If It Isn’t Sex Addiction, What Is It? And Why Does It Matter?

Course content available in video.

The sex addiction movement addresses fundamental human (and therefore clinical) issues: lust, desire, guilt, fantasy, decision-making, and the relationship of love and sex. The answers generated by this model, however, have important limitations—and for many people, they are disastrous, contradicting the best practices of psychotherapy and couples counseling.

We will examine how patients’ impulsive or seemingly out-of-control sexual behavior may really involve:

medicating their depression, anxiety, or anhedonia
an arousal disorder or sexual dysfunction
denial of a disturbing sexual preference or orientation
fear of getting too close to a primary partner
inadequate attraction to or unspoken resentment toward a primary partner
attempting to remain in a low-sex or no-sex relationship
unresolved conflict with religious values

How can we best diagnose and treat patients with problematic sexual decision-making?

Educational Objectives

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to

Name three shortcomings of the sex addiction model
Name three possible explanations for problematic sexual decision-making
Describe three clinical approaches to reducing problematic sexual decision-making

Syllabus

Common "symptoms" of sex addiction Basics of sex addiction theory and treatment The model's fundamental problem: assuming people are out of control How sex addiction theory incentivizes this narrative in both patients & therapists Alternative explanations for these symptoms other than addiction

WEB040423

January 12, 2023

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