Sexual Education and Counselling

A spinal cord injury can have consequences on many different domains, which in term can affect sexual health. An interdisciplinary team of health professionals (e.g., psychologists, physical therapists, nurses, physicians, sexual health clinicians) may be involved in treating these domains, as well as discussing the impact of SCI on aspects of sexual function. Research shows that patients expect and hope that their health care professionals bring up sexual health, but health care professionals can often be reluctant to do so because of their lack of knowledge, fear of offending the patient, or discomfort in asking questions that address sexual concerns (Althof et al. 2013).