TUESDAY, Sept. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A form of psychotherapy can help women whose libidos have suffered as they go through menopause, a new study finds.

Cognitive behavioral therapy significantly improved sexual desire and satisfaction in a small group of middle-aged and older women, researchers said.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral therapy protocol specifically aimed to improve sexual concerns experienced during peri- and postmenopause," said lead researcher Sheryl Green. She's associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences with McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Declining estrogen levels cause sexual concerns in 68% to 87% of women in the midst of menopause or postmenopause, researchers explained in background notes.

Treatment options for sexual problems like a loss of desire or pain during sex are limited, researchers said. 

For this study, researchers asked women to participate in four sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy aimed at managing sexual issues that accompany menopause.

Cognitive behavioral therapy works by helping people recognize ways of thinking or patterns of behavior that are causing them problems with their mental and physical health.

The therapist helps people come up with new thoughts or behaviors to replace the ones that are causing harm, as well as methods of meditation and problem-solving.

Following the therapy, study participants experienced significant improvement in multiple areas of sexual function, body image and sexual satisfaction, researchers report.

They also had a significant decrease in menopause symptoms, depression, anxiety and overall health, results show.

All of the participants said they were very satisfied with the treatment, and that it helped them more effectively cope with their menopause symptoms.

Researchers presented their findings at The Menopause Society’s annual meeting in Chicago. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"Results suggest that this type of therapy leads to significant improvements across several important sexual concern domains, and we hope this study will provide the basis for larger randomized clinical trials in the future,” Green said in a meeting news release.

More information

The American Psychological Association has more about cognitive behavioral therapy.

SOURCE: The Menopause Society, news release, Sept. 10, 2024