When Porn Is The Issue: Working With Couples & Individuals

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We’re seeing more and more couples in conflict over one partner’s porn use. The most common clinical approach pathologizes the porn consumer while legitimizing the other partner’s grievances. This violates our commitment to neutrality. More importantly, it doesn’t help the couple.

To help us work more effectively with such cases, this webinar focuses on treating intrapsychic conflicts, power struggles, and existential issues relating to porn use and sexuality.

We’ll look at how one or both partners may be acting out body image issues, and how each partner’s narratives about pornography, sexuality, and gender may be underlying themes in a couple’s conflict.

We’ll also explore how conflict about pornography often allows couples to avoid confronting their sexual relationship’s deficits. And we’ll look at various sexual issues—such as desire, arousal, and masturbation—that should be raised when working with these cases.

Finally, we’ll examine how to work with people who are using porn in unhealthy ways—without increasing their sense of shame, guilt, isolation, or inadequacy.

When a patient says they’re “out of control” regarding porn, is that really accurate? We’ll examine why “porn addiction” is not a helpful concept—and you’ll learn alternate, effective treatment approaches that are skills-based rather than deficit-based, and which enhance relationship connection rather than undermine it.

Target audience: This course is appropriate for all mental health professionals

Content level: Introductory Introductory/Intermediate