Mindfulness in Sexual and Relationship Therapy

Mindfulness represents the most significant shift in the world of counselling and psychotherapy within the last decade. Mindful approaches have been hailed as the 'third wave' of cognitive behavioural-therapy and mindfulness has been recommended - and found to be effective at treating - a wide variety of mental health issues. There has been a proliferation of popular self-help books based on mindfulness approaches, and much debate between western mindfulness practitioners and Buddhist scholars about the ways in which mindful theory and practice is being adapted for western audiences. To date, however, there has been relatively little research or writing considering the potentials of mindfulness for the arena of sexual and relationship therapy. This book aims to address this by bringing together many of the key practitioners and researchers who are working in this area. The book presents a range of perspectives on what mindful theory and practice has to offer to our understandings of, and work with, sex and relationships. This book was originally published as a special issue of Sexual and Relationship Therapy.

Dr. Lori Brotto is Head of the Division of Gynaecologic Specialties, University of British Columbia, Canada, and a Registered Psychologist in Vancouver, Canada. Lori's research focuses on developing and testing mindfulness-based treatments for women with sexual desire/arousal difficulties and women with genital pain. She is actively involved in training both medical and mental health practitioners in using mindful sex therapy. Dr. Meg Barker is a senior lecturer at the Open University, UK and an accredited psychotherapist. Meg's work and therapeutic practice both focus on the area of sex and relationships, and they have researched sexual communities and published books on relationships and on mindfulness.

1. Orienting to the Present Moment Lori A. Brotto 2. Impact of an integrated mindfulness and cognitive behavioural treatment for provoked vestibulodynia (IMPROVED): a qualitative study Lori A. Brotto, Rosemary Basson, Marie Carlson and Cici Zhu 3. An integrated mindfulness-based approach to the treatment of women with sexual pain and anxiety: promoting autonomy and mind/body connection Talli Y. Rosenbaum 4. Mindfulness and sexuality Asimina Lazaridou and Christina Kalogianni 5. Mindfulness and Good Enough Sex Barry McCarthy and Lana M. Wald 6. Sexual Wellness Enhancement and Enrichment Training (SWEET): A hypothetical group model for addressing sexual health and wellbeing Alexzandria C. Baker and Werner Absenger 7. The place of mindfulness in a sensorimotor psychotherapy intervention to improve women's sexual health Sara J.S. Mize and Alex Iantaffi 8. Mindfulness: a sexual medicine physician's personal and professional journey David Goldmeier 9. Mindfulness in love and love making: a way of life Frank G. Sommers 10. Mindful mating: exploring the connection between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction Anna Kozlowski 11. The perceived effects of practising meditation on women's sexual and relational lives Simone L. McCreary and Kevin G. Alderson 12. Mindful relationships Jyoti Nanda 13. This very body, the Buddha Manu Bazzano 14. What's wrong with sex? A Buddhist perspective David Loy 15. Reflections: Towards a mindful sexual and relationship therapy Meg Barker