Abstract
It is with immense pleasure that I address you as the editor of this new international journal named the Journal of Psychosexual Health which is going to be published on a quarterly basis from January 2019. The aim and scope of this journal is to cover all aspects of sexuality, sexual health, psychology of sexual behavior, and psychiatric aspects of sexual medicine practice. The governing impetus for such a journal is that sexual health is quite often neglected, both by the medical profession and the general population, and despite the pioneering advancements in mental health over the last few decades, psychosexual medicine still remains one of the grey areas of psychiatry which has not received its due attention. It has often, in the past, been superseded by the branch of andrology which is doctored by urologists, urosurgeons, dermatologists, endocrinologists, and physicians. Although it is well recognized that some of the most important causes of sexual disorders are psychological, they are hardly given their requisite importance. The disturbances in sexual functioning also result in considerable psychosocial complications, which necessitate the development of evidence-based guidelines for the effective management of different psychosexual disorders by publishing well-conducted research, scholarly, and peer reviewed articles related to sexual health. Therefore, a dedicated journal on psychosexual health is a quintessential need for a diverse scientific community.
Although there is considerable overlap among the different areas of expertise, the unavoidable process of specialization has made it increasingly difficult to keep abreast with the latest research findings from the different areas of psychosexual medicine. This is not only due to the fact that research in psychosexual medicine is growing in a similar way as in somatic medicine, it also has to do with the disparate research landscape in psychosexual medicine, split up into an assortment of heterogeneously specialized scientific societies, which in the past have not always collaborated to the best of scientific progress. Drug companies are also allocating tectonic budgets for the research and development of effective medicines for the treatment of psychosexual disorders by developing novel molecules. The premise for this journal stemmed from the intent to bring together expert opinions and cutting edge, well-conducted research on human sexuality from various sub-specialties such as psychiatry, psychology, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, urology, neurology, and endocrinology, including the para-clinical branches such as physiology and pharmacology, along with sociocultural perspectives, in order to provide a panoramic outlook and a multidisciplinary therapeutic framework for sexual disorders.
The journal’s open access format will facilitate the global dissemination of manuscripts, thereby offering speed and easy accessibility to authors, reviewers, and readers alike, which would furtherance in the rapid dispersal of information, forming a new revolutionary international platform with generic access to the content. The journal’s editorial policy will ensure an open forum for clinicians and researchers to interact with each other, to barter ideas, to network as a team in search of new frontiers of sexual health, and thereby broaden research horizons. The goal is also to encompass both medical, surgical and relevant branches related to sexual medicine practice. It will provide a unique pipeline where professionals—both researchers and practitioners—from all specialties can contribute research, discuss their respective works, and share information related to human sexuality in order to provide good clinical practice methods with sound scientific basis and novel, effective approaches in client-centered care.
There is also a need to focus on the advances and headways occurring in psychosexual medicine, which is psychosomatic medicine applied to sexual disorders, consisting of structured brief therapy, based on psychoanalytic skills, using the psychodynamic approach. It works on the premise that emotional factors, not always experienced at conscious level, interfere with sexual performance and expose unconscious thoughts, feelings, and fantasies which can underpin a physical symptom. This involves being a detective, unlocking the mystery or the trigger to a certain problem which the patient may be unconscious of. Psychosexual medicine does not involve generalized or prescribed solutions. The practitioner learns to tolerate a degree of uncertainty about the problem and allows the patient to be the expert. By focusing on the interaction between the patient and the practitioner, ways can be found to help him or her find a solution. There are ever more heightened expectations for satisfying and “normal” sexual function and, as such, patients expect a knowledgeable and understanding response from medical professionals.
This journal will function as an opportune forum to examine this evolving practitioner/patient relationship in current clinical practice.
The inclusion of sexual medicine into undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula is of paramount importance, as the present standard medical syllabus does not usually include teaching on the subject. There is need for its introduction early on in the course of undergraduate education so that students are sensitized and provide comprehensive care to individuals. Postgraduate students, especially psychiatry, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, urology and even general surgery would significantly benefit from a more detailed integration of these topics in their curriculum. Training in sexual medicine is frequently recognized as poor in general medical education but many a difficulties of both the healthcare professional and the patient are due to the awkwardness and sensitivities of expressing sexual pain and distress. The journal will, therefore, also have articles that focus on the diagnostic edifice of sexual disorders, therapeutic challenges, learning principles as well as innovative training modules for this student community.
A paradigm shift is occurring in the attitude toward sexuality in the present-day society, along with radical changes in legal implications, especially with the decriminalization of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, and the journal will help in spearheading research into sexual health of the LGBT community. Many more changes for good have happened in the area of relationships, may be live-in, adultery, etc in the Indian context and possibly similar changes in other developing countries. A major aim of this new journal is to tap into debates on sexuality and sexual health and share them with a broader audience including policymakers, stakeholders, and academic spokesmen. This will provide a forum for sovereign ideas and agendas to emerge from academia and ultimately translate into practical tools that will benefit the patients and also assist in ironing out the chinks in the legal and societal fabric of sexuality.
The journal hopes to serve as a conduit to articulate the totality of needs of patients, caregivers and medical practitioners alike through the publication of clinical, basic as well as epidemiological research pertaining to sexual health and human sexuality. The subjects to be covered in the proposed journal are sociocultural aspects of human sexuality, basics of sexuality, sexual practice, sexual dysfunctions, sexual disorders, sexual problems in specific populations, evaluation and management, related medical topics, sexual abuse, social and cultural issues relevant to sexuality along with legal aspects, evolution of sexuality through time, impact of media, sex education in schools and healthcare as well as community perspectives. All articles would go through a rigorous peer review process, resulting in an end product of the highest quality content, written by high caliber authors and experts, which would provide the latest updates in the field of sexual medicine as well as innovative discussions for using creative clinical and teaching models. It is an esteemed privilege to lead and work with a group of outstanding researchers from around the globe and from a broad range of medical disciplines, who will serve as members of this Editorial Board, and are steadfast in their commitment to the mission of the journal of publishing with transparency and reproducibility.
The journal will offer contemporary vistas in human sexuality and form a prospective primer for practitioners of sexual medicine and serve as a trusted resource for postgraduate students as well as practicing clinicians in various fields for good practice of sexual medicine, in cognizance of the new legal implications. It is within this optimistic and reflective context that I am delighted to welcome authors and readers to this inaugural issue of Journal of Psychosexual Health. I express my warmest regards in advance to all the current and future contributors and our readers, and hope that, together, we can carry forward research into further understanding and spreading sexual wellness in the community, with the hope that, in the coming years, this journal will serve as a venerable hub for an agglomeration of ideas on sexual health and human sexuality. Together we can make this periodical the flagship journal for sexual health within the scientific community.
Welcome to the Journal of Psychosexual Health.