Recruiting

STEP

Sponsor:

University of British Columbia

Code:

NCT07203417

Conditions

Sexual Desire

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 19+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

STEP-T

STEP-NT

Waitlist

Study Details

Brief summary:

Sexual desire discrepancy (SDD) occurs when partners have different levels of sexual desire and are distressed by it. It is one of the most common reasons couples seek help, but no proven dyadic treatment currently exists. This study will test STEP, an online program designed to support couples with SDD. The investigators will compare two formats of STEP: one with therapist support and one self-guided, against a waitlist control group. The investigators will also assess how satisfied couples are and how they engage with the two online formats. This study will generate new data on how effective STEP is with and without guidance, and inform treatment guidelines.

Conditions

Sexual Desire

Study ID

NCT07203417

Start date

Jan 1, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2025

Completion date

Dec 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Apr 30, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 19+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Be a couple;
2. Be in a romantic relationship for at least one year;
3. Be 19 years of age or older;
4. Experience perceived and/or actual SDD with personal and/or relational distress reported by at least one partner;
5. Be fluent in English;
6. Be willing to participate in 8 weekly online treatment sessions;
7. For couples in long-distance relationships, be able to meet the partner in person and via video call to complete the couple's homework;
8. Be willing to abstain from starting any new treatment for SDD for the duration of the study;
9. Be willing to voluntarily complete questionnaires administered before, during, and after the treatment;
10. Have access to an electronic device capable of running Zoom platform (if randomized to STEP-T);
11. Have a stable internet connection.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Cases where the discrepancy is attributable to at least one partner identifying as asexual (asexuality is not considered a sexual dysfunction; APA, 2013);
2. Presence of untreated psychiatric conditions at the time of recruitment (e.g., depression) that would interfere with participating in the treatment and homework;
3. Receive dyadic psychosexual treatment for SDD elsewhere during the study period.

Study Design

Enrollment

216 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: STEP-T

Participants assigned to this arm will receive STEP guided by a therapist.

active comparator: STEP-NT

Participants assigned to this arm will receive STEP without therapist guidance.

other: Waitlist

Participants in this arm will not receive any treatment during the first 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, the participants in this arm are re-randomized to either STEP-T or STEP-NT.

Interventions

STEP-T

Couples in the STEP-T group will meet online with a therapist for 120 minutes once a week over 8 weeks. Each meeting consists of a therapist-led session focused on the psychoeducational content from the STEP module. Sessions begin with a review of the homework completed during the previous week and end with the assignment of new sex therapy homework related to that day's session. After each session, the therapist will email the couple the module that includes the session's psychoeducational handouts and the sex therapy homework to be completed prior to the next session.

STEP-NT

Couples in the STEP-NT group will receive STEP (i.e., one module per week for 8 weeks, including psychoeducational handouts and sex therapy homework), without the therapist-led online sessions. However, like couples in STEP-T, they will be allowed to contact the research team for clarifications related to the structure, instructions, or technical aspects of the exercises. This support will be limited to non-clinical guidance and will not involve any individualized feedback regarding participants' personal experiences or relationship dynamics.

Waitlist

While couples randomized to STEP-T and STEP-NT will complete one online baseline assessment battery before randomization, those assigned to the waitlist control condition will complete two baseline assessments online, spaced 10 weeks apart, before being randomized to one of the active treatment groups (i.e., STEP-T or STEP-NT). The 10-week waiting period was selected to match the time it takes couples to complete the 8 modules of STEP. This design allows us to determine that improvements in clinical outcomes are due to the STEP intervention rather than the mere passage of time. Following the post-waiting period assessment (i.e., the second baseline battery), waitlist participants will be randomized to STEP-T or STEP-NT.

Primary outcome measure

  • A change in relational sexual distress [ Time Frame: At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). ]
  • A change in personal sexual distress [ Time Frame: At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). ]
  • A change in perceived sexual desire discrepancy [ Time Frame: At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). ]
  • A change in actual sexual desire discrepancy [ Time Frame: At baseline (T1), post-treatment (2-4 weeks after STEP completion; T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Roberta Galizia

604 875 4111roberta.galizia@ubc.ca

Kelsey Lynch

604 875 4111kelsey.lynch@ubc.ca

Locations

UBC Sexual Health Lab, Vancouver Hospital

Recruiting

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5M 1M9

Contacts

Lori A Brotto, PhD

604 875 4111lori.brotto@vch.ca

University of British Columbia

Recruiting

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5Z 1M9

Contacts

Lori A Brotto

604 875 4111lori.brotto@ubc.ca

More Information

Sponsor

University of British Columbia

Last update posted

Jan 5, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2025

Keywords

  • Psychoeducation
  • Sex Therapy
  • Online Intervention
  • Dyadic Treatment

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of British Columbia on 2026-01-05.