Private Pain - It's About Life, Not Just Sex: Understanding Vaginismus and Dyspareunia

by Ditza Katz, Ross Lynn Tabisel

Vaginismus and dyspareunia are common female conditions, affecting lives on many levels and causing physical pain, emotional anguish, and the sense of failure and sexual inadequacy. The shame that is associated with the inability to have vaginal penetrations often forces women into hiding behind a veil of silence. Healthcare professionals share the frustration in encountering a void in available resources and training regarding proper management of these conditions. This book, which includes extensive explanations, real - life stories of patients and partners, and treatment options, should be of great value to sufferers, partners, family members, healthcare professionals and spiritual leaders who will now be able to better understand the nature and management of these conditions. Yes, there is a cure!

287 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2002

About the author

I am the founder of Women’s Therapy Center, and my specialty is sexual medicine with emphasis on vaginismus and sexual pain (in-person & virtual treatment options).

Be sure to follow my YouTube channel dedicated to female sex and sexuality: https://www.youtube.com/@IntimateLens

Reviews

[Leslie Fetterly · Rating 2 out of 5]

My feelings towards this book are complicated. It offered vast information on vaginismus, its symptoms, and its causes. It offered so many examples of individual women and their stories which provided hope as they were all able to be “cured.” That being said, this does read like an extended ad for their practice at times. In the chapter about the cure, the info is vague and doesn’t really provide any pearls that you could implement at home. This book talks over and over about how isolating, demoralizing, and exhausting vaginismus is to have, but the authors have not taught their method outside of their own practice per their website. That is so disheartening to me because if you really have the secret to fixing one of the worst things a woman can experience shouldn’t you be telling practitioners about it? They also spent time being condescending towards women with vaginismus basically saying that even if they told them what to do in this book that they wouldn’t be brave enough to do it by themselves. If you have pain with sex and need education, this is a great place to start. Other than that, I’d look at starting with your local pelvic floor physical therapist.

[Jack R White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks for the practical advice here and there but this entire book felt like an advertisement for a clinic I can't afford?? It's like I was reading a trailer but I can never see the movie- and I know they're holding back some very much needed advice for people with vaginismus who are struggling just because they need to have more patients rather than truly helping their readers. The mandatory-ness of the clinic visits being stressed through the ENTIRE book really ruined this for me and I had a MUCH more helpful and useful experience reading another book on the subject:

Stop Painful Sex: Healing from Vaginismus A Step by Step Guide by Marre Stachel-Williamson

This book has more of the practice advice I'm talking about and isn't trying to sell you on something.

[Kori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good information. I came to learn more about a topic that concerns people I care about and left with a better understanding of what causes this type of pain for women. I hope these authors’ work fuels discussion and can help women to understand their bodies.