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| Untangling the Web: Sexual Addiction in the Internet Age |
| Feature Articles - Sex Addiction | |
| Written by Robert Weiss, LCSW, CAS | |
| Thursday, 04 October 2007 | |
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Once considered fodder for daytime talk shows and grocery line
literature, today sexual addiction is increasingly acknowledged by
psychotherapists and the general public as a legitimate
neuro-psychobiological disorder, with specific assessment criteria and
a defined treatment method.
The Internet-fueled escalation in compulsive sexual behavior, combined with a growing understanding of how process addictions manifest in the brain, have contributed both socially and clinically to the need for good sexual addiction assessment and treatment. Primarily driven by the availability of a seemingly endless variety of Internet-based sexual content, sexually addicted clients and their troubled spouses are showing up in increasing numbers at the doorsteps of addiction counselors. These clients are seeking concrete direction, behavioral containment and support. Initially they might engage in therapy in an attempt to resolve a crisis that has arisen directly or indirectly related to some type of sexual acting out. Most often the sex addict’s presenting concerns stem from wives or partners threatening abandonment unless help is sought, though many seek aid for financial, medical, emotional, career and legal difficulties that follow in the wake of this disorder. While most healthy adults experience sex as an integrated life-affirming experience, for the sexual addict, sexuality is better described by words such as driven, compulsive, shameful and secretive. Unlike adults who engage in sex as a normal, healthy behavior, these isolated people repetitively pursue various forms of intense sexual arousal to cope with and ward off unmanageable emotional states. Sex addicts attempt to meet their disavowed emotional dependency needs through fantasy and sex, behaviors that never push them into risking the vulnerability required for genuine intimacy. For them, sexual objectification, fantasy, ritual and the sexual act itself (either solo or with a partner) are disintegrated from the whole person, leading to secretive double lives. While the disorder is not defined by any specific sexual act, fetish or orientation, sexual addiction, as in gambling addition or eating disorders, is organized around the feelings, activities and consequences surrounding sexual behavior. Want to read the entire article? Don't miss out...Subscribe now to Counselor Magazine—or buy the single issue! It's easy. Just follow the links below:
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Readers have left 2 comments. 2. Untitled tip, Unregistered Welll for starters marriage is for better or for worst. So I would suggest moving on and exploring other options, but be safe.Maybe you two just never had that chemistry try someone new that will understand you. Posted 2008-04-07 20:13:14 1. Untitled Mariana Ortiz., Unregistered I will like to have information about healthy and normal Sex. because I lost my husband because lock of sex desire. Could you please give me a tips so I try to get back my husband? Posted 2007-11-15 14:19:34              |
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