6.1 Orientation
Especially when confronted with symptom diagnosis like PVD the phase of getting acquainted is important. Patients seeking for treatment often are quite desperate. They have been looking for treatment for some years being referred from GP to gynecologist, from psychiatrist to physiotherapist etc. and back to GP again. Moreover PVD has a high negative impact on quality of life. Patients asking for help are often young women at the start of their sexual career. PVD also has a large impact on their (sexual) relationship. In the beginning the couples’ problem solving skills are often not yet fully developed and the fact that a clear cause lacks is then experienced as a extra burden. Suffering is bad but suffering without reason is even worse. This altogether puts on extra stress on the phase of first impressions.