Sadly, some counselors and therapists have not learned current clinical understanding, best practices, and the latest research regarding the assessment and understanding of human sexual arousal. Nor have they learned to leave their highly personalized moral, religious, and ethical judgments at the door when they walk into the therapy space. Sadly, these men and women …
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For most recovering sex addicts who are not already in a long-term relationship, healthy dating and sexuality is an important goal of recovery. However, because they’ve spent so much of their lives chasing sexual intensity rather than any sort of true intimate connection, they often approach this task with trepidation. Generally speaking, their three primary …
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Active sex and porn addicts rarely view their escapist sexual fantasies and behaviors as a root cause of their unhappiness and life challenges. Even when they are neck deep in negative consequences, sex addicts somehow don’t let themselves think about their sexual acting out as a contributing factor to their misery. In fact, they typically …
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Guest Blog from Dr. Stefanie Carnes Over the years I have developed a tremendous amount of respect for Dr. Stefanie Carnes and her work as both a clinician and a trainer of clinicians. Currently, she serves as President of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals and as a National Clinical Consultant for Elements …
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Here we are again, staring down that That Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Of course, from the perspective of an addict and trauma survivor like me, the holiday season can sometimes seem, shall we say, difficult at best. Perhaps my negative view of the Halloween through New Year’s holidays is merely a reflection of …
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If you are a recovering alcoholic or drug addict with solid support and a lot of motivated willingness to get well, you can make it through the rest of your life without taking another drink or abusing an addictive drug. Similarly, compulsive gamblers can live a full and happy lives without ever re-entering a casino, …
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Yesterday a good friend in a nearby city, Edward, sober from alcohol and drugs for well over a decade, received a flurry of text messages about an acquaintance of his, a recovering addict in her early 40s, who’d just gone into the hospital. At first the cause of this hospitalization was somewhat unclear, but as …
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Jonathan is a 45-year-old structural engineer. He has been in recovery for both sex addiction and meth/cocaine addiction for just under a year, initially seeking help after his wife learned about his multiple affairs, trips to strip clubs, drug abuse, and sex with prostitutes. Jonathan is serious about his recovery and saving his marriage. Unfortunately, …
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Tolerance: Tolerance occurs when the body needs increasingly larger or more potent doses to get the same effect from an addictive substance or a behavior. Escalation: Escalation occurs when a person indulges his or her tolerance to an addictive substance or behavior with larger or more potent doses.
