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American Psychological Association

The Answer to Misogyny Is Coming Soon … To a Psychology Office Near You

In January of this year, the American Psychological Association (APA) released a set of guidelines for the treatment of boys and men. In doing so, the organization appeared to offer a timely, direct response to the #MeToo movement and our culture’s recent examination of “toxic masculinity.” But even when putting #Metoo aside, the creation of standards and ethical boundaries around clinical men’s work was and is in fact much-needed. You see, for years now we’ve had such guidelines for clinical work...

Fetish

Lots of People Like a Little Kink

How Common are Kinks, Fetishes, and Paraphilic Disorders?

According to a recent study, paraphilic attractions (kinks and fetishes) are more common than most people might think. The study surveyed 387 adult males about the presence and impact of paraphilic attractions and behaviors in their lives, with the following results:

of survey participants reported some degree of paraphilic arousal.
said paraphilic arousal was most frequent while fantasizing.
used paraphilic arousal during masturbatory fantasies.
said they’d engaged in some form of...

Hypersexual Disorders

Six Reasons People Quit Using Porn

Let me begin this post by stating that I am neither anti-porn nor pro-porn. As a sexologist and addiction treatment specialist, it is not in my job description to judge any mutually consensual sexual behavior, including the appearance in and/or use of pornography. I...

Hypersexual Disorders

Treating Different Categories of Sex/Porn Addicts

In my previous post to this site, I discussed the difference between traditional, trauma-driven sex/porn addicts and a new and rapidly growing subcategory of sex/porn addicts that I refer to as digital-age/conditioned porn addicts. The primary difference between the categories is one group is trauma-based, as we traditionally see with addictions in general, while the other is not. Typically, digital-age/conditioned porn addicts are individuals who start using porn at a young age (often before puberty hits). Over time, they get used to...

General

Digital-Age/Conditioned Porn Addiction: A New Version of an Old Problem

For a long time, therapists treating sex and porn addiction found that all (or at least the vast majority) of their clients had deep and powerful underlying early-life trauma issues—neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, covert incest, etc. This put sex and porn addicts very much in line with alcoholics, drug addicts, compulsive gamblers, and the like. In fact, there is a large body of research showing unresolved early-life trauma to be a huge risk factor for later-life addiction (of all types).

Recently, however, sexual...

Addictions

Understanding Porn Addicts: An Interview with Noah Church (Part 3)

Noah Church is a well-known speaker on issues related to porn addiction and the author of Wack: Addicted to Internet Porn, an educational look at how internet porn affects its users. Additionally, he has created the website, Addicted to Internet Porn. On that site he has compiled information learned from his own and others’ experiences with digital pornography—articles, videos, and more. He also offers one-to-one coaching for those who are struggling. Recently, Noah was a...

Porn Addiction

What It’s Like for an Addict to Quit Using Porn? An Interview with Noah Church (Part 2)

Noah Church is a well-known speaker on issues related to porn addiction and the author of Wack: Addicted to Internet Porn, an educational look at how internet porn affects its users. Additionally, he has created the website, Addicted to Internet Porn. On that site, he has compiled information learned from his own and others’ experiences with digital pornography—articles, videos, and more. He also offers one-to-one coaching for those who are...