Preben Hertoft: Danish psychiatrist and pioneer in medical sexology

Career and contributions

Hertoft is best known for founding the first dedicated medical centre for sexology in Denmark in 1986. That centre created an institutional home for assessment, therapy and scientific enquiry into sexual function, sexual identity and relational problems. His work emphasized the integration of psychiatric knowledge with sexological methods and helped to professionalize sexology as a medical and academic discipline in the Danish health system.

Clinical practice

Throughout his clinical career Hertoft provided direct treatment and counseling to a broad range of patients. He worked with people experiencing sexual dysfunction, relationship difficulties and issues related to sexual orientation, and he accepted referrals for groups who were often marginalized in public debate. Typical areas of practice included:

• heterosexual and homosexual patients seeking therapy
• clients exploring gender expression and cross-dressing
• individuals with problematic or illegal sexual behaviours who required clinical assessment and management

His clinical approach combined psychiatric assessment, psychological therapy and collaboration with other health professionals in a multidisciplinary setting—an approach reflected in contemporary sexology training programs.

Education, research and context

Hertoft contributed to education by teaching clinicians and supervising trainees in medical sexology, and he participated in research and professional discourse that advanced understanding of sexual health. Work in sexology during his career intersected with changing social attitudes about sexual orientation, gender diversity and the ethics of treating harmful sexual behaviour; Hertoft’s practice took place within that evolving cultural and clinical context.

Legacy and notable facts

Hertoft is remembered for institutionalizing clinical sexology in Denmark and for maintaining a practice that served diverse and sometimes controversial patient groups. His emphasis on combining psychiatric expertise with specialized sexological knowledge influenced how services were organized and how clinicians were trained. For further reading on related topics see materials on psychiatry, clinical sexology and medical training in Denmark: psychiatric practice, medical education, and discussions of clinical responses to challenging cases in professional literature.