Medical Research records that is almost invariably (but not in ALL cases, there are physical causes too) due to psychological issues, often occurring after some sort of relationship distress.

It is not uncommon for women to be affected for many years as sexual problems often tend not to be dealt with due to the embarrassment of talking about it with somebody.

Vaginismus is most commonly found in ladies in their late teens to early thirties and can have a seriously debilitating effect on relationships and self-esteem.

What can cause Vaginismus?

For most sufferers of Vaginismus the cause is Psychological, often this can be negative childhood experiences, such as the attitude to sex by parents, sometimes it can be due to a difficult child birthing experience.

Despite the Psychological cause, the vagina muscles tightening making penetration almost impossible can become an unconscious reflex that sufferers can do little about.

Sometimes the first sexual encounter can be painful or very negative and can result in this “defensive” reflex.

Often it can be caused by nothing more than just negative talk or messages that go around in early youth and it is not uncommon to find that problems within a relationship can also give rise to Vaginismus.

Can Vaginismus be treated?

Vaginismus is principally a psychological problem rather than a physiological one but not exclusively.

If you are suffering from this problem is is very important to visit your GP or health-care specialist who can confirm or rule-out any biological problems prior to consulting for therapy.

Therapy & Counselling for Vaginismus

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for Vaginismus and sexual problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for Vaginismus on the following links:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Vaginismus
• Counselling for Vaginismus
• Pluralistic Therapy for Vaginismus

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Research suggests that this therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Behaviour Change Framework – BCF

All of our counselling sessions and programmes are enhanced by applying the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).

This scientifically proven protocol clearly defines the incremental stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.

Drawn from the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM), the framework provides a roadmap that not only gauges the current stage of progression through the change process, but also indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of therapy or coaching.

In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your problems as well as ensuring that we don’t terminate the change process prematurely.

You can read more about the Science of Change here.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming Vaginismus or recovering from mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – CBT) without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.