Sex Addiction
I offer sex addiction recovery counseling to men. I am supportive of their getting involved in 12 Step groups such as Sex Addicts Anonymous, Sexaholics Anonymous, and Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. I work to integrate therapy with their 12 Step work. I am especially interested in working to manage feelings that trigger sex addicts to behave addictively. When these feelings are recognized and managed in a healthy and straightforward way, the chance for relapse is minimized. I help my clients learn the details of their embedded sexual patterns and to understand what is called their "arousal template." Once my clients become conscious of the content of their arousal template and they find ways to deal with their emotional triggers in a healthy way, they are able to see ways to avoid getting caught in sexual acting out patterns which helps them break the cycle of their addiction.
I often provide couples counseling to address the relationship damage created by sex addiction. The pain of sex addiction can be especially burdensome for the spouse. I undertake to work gently to free the spouse from the burden of shame and hurt. I help couples learn to integrate healthy sexuality back into their relationships.