Millions of women suffer from sexual and pelvic pain in America today, yet it is frequently misdiagnosed — or not diagnosed at all. Many women never seek treatment from this painful condition for fear they will be ignored or even disrespected. In Healing Painful Sex, Deborah Coady, MD and Nancy Fish use their combined professional expertise as a doctor and therapist who specialize in sexual pain to provide readers with an understanding of its many causes and how to treat them, from both a physical and psychological standpoint.

Organized into three parts — understanding sexual pain, possible diagnoses, and redefining sexuality — Healing Painful Sex includes medical checklists, illustrations, vignettes based on interviews with women and their healthcare professionals, treatment options, and guidance for moving forward after healing. Coady and Fish speak honestly and directly to sexual pain sufferers' experiences, helping them address the problem of chronic pain, understand and prevent misdiagnoses, define medical terms and conditions, and regain sexual joy.

Healing Painful Sex covers the following symptoms and conditions: pelvic floor dysfunction; dulvodynia, pudendal nerve pain, and clitorodynia; pelvic organ problems, endometriosis, painful bladder, and irritable bowel; skin disorders, such as lichen sclerosis; hormonal, surgical, and post-cancer causes of sexual pain. Comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and deeply insightful, Healing Painful Sex offers women the tools to successfully take on the many challenges of sexual pain and move toward a healthy, happy future.