Masters' and Johnson's Human Sexual Inadequacy is a cumulative descriptive account of the operation of the clinic for the treatment of human sexual dysfunction at the Washington University School of Medicine since 1959 and its continuation at the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation after 1964. The authors report in detail on the development of their therapeutic format and then discuss the evolution of therapeutic approaches to a dozen of the major types of sexual dysfunction presented by patients. Both parts of the book are written in a direct, clinical--but forcefully clear--manner that is free of therapeutic jargon. This makes the volume as much an invaluable handbook as an introductory text. It is also, however, an important historical document since it is a record of the emergence of the original, and the most influential, model for therapeutic approaches to sexual dysfunction.
The therapeutic format established by Masters and Johnson became an enduring standard. They had studied interactions among partners and began to establish certain therapeutic principles very early in their work on the anatomy and physiology of sexual response. That work had also been driven by the assumption that scientific knowledge was required as a basis for therapeutic intervention and they expected, therefore, to be able to deal with sexual dysfunction at every level. Interpersonal problems, psychological problems, physical dysfunction, and inadequacies of performance in terms of the mechanisms and emotions of sexual interaction, were all to be included in their treatment goals.
The training, character, and teamwork of therapists were of primary concern and they stress the difficulty of finding professionals who have "the individual ability necessary to work comfortably and effectively with people in the vulnerable area of sexual dysfunction" (16). Both the ability to teach (a major component of their approach) and to make a full-ti...