Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder

Overview

Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) is characterized by symptoms of physiological sexual arousal in the absence of feelings of subjective sexual arousal. PGAD is a highly distressing condition which is greatly misunderstood.

This online course consists of key topics related to PGAD, including its prevalence, diagnostic and assessment considerations, and novel research findings, in addition to a discussion of assumptions related to terms such as “arousal” and “orgasm.”

Speaker Bio: Dr. Caroline Pukall

Dr. Caroline Pukall received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from McGill University. She is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Director of the Sex Therapy Service at the Psychology Clinic at Queen’s University. Caroline’s research lab—the Sexual Health Research Laboratory (SexLab)—brims with enthusiastic, collaborative, and keen students of all levels who work diligently on research projects examining various aspects of sexuality, including vulvodynia (i.e., chronic genital pain in women), persistent genital arousal, sexual arousal, women’s health issues (e.g., postpartum pain and sexuality), male circumcision, and various relationship configurations.

Caroline is passionate about using multiple methodologies in her research and she has investigated numerous aspects of sexuality using brain imaging, psychophysics, psychophysiology, and blood flow imaging, relating the findings of these methods to a variety of self-report measures. She places great importance on knowledge translation and clinically relevant research, ensuring that the results of her research have positive effects on members of the public through numerous direct and indirect channels.

Caroline’s research has been funded by several organizations including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Vulvodynia Association. Caroline is Associate Editor for Sexual Medicine Reviews and is on the editorial board of several journals, including The Archives of Sexual Behavior, The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, and The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. Recently, she was co-chair of the Women’s Sexual Pain Disorders Committee of the International Consultation of Sexual Medicine, and she is currently co-chair of the Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder Consensus Meeting (International Society of the Study of Women’s Sexual Health).