The Sex and Porn Addiction Controversy
Over the past 30 years, we at Kenneth M. Adams and Associates have successfully treated clients whose sexual choices have produced repeated negative consequences, and in spite of those consequences, have not been able to stop their behavior. Using the sex and porn addiction treatment model, we have been able to support clients to attain lives of hope and renewal. We have always used the sex addiction model discriminately as we believe a specific set of criteria needs to be met in order to qualify for addiction. In other words, not everyone who has had affairs, views porn, regularly masturbates, or whose sexual practices are considered outside the norm is a sex addict. Our experience concurs with many well-respected clinicians across the country that also have helped clients recover from sex and porn addiction.
Why the Sex and Porn Addiction Controversy?
Despite this successful sex and porn addiction treatment history, there have been a small but very vocal group of therapists who persist in saying that there is no such thing as porn and sex addiction and flat out deny its existence. They often come from the position that “if it feels good, it can’t be bad.” However, this misguided belief does not help the thousands of porn and sex addicts who are seeking treatment due to the pain they have caused themselves and those they love. It also flies in the face of the reality of thousands of sex and porn addicts who have been helped by addiction treatment and 12-step fellowships that help individuals recover from sex addiction.
How Do I Choose the Right Therapist?
Therapists who deny the presence of sex and porn addiction often hide their denial behind statements to clients such as, “I think that label is overused,” “I work from a problematic sexual behavior therapy model,” or “Maybe if your spouse (partner) joins you in your sexual practice, there won’t be a problem.”
So, how do you choose the best therapist given these controversies about sex and porn addiction?
We recommend that you ask your therapist some or all of the following questions to determine the best fit for you:
- What is your belief about sex and porn addiction problems?
- How will your position determine the way in which you would diagnosis and treat my problem?
- What are the criteria you would use to determine if I am a sex or porn addict?
- What is your specific training to treat sex and porn addiction?
- If you don’t feel I have a sex or porn addiction, or don’t believe in that diagnosis, will you refer me to someone who is trained in sex and porn addiction therapy if your approach fails to help me?
- If you are trained to treat sex and porn addiction, how can I be certain that you won’t label and treat me as an addict if I am not one?
- What is your approach to treating the couple when one partner is in distress over the other’s compulsive sexual behavior?
- What is your treatment approach to handling sexual secrets that violate the implicit or explicit understanding regarding trust within a relationship?
- What results can I expect by participating with your approach to treatment?
- What is a reasonable time frame that I should expect to see change?
Am I a Sex or Porn Addict?
Click here to see if I meet the qualifications for sex or porn addiction or click here to take a Partner Self Test to see if I am involved with a porn or sex addict?
The Science Behind Porn and Sex Addiction
The International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP), the organization that certifies all the therapists at Kenneth M. Adams and Associates, has a position paper regarding the controversies and science behind porn and sex addiction. Click here to review it.