Talking about sex: a qualitative study on the physician's inner experience

The study aimed to explore clinicians’ subjective difficulties related to talking with patients about sexuality. Forty-four physicians were recruited during a one-day congress about erectile dysfunction, where they were asked to write a narrative about an episode in which they found themselves in difficulty talking with a patient about sex. Narratives were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four main issues with sub-issues arose from the data: 1. What: cognitive contents and emotions; 2. How: talking about sex, the problem of language; 3. As if: the metaphoric view of the profession; 4. Who: me as a man. Clinical and educational implications are discussed.