Psychologists debate existence of sex addiction
Is sex addiction a true addiction, a crime, or a madeup condition used by misbehaving VIPs to deflect blame or repair tarnished images?
A tide of high-profile sexual misconduct accusations against celebrities, politicians and media members has raised these questions — and sowed confusion. Sex addiction is not an officially recognized psychiatric diagnosis, though even those who doubt it’s a true addiction acknowledge that compulsive sexual behaviour can upend lives.
Either way, there is an important distinction, sometimes blurred, between a mental condition and a crime. Some men who have been accused of assault or other sexual crimes have sought treatment for sex addiction or other unspecified conditions. But compulsive behaviour is very different from a crime, and the vast majority of people who suffer from sexually compulsive behaviour do not harass or assault others.
There’s “an extremely fine line between addict and offender” and sometimes the two overlap, said psychologist Leah Claire Bennett of Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services, a rehab centre that offers sex addiction treatment in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Despite pressure from some therapists, sex addiction was not included in the most recent edition of the manual that psychiatrists use to diagnose mental illness. “The reason is very simple,” said Dr. Charles O’Brien, a University of Pennsylvania psychiatry professor involved in the manual’s 2013 update. There is no rigorous scientific proof that compulsive sexual behaviour affects the brain in the same ways that have been shown with addiction to drugs or alcohol, he said.
“There’s an overuse of the word ‘addiction,’” O’Brien said. “There are many treatment programs. That doesn’t make it a disorder.”
Still, some skeptics don’t dispute that compulsive sexual behaviour can become a serious problem.
The issue for some is whether it amounts to mental illness, or whether it might result from a different psychiatric condition, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Robert Weiss, a Californiabased sex addiction therapist, said the condition involves unrestrained compulsive sexual behaviour without regard to consequences. Sometimes that leads to illegal behaviour.
The International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals says sex addiction affects from two per cent to five per cent of the general population but that only 10 per cent of those with this addiction engage in criminal sexual behaviour. Most patients and sex offenders are men.
Some treatment programs won’t admit patients accused of rape and other violent sex crimes, referring them to centres or therapists who specialize in treating sex offenders.
Addiction treatment at Pine Grove, The Meadows in Arizona and other high-profile residential rehab centres can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Despite country clublike settings, there’s nothing cushy or indulgent about sex addiction therapy, Weiss said.
Pine Grove requires daylong sessions including group therapy daily for up to three months.
Some centres use 12-step programs similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, but they don’t require swearing off sex for good. Some use brain “retraining” exercises.
Some centres use equine therapy. Weiss says that interacting with horses can help patients recognize problems sometimes associated with sex addiction, including overly aggressive, controlling behaviour.