If you or someone you like has a sex addiction, there are various treatment options available to help you recover. Twelve-step programs, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and support groups are the most popular types of sex addiction counseling. These sorts of counseling can help you change obsessive or otherwise abnormal sexual practices, laying the groundwork for healing and recovery.
Sex Addiction Treatment in Twelve Steps
Alcoholics Anonymous first devised the twelve steps to be used in recovery from alcoholism in the early 1930s. Since then, numerous new forms of the twelve-step program have emerged to provide healing and support for various other addictions, such as sex addiction, food addiction, and various substance abuse disorders.
Sex Addicts Anonymous or Sexaholics Anonymous are 12-step programs that apply similar concepts to AA to help those addicted to sex achieve abstinence and cease compulsive sexual activities. In addition to the assistance provided in these programs, there is a lot of support available from peers who are also recovering from sex addiction, which is why many sex addiction counseling programs include 12-step groups as part of the therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy.
This counseling style examines the factors that lead to a person engaging in or desiring sexual activity and then focuses on providing them with behavioral tools to help them change their behavior. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most extensively utilized types of sex addiction counseling and treatment for helping sex addicts quit their repetitive behaviors and get their lives back on track.
CBT works by assisting the addict in stopping sexual thought processes and replacing them with thoughts that do not cause them to react in this way. The counselor will instruct the recovering sex addict on how to cease engaging in such behaviors and replace them with healthy habits such as exercise, hobbies, or other activities.
Sex Addiction Interpersonal Therapy
As a result of their sexual addiction, many sex addicts carry a heavy burden. Interpersonal therapy can help by providing a secure environment for the addict to discuss personal issues at the foundation of their addiction with a counselor. This form of sex addiction counseling is great for helping the recovering addict talk about their addiction and for the counselor to figure out if any underlying mental health issues need to be addressed.
Habitual or addictive behaviors are frequently the result of underlying mental health issues. By participating in interpersonal therapy, a recovered addict can learn how to improve self-control and awareness of their addiction and manage sexual impulses better.
Groups of Support
Sex Addicts Anonymous and other support organizations are the bedrock of long-term sex addiction recovery. Although support groups are not always used in conjunction with counseling, they are frequently used in conjunction with counseling to give patients peer support and expert therapeutic care for a more balanced approach to sex addiction rehabilitation. There are numerous support groups available to assist persons recovering from sexual addiction.
Help groups can be found both online and in your local community. Some people value the online support they may obtain because they don’t have to leave their homes and can get help any day or night. The amount of support you receive from a support group is mostly determined by your decision and level of participation in the group. You could discover that talking with the other members of the support group is something you enjoy doing and that this type of treatment is really helpful in your recovery.