ABSTRACT
By training and degree I am a clinical psychologist, yet my colleagues often refer to me as a sex therapist or sexologist. My preferred identity as psychologist is important because it anchors me in two complementary worlds, that of the clinician who treats men, women, and couples with sexual problems and that of the scientist who studies the effects of innovative sexual pharmacological treatments on the patient and partner’s sexual function, psychological well-being, and relationship. As such I serve as a consultant to several pharmaceutical companies, helping them design clinical trials and develop new assessments of quality-of-life outcomes. These assessment scales measure the impact of medical interventions on multiple dimensions of a couple’s lives. This area of inquiry is much more interesting to me than simply testing the efficacy of a drug on genital function.
