Sexuality: Thoughts on perversions & sexual dysfunctions

United Kingdom · CPD points & talks · Psychologists

In this insightful and challenging talk, Professor Donald Carveth explores complex questions about what is considered “normal” in human sexuality. Drawing on his previous discussion of Freud and post-Freudian views, Prof. Carveth delves into the psychoanalytic understanding of sexual perversions and dysfunctions, offering clinicians a nuanced framework for engaging with these topics in therapeutic work.

He examines definitions of "perversion" through the lens of Sergio Benvenuto and Robert Stoller, and presents a psychoanalytic view of sexual dysfunctions such as erectile difficulties, inhibited orgasm, and lack of sexual pleasure—not as purely biological issues, but as manifestations of unconscious intrapsychic conflict. Topics such as castration anxiety, superego inhibition, unconscious hostility, and masochism are explored as contributors to sexual difficulties, inviting deeper clinical reflection.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:

• Define key psychoanalytic concepts of sexual perversion and dysfunction.

• Identify theoretical perspectives from Sergio Benvenuto and Robert Stoller on the concept of perversion.

• Explain the psychoanalytic view of sexual dysfunctions as multiply determined phenomena.

• Recognise the role of unconscious conflict in contributing to sexual difficulties such as erectile dysfunction and inhibited orgasm.

• Apply psychoanalytic thinking to the clinical formulation of clients experiencing sexual difficulties.

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