Bibliotherapy in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions: a meta-analysis.

This article describes the combined effect of 12 controlled studies of bibliotherapy for sexual dysfunctions, comprising data on 397 participants, who were treated in 16 bibliotherapy groups. A mean effect size of 0.68 SDs at posttreatment was found (0.50 when weighted for sample size). This effect eroded at follow-up. No influence on effect size was found for either bibliotherapy implementation characteristics or study methodology. Studies were largely limited to bibliotherapeutic administration of the directed practice approach to orgasmic disorders. The efficacy of bibliotherapy has not yet been investigated sufficiently for evaluation of its use for other sexual dysfunctions or for its comparison with other therapeutic approaches for sexual dysfunctions.