Training needs of psychologist specialized in sexology to attend people with Spinal Cord Injury

The present document analyses the training needs of psychologists specialized in sexology about sex therapy and education interventions with people with Spinal Cord Injury in the Catalan territory. To do so, we conducted a descriptive-exploratory qualitative research. Documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews were used as techniques for data collection. On the one hand, the White Book of Psychology and the postgraduate programs in Catalan universities’ clinical sexology were evaluated. On the other hand, a sample of 20 subjects was interviewed, among them professionals linked to the initial training of the Degree in Psychology, psychologists specialized in sexology, and people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The main results allow us to confirm that psychologists specialized in sexology in Catalonia recognize the training and intervention limitations to treating people with SCI. It has been confirmed that the training programs only develop the contents related to the sexuality of people with SCI in a superficial and transversal way. Furthermore, people with SCI show resistance to being treated by professionals who doesn’t have enough knowledge or experience seeing people with their own situation. The results of this research high light the need to implement specific training actions to train psychologists specialized in sexology to provide them with the necessary knowledge to care for people with SCI.