Despite much progress in the past ten years, American medical schools have woefully inadequate sex education curricula. While some have a reasonable amount of lecture time, few have clinical opportunities for students to develop practical skills in working with patients who are struggling with sexual problems. It is my impression that the same is true in medical and gynecological residencies, as well as in graduate schools of psychology, counseling and social work. This book was specifically written to help fill that gap. This is a book for clinicians, and it will provide a wealth of practical clinical knowledge and skills in dealing with the gamut of patient's sexual concerns, problems and dilemmas. Twenty-four experts have contributed eighteen chapters which address both the common and unusual sexual issues encountered in practice. These include sexual concerns from childhood to old age; gender identity and sexual preference; sexual dysfunction, including that of the physically ill and disabled; counseling with students, premarital, marital, and divorced patients; fertility and infertility; and chap ters dealing with rape, incest and other sexual contacts between adults and children. Of particular importance are chapters on human sexuality in American minority popula tions, a chapter on alcohol, medication and other drugs, and a chapter on medical management of sexual problems in the gay population, a subject long-ignored by the profession. The focus on practical intervention and skill development is amplified by the concluding four appendixes devoted to patient management problems.
