Psychological factors associated with male sexual dysfunction: screening and treatment for the urologist.

Male sexual dysfunctions, including erectile dysfunction, hypoactive sexual desire disorder, premature ejaculation, and delayed ejaculation, are a complex amalgam of interrelated biological, psychological, and contextual variables that can combine to produce distressing symptoms both for the male diagnosed with the dysfunction and for his partner. This article describes the assessment process for identifying the psychological concerns associated with the man's sexual complaint, and presents a stepwise algorithm for treating mild to moderate psychosocial issues. Physicians' awareness of psychological and interpersonal issues will help them better manage patients' ongoing medical treatment and limit discontinuation of efficacious therapies.