Virtual Reality Therapy for Sexual Dysfunctions: a Scoping Review

Purpose of Review Despite the growing body of research on virtual reality (VR) applications in psychology, there remains a scarcity of studies in sexology. This scoping review comprehensively assesses the size, nature, and scope of the literature on VR-based research on sexual dysfunctions and their related issues (e.g., sexual response, sexual satisfaction, and sexual skills) to identify promising VR applications in sex therapy. This review included empirical, theoretical, and review publications, as well as ongoing research. It systematically identified papers published between 1993 and 2023 using Scopus , PsycINFO , and PubMed . To ensure completeness, a secondary search on Google Scholar and an examination of references was also conducted in eligible papers. Forty-three papers were included in this review. Recent Findings Results reveal a consistent increase in the number of papers over the past decade, with four main domains investigated: sexual dysfunctions ( n = 15), sexual responsiveness ( n = 14), sexual victimization ( n = 11), and sexual skills ( n = 3). Summary Empirical reports reviewed suggest that VR represents a promising avenue to explore sexual arousal and improve sexual skills, as well as to alleviate symptoms of sexual dysfunctions and related factors, such as experiences of sexual assault. Yet, to move forward, several issues in prior research must be addressed, including the use of outdated technologies, the lack of operationalization of conceptual frameworks and targeted mechanisms in sexual dysfunctions, the predominance of proof-of-concept studies, as well as limited diversity in sample composition.