Psychosocial Approaches for Sexual Health and Intimate Relationships Among Patients With Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Introduction: The sexual health and behavior and the intimate relationships of patients diagnosed with a serious mental illness (SMI) have been described as ongoing and often ignored concerns in mental health treatment. Evidence-based psychosocial interventions have emerged as effective complimentary approaches to address symptoms of SMI in conjunction with psychopharmacology, yet rarely do they address sexual concerns in a targeted manner.

Aim: This systematic review explores the scope and efficacy of psychosocial interventions designed to address sexual health and behavior and intimate relationship concerns in patients with SMI.

Methods: The search was conducted in four targeted databases and identified 967 articles with four of those meeting inclusion criteria for this review.

Main outcome measures: The data extracted included setting, study sample, study design, outcome measures, data analysis, and results. The measures utilized in the studies assess mental and sexual health-related outcomes.

Results: All four studies reported an improvement in sexual and mental health outcomes.

Conclusion: Given the lack of psychosocial approaches and culturally sensitive adaptations, this review highlights a gap in literature that should be addressed, particularly emphasizing their combined treatment with psychotropic medication and efficacy testing with diverse populations.

Keywords: Psychosocial Approaches; Serious Mental Illness; Sexual Health; Systematic Review.