Online and Mobile Psychotherapeutic Treatments for Female Sexual Difficulties: a Review of Recent Empirical Literature

Purpose of Review Despite the high prevalence and negative impacts of sexual difficulties in women, many lack access to traditional in-person treatments for their sexual concerns. Online and mobile interventions offer novel and potentially more accessible treatment options for women with sexual difficulties. Research in this area is accelerating, yet a full understanding of the efficacy of recent online treatments for sexual difficulties is lacking. This review provides an overview of the last 6 years of research on online and mobile treatments for sexual difficulties in women and examines evidence of their efficacy. Additionally, relevant differences between treatments, such as the amount of individualized support that participants received, are discussed. Recent Findings A systematic review of the literature resulted in the identification of 16 relevant articles. Half of the reviewed studies used control groups, while the other half were uncontrolled. The majority of studies on controlled interventions demonstrated significant improvements in sexual outcomes at post-treatment compared to control groups, and all studies of uncontrolled interventions found increases in participants' reported sexual function from pre- to post-treatment. Interventions varied in duration, orientation of psychotherapy, platform (e.g., website, mobile app), as well as amount and expertise level of human support provided. The results of this review suggest that online and mobile interventions for sexual difficulties in women may be efficacious and have the potential to increase the accessibility of treatment. We discuss considerations for designing and reporting on online and mobile interventions for sexual difficulties, as well as recent trends in the development of these interventions. Future research should systematically evaluate how the amount and expertise level of human support for online interventions may impact efficacy and participant engagement.