It’s difficult to talk about problematic sexual behaviors.
As a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, I am always looking for tools to help constructive discussions happen.
I want to share with you a free two part video made by The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) that can help you learn about and talk about sexual addiction and hypersexual disorder.
I use Meditation and Guided Relaxation to slow down, calm myself and feel more balanced in my life.
I always keep an assortment of guided meditation and relaxation recordings on my computer, smartphone and mp3 player to help me relax when I am stressed and anxious.
At work or home, when I need a break, I put on my headphones, sit back and listen
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is an understandable response to a terrible traumatic situation. The trauma can be from war, abuse, assault and other experiences that cause intrusive distressing thoughts, feelings, images and anxiety that impair quality of life and daily functioning.
Managing symptoms can be challenging and overwhelming. When I work with clients with PTSD, we focus on
What are the 6 Best Gifts Sex Addicts can give their Partners?
Not diamonds or gold. Not cruises or luxuries.
The best presents sex addicts can give their partners are actually gifts for the sex addicts themselves as well as their partners. They are:
You are the partner of a sex addict – wife, girlfriend, husband, boyfriend. Your spouse is or is not in a recovery program. Either situation is stressful.
You fear relapse. You experience grief and anger. You are trying to put together the pieces of your life. Then the holiday season approaches. Vacation. Time off. Family.
I hear it in their voices on the phone. They are scared and alone. They don’t know who to call for help. They don’t know what and how much to say. They are afraid of the response they will get. Will they be judged? Will their concerns be minimized? Are they making “a big deal
Partners-Spouses of Sex Addicts are usually in shock when I meet them. Often they have spent many desperate hours searching for treatment resources to help their sexually compulsive partner. Their feelings shift frequently. They are scared, horrified, angry, embarrassed, lonely and feel helpless. They fear for their future and the future of their relationships, marriages and families.
Sex Addiction Screening Tools. How do you determine if you or someone you care about is sexually compulsive or addicted?
I hear this question frequently from men and women who are in crisis because of their destructive sexual behavior or the problematic sexual behavior of someone important to them.
Dr. Patrick Carnes, internationally known
Mending A Shattered Heart: A Guide For Partners of Sex Addicts, Second Edition edited by Stefanie Carnes, PhD is a rich resource for partners of sex addicts needing information and guidance to help them deal with their overwhelming and traumatizing situations.
Dr Stefanie Carnes did an audio interview with Becky Papp discussing the updated book and some of the issues facing partners of sex addicts and their families. You can listen to the interview at
Chris Lee’s November 25, 2011 Newsweek article “The Sex Addiction Epidemic“and MSNBC interview describe the destructiveness of sex addiction.
It wrecks marriages, destroys careers, and saps self-worth. Yet Americans are being diagnosed as sex addicts in record numbers. Inside an epidemic.
His description of the ravages of sex addiction matches my experience as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist working with people with problematic sexual behaviors – both men and women – and their partners.
The Penn State Scandal. Focus is on the Cover Up. What about the Victims?
The silence has been deafening. When the drama of Anthony Weiner’s Cybersex Sexting Scandal was unfolding, we saw daily updates and images. Denial…deception…acknowledgement…resignation from his job. The questions were continuous. What will Anthony Weiner’s wife Huma Abedin do? Will she stay or go?
Since then there has been silence. There have been occasional sightings
I don’t know Anthony Weiner but his sexting scandal is a familiar story. I am a psychotherapist working with individuals and couples whose lives are damaged by cybersex affairs.
From outside appearances, the man (or woman) seems to be doing well and even excelling. Successful at work. Married or committed relationship. Baby on the way.
Then suddenly the truth comes out and
Recently I went to the Spring meeting of the Wisconsin chapter of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) organization that I have belonged to for over twenty years. What a wonderful group we have in Wisconsin. We learned more about complicated topics such as diagnosis and treatment of women’s pelvic and sexual pain;