The treatment of anorgasmia: long-term effectiveness of a short-term behavioral group therapy.

A long-term follow-up of 19 women who participated in short-term group therapy for anorgasmia using masturbation and assertiveness training showed that the majority of women maintained treatment gains and progressed further in orgasm response and other aspects of sexual functioning, including assertiveness and liberalness of sexual attitudes. However, several women regressed, and four additional women who dropped out of treatment also improved dramatically in orgasm response, suggesting that other patient characteristics and factors affect apparent treatment outcome. Independent evaluations, standardized assessment scales, long-term, in-person follow-ups and multidimensional assessment are useful in evaluating treatment effectiveness.