Panel Discussion 26 - The Joy of Sex: Leveraging Behavioral and Cognitive Strategies to Support Sexual Wellbeing Across Populations of Women, Pregnant Persons, and Gender Diverse Individuals

Sexual health is not only the absence of disease or impairment; it is also a state of emotional, mental, and social wellbeing. However, sexual health-oriented cognitive behavioral interventions typically focus narrowly on disease or impairment, with engagement in HIV/STI prevention or treatment and/or risk assessment as common treatment targets, and often ignore the more positive aspects of sexuality, including desire, arousal, and satisfaction. Though HIV/STI prevention and treatment are important aspects of sexual health, the relative lack of attention to other key elements is a significant disservice to patients. Interventions that integrate evidence-based cognitive behavioral strategies to improve sexual function, pleasure, or agency, especially for diverse and minoritized populations, are sorely needed, as is training to support their execution. Panelists were chosen for their different roles and levels of involvement with cognitive behavioral intervention development projects that address sexual wellbeing from a holistic perspective among diverse populations of women (e.g., Black women, transwomen), couples, and pregnant persons. Panelists also represent different levels of seniority across multiple institutions (i.e., senior principal investigators, junior investigators, graduate students). Initial discussions will focus on defining sexual wellbeing and identifying relevant constructs that are similar across groups and distinct by population. Next, panelists will describe specific, evidence-based cognitive, behavioral, and physiological strategies that improve different aspects of sexual health and may be leveraged in interventions for different groups. Panelists directly involved in intervention delivery, both in clinical practice and in research, will describe the ways in which these strategies have been integrated into treatment programs and tested across modalities (e.g., in person, individual, group-based, web-based). Finally, panelists will discuss the challenges that they have faced (e.g., related to funding, prioritization, training) when conducting research and providing clinical services that sit at the intersection of sexual and mental health and embrace a holistic view of sexual wellness.