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Cultural Factors in the Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction in Muslim Clients

  • Integrating the Psychosocial (B McCarthy, RT Segraves and AH Clayton, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Religion is an important cultural factor that may have a significant impact on the presentation of mental health problems and sexual dysfunction. Although there is increasing empirical evidence of the relationship between religion, sexual dysfunction, and sex therapy, it is difficult to predict how these factors influence one another among Islamic populations. In Islam, discussing sexual issues outside marriage is prohibited, which can make it difficult for clients to seek help; however, this may be allowed for treatment purposes. Any sexual activity outside marriage is also banned in Islam, while religion encourages the enjoyment of sex and sensitivity to the needs of the spouse in heterosexual marriages. The restrictive nature of Islamic rules regarding sexual issues may give rise to contextual sexual problems. Alongside these factors, personal interpretations of Islamic principles and their impact on daily practice vary among different Muslim populations. Therefore, unique, couple-tailored treatment programs that are person-centered and sensitive to couples’ cultural and religious norms are more likely to be successful than standard package-type treatments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mehmet Zihni Sungur & Yasin Bez

  2. Psikiyatri Anabilim Dali, Marmara Universitesi Pendik E.A. Hastanesi, Fevzi Cakmak Mah. Mimar Sinan Caddesi No: 41, 34899 Ust Kaynarca, Pendik, Istanbul, Turkey

    Yasin Bez

Authors
  1. Mehmet Zihni Sungur
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  2. Yasin Bez
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Correspondence to Yasin Bez.

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Conflict of Interest

MZS and YB declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

With regard to the author’s (MZS’s) research cited in this paper, all procedures performed in studies involving participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Integrating the Psychosocial

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Sungur, M.Z., Bez, Y. Cultural Factors in the Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction in Muslim Clients. Curr Sex Health Rep 8, 57–63 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-016-0068-z

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