Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and supportive sex education both improved sexual response and reduced distress in women with low sexual desire and arousal, but MBCT was generally more effective. MBCT increased the alignment between psychological and physiological aspects of sexual response, known as sexual concordance, more than the education program. Gains in sexual concordance predicted reductions in sexual distress over the course of treatment. The study involved 148 cisgender women who were randomly assigned to eight weekly group sessions of either MBCT or supportive sex education, with assessments before and after treatment and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups.
People who reported having used psychedelics to cope with or overcome sexual trauma were significantly less likely to say the drugs improved their sexual communication compared to those who had not used psychedelics for that purpose. No significant difference was found in emotional connection between the two groups. Among those who had used psychedelics for trauma, women were significantly more likely than men to report improvements in both communication and emotional connection. The findings suggest that gender plays a role in how psychedelics affect intimacy, and more research is needed to guide harm reduction and trauma-informed care.
Substance use can both help and hinder people's ability to negotiate sexual activity, depending on the drug and social context. In a survey of 354 UK adults aged 18-40, qualitative analysis of substance-involved sexual experiences revealed three themes: drugs like MDMA and cannabis can enhance communication and mutuality, sometimes breaking traditional sexual scripts; they can also open up new sexual opportunities; but sexual refusal remains constrained by relational pressures, gendered power dynamics, and event-based factors, particularly for women. The findings suggest that while drug use can enable ethical and consensual sexual experiences, it can also reinforce existing inequalities.