Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: The investigators will recruit individuals who have a vagina. They expect that most participants will identify as cisgender, where sex is female and gender is woman, while others may have a female sex but identify as a different gender (e.g., genderdiverse). Transwomen (i.e., birth assigned males but identify as woman) who have had gender-affirming surgery (and so have a vagina) are eligible, as are transmen (i.e., birth assigned females but identify as men) who have not had bottom surgery (so have a vagina). Inclusion criteria: In addition to having a vagina, participants must have a diagnosis of vaginismus that requires self-reported involuntary tightness of the vaginal musculature that causes persistent interference with vaginal penetration lasting \>6 months; aged \>19 y, of any sexual orientation. Participants must be fluent in English (psychoeducational materials and questionnaires delivered in English), have normal or corrected-to-normal vision (to view the VR scenes during exposure), and be able to travel to Vancouver. Exclusion Criteria: Presence of: unprovoked vaginal pain; a vulvar skin condition (i.e., lichen sclerosus); an imperforate hymen; or epilepsy characterized by photosensitive seizures. Note: provoked vulvar pain is not an exclusion criterion because at least 40% of people with vaginismus report pain with attempted penetration.