Author Archives: Rob Weiss

About Rob Weiss

Robert Weiss PhD, MSW, CEO of Seeking Integrity LLC, is a digital-age sex, intimacy, and relationship specialist. Dr. Weiss has spent more than 25 years developing treatment programs, educating clinicians, writing, and providing direct care to those challenged by digital-age infidelity, sexual addiction/compulsivity, and other addictive disorders. He is the author of several highly regarded books on sex and intimacy disorders including Prodependence, Out of the Doghouse, Sex Addiction 101, and Cruise Control, among others. He also podcasts (Sex, Love, & Addiction 101) and hosts a free, weekly interactive sex and intimacy webinar via SexandRelationshipHealing.com. His current projects are: SexandRelationshipHealing.com, an extensive online resource for recovery from sex and intimacy disorders; and Seeking Integrity Los Angeles, an Integrated Intensive Program for Sex and Intimacy Disorders (Opening in Feb, 2019). For more information or to reach Dr. Weiss, please visit his websites, RobertWeissMSW.com and SexandRelationshipHealing.com, or follow him on Twitter (@RobWeissMSW), LinkedIn (Robert Weiss LCSW), and Facebook (Rob Weiss MSW).

Are Sex Addicts Also Sex Offenders?

August 8th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Sex Addiction - (Comments Off on Are Sex Addicts Also Sex Offenders?)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

Today, as the trauma-based neurobiological problem of sexual addiction becomes more universally understood and accepted, sexual offenders who’ve been arrested for illegal sexual activity sometimes grasp at the “sex addiction” label, hoping to use it as an excuse for their behavior. One of the most egregious examples of this was Ariel Castro, the Ohio man …
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Fusing Sexual Addiction and Stimulant Drug Abuse

July 24th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Drug Addiction | Sex Addiction - (Comments Off on Fusing Sexual Addiction and Stimulant Drug Abuse)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

Joe, a 32-year-old gay man, abuses meth while he compulsively looks for and engages in anonymous sex in bathhouses and other sex-focused venues – often for days on end without even pausing to sleep. Recently he was fired from his job for repeatedly failing to show up. Marie, a 20-year-old college student, has gotten involved …
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Treating Spouses Affected by Infidelity and Sexual Addiction

July 8th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Sex Addiction - (Comments Off on Treating Spouses Affected by Infidelity and Sexual Addiction)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

Recognizing the Pain For spouses and partners of sex addicts, it’s not the extramarital sex itself that causes the most pain. Instead, it’s the betrayal of relationship trust – the lying, the secrets, and the ongoing deceit. For a healthy, emotionally attached primary partner this experience of profound and usually unexpected betrayal can be incredibly …
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Double Trouble: Cross- and Co-Occurring Addictions

June 19th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Addiction - (Comments Off on Double Trouble: Cross- and Co-Occurring Addictions)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

With cross-addiction, addicts switch from one problematic substance/behavior to another. If they can’t use one substance/activity to escape and dissociate from life, they’ll use another. For instance, Marie is an active alcoholic who occasionally feels bad about her drinking and sobers up. But any time she stops drinking, she binge eats, numbing out with food …
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Understanding Porn Addiction (and the Role of Technology)

June 6th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Addiction - (Comments Off on Understanding Porn Addiction (and the Role of Technology))
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

Pornography addiction is one of the most common forms of sexual addiction. It is not unusual for porn abuse to be coupled with compulsive masturbation and/or various forms of non-intimate partner sex such as webcam sex, sexting, anonymous sex, casual sex, affairs, use of prostitutes, exhibitionism, voyeurism, etc. That said, porn addiction is often a …
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Understanding Compulsive Masturbation

May 7th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Addiction | Sex Addiction - (Comments Off on Understanding Compulsive Masturbation)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

Like drug addiction, sex addiction takes many forms. Among the most common, and among the most isolating and shameful, is compulsive masturbation. This is true for both male and female sex addicts. Of course, masturbation itself is not an unhealthy act. In fact, for most individuals it is a healthy part of sexuality. For sex …
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Helping Addicts Stay Safe Online

April 23rd, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Sex Addiction - (Comments Off on Helping Addicts Stay Safe Online)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

Addicts of all types have been adversely affected by the tech-connect boom and the endless array of stimulation it provides. As online accessibility, affordability, and anonymity have increased, so too has the number of people falling prey to Internet-related addictive behaviors – compulsive porn abuse, compulsive sexual hookups, compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, compulsive video gaming, …
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Addicted to Love

April 2nd, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Addiction - (Comments Off on Addicted to Love)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

You like to think that you’re immune to the stuff, but it’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough. You’re gonna have to face it, you’re addicted to love. —Addicted To Love song lyrics by Robert Allan Palmer, © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. The “Rush” of Romance For people seeking a healthy long-term …
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Creating a Plan for Sexual Addiction Sobriety

March 20th, 2014 | Posted by Rob Weiss in Sex Addiction - (Comments Off on Creating a Plan for Sexual Addiction Sobriety)
Rob Weiss Sex Addiction Expert

In a previous blog I examined the ways in which sexual sobriety is typically defined, noting that total abstinence, the most common conception of sobriety with alcoholism and drug addiction, does not work for many of the process (behavioral) addictions, including sex addiction and eating disorders. (For instance, if a sex addict is married, his …
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