The treatment of Premature Ejaculation through Surrogate Partner Therapy as conducted by IPSA trained surrogates and practiced at the School of ICASA, Bedfordshire, England.
To treat premature ejaculation as purely a physiological condition without taking into consideration its underlying causes which, in most cases, are complex psychogenic interactions of emotions, mind, nervous system and physical body relating to the client’s perceptions of his inadequacy and of unworthiness, is akin to treating premature ejaculation as if it were a common cold. It is not like the common cold. It cannot be “caught” through a germ or a virus and it cannot be effectively treated, let alone cured, through drugs. It is equally evasive to the efforts of well-meaning therapists who believe that teaching the sufferer techniques alone will solve the problem. It will not, for the elusive condition will return when the client is faced with the causal factors which are discovered within the subject only when faced with his real fear – a sexual partner.
This sample is not intended to be a scientific study with traditional conditions imposed for such studies. It has been undertaken, however, in the absence of any consistent information or statistics relating to the outcome of clients being treated for sexual anxieties and dysfunctions through Surrogate Partner Therapy since Masters and Johnson first pioneered such a therapeutic model over forty years ago. The statistics have been compiled from genuine case studies. The clients were not aware of any participation in this study as it was felt that such knowledge would put further anxiety in the minds of already anxious people and would, thereby, affect the outcome of the therapy and render the statistics unreliable to an unknown factor. No client confidentiality has been compromised or jeopardised; no therapist-client trust has been infringed. We believe that the decision to review genuine and factual outcomes rather than to solicit participants in a trial in such a form of therapy is reasonable, justified; in the interest of the therapeutic community and of the percentage of the worldwide public who may need the curative help that Surrogate Partner Therapy can provide.
IPSA/ICASA Surrogate Partner Therapy is clearly not for everyone. We consider the drop out rate acceptable but not satisfying. Furthermore, such therapy without stringent initial screening could result in creating more problems than it solves if inappropriate cases are accepted for treatment. It is quite common for a man to consider himself as “the worst case of premature ejaculation ever to walk the face of the earth” only for it to be discovered that his overly self critical judgements are the very cause of his problem and that embarking on a costly and lengthy course of emotionally intensive therapy such as that represented in this paper would be like taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut. We have also come across many cases where a man’s partner has given her permission for him to embark upon such course of treatment without realising that such willingness to sacrifice may be repressing her true feelings and her own sexual needs. In short, there are many reasons why, and many clients for whom, Surrogate Partner Therapy may not be the appropriate treatment approach.
Given this caveat, and others too numerous for this paper to elucidate, there is a category of client for whom Surrogate Partner Therapy may not only be an appropriate form of treatment but, possibly the only form of treatment that has the potential for a high efficacy. In evaluating results, it should be born in mind that the clients represented in this study have been carefully evaluated and accepted for treatment by Surrogate partner Therapy on the basis that this potentially is their ‘last gasp saloon’ (having already been referred for treatment by a referring therapist) as distinct from a first line of treatment choice. It should also be noted that the type of premature ejaculation is complicated, rather than simple or relational (see page 3). In short, the participating clients are embarking on Surrogate Partner Therapy because of an absence of partner co-operation or involvement.
From the results of the analysis of the cases represented by this study, the IPSA/ICASA.SPT achieved a satisfactory, marked or conclusive improvement in 82.61% of men aged between 26-48 suffering premature ejaculation with its cause recognised as ‘Fear of Intimacy’ and in 76.19% in men aged between 27-65 with the causal condition being ‘Performance Anxiety’. The results of this study show a quantifiable efficacy in such cases sufficient to warrant Surrogate Partner Therapy, when structured as practiced by IPSA and ICASA, being recommended as an ethical and effective form of therapy for the treatment of complicated premature ejaculation in men who present for treatment without a partner or without partner co-operation or involvement in the curative methodology.