Sexuality and health care: are we training physical therapy professionals to address their clients' sexuality needs?

According to Couldrick, “Sexuality is an integral part of being human.”1(p493) Sexual well-being of clients is regarded as a health care concern, which is highlighted in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health 2 (ICF) and is referred to in the United Kingdom Department of Health publication Choosing Health: A White Paper .3 Because the issue is increasingly being considered as an integral component of the total well-being of an individual, it is important that health care professionals address it.4–7 Addressing clients’ sexuality requires a multidisciplinary approach and is not the responsibility of a single professional.4 However, clients’ sexuality sometimes is not addressed in clinical settings. One probable, yet understandable, reason for this is that health care professionals, including physical therapists, feel …