Training is the first step in the acquisition of knowledge and professional competence is grounded on knowledge. The social and legal recognition of professional status of most professions - and health professions in particular - is grounded on the acquisition and validation of knowledge through training within a professional and well-established institution. However, in the context of sexuality particularly, professional competence demands so much more than science and knowledge; it includes clinical skills in the broadest sense, skills which go beyond empirical or ‘evidence-based’medicine. Many of these skills are acquired principally in the doctorpatient interaction, or at the “bed of the patient” (Foucault, 1963). The issue of professional competence includes dimensions related to the problems to be treated, to the person to be treated, to the professional in charge of treatment, to the institution in charge of treatment, and to a larger extent society.

The presentation is based on secondary analysis of the Euro-Sexo study (sexology as a profession in Europe) and also on my experience of coordination of a course on “psychosocial approaches in sexual health” delivered at University Paris-Descartes. I will discuss the following issues:

How do we train health professionnals (MD, psychologists, nurses, social workers, etc… who want to cope with sexual issues and problems in their routine practice, without becoming a specialist in sexology?

On the other side, the competences of specialised sexologists are necessary in the management of sexuality-related problems (contraception, infertility, sexually-transmitted infections, sexual abuse, etc…). How do we train sexologists to participate to the management of such problems beyond and beside sex-therapy and counselling.

For this reason, the scope of this special issue is focused on the many aspects of the management of the doctor-patient relationship, including cliniciansʼsubjective responses to patients and how the training of health professionals in sexuality needs to recognise and address these often neglected areas.