Sex Addiction Treatment and Recovery from Compulsive Sexual Behavior

Residents seeking treatment for compulsive sexual behaviors also participate in our full trauma resolution program. The Life Healing Center's treatment program recognizes that sexual recovery is a vital part of healing the wounds of trauma. Regardless of the source of injury: emotional, physical, sexual abuse or neglect, trauma inevitably affects the body. The body becomes objectified: a degree of inner distance or dissociation direly needed during the trauma remains long after the perceived threat has passed. As adults we often unwittingly engage in behaviors that cause this kernel of inner disconnection to grow, creating a cycle of increased self- alienation.

Present day sexual behaviors, at times, are mirrors of such a self-alienating process. A person can feel compelled to engage in a host of sexual behaviors. Obsessions with sexual images, compulsions to masturbate or to engage in sex with numerous partners or to avoid physical intimacy may be expressions of an underlying trauma. One's sexual life becomes characterized by a sense of urgency. Freedom of choice is replaced by a chronic sense of shame or obligation. Without intervention, these patterned responses tend to feed upon themselves, gaining more and more control of someone's life. Fortunately, there is hope for sexual recovery. Beneath this destructive cycle is the valiant attempt to heal. The self-alienating behaviors are misguided attempts to re-engage the original injury, the underlying pain.

The staff at The Life Healing Center is expert at helping people identify their current treatment needs. Recovery involves two phases. Phase one is the elimination or reduction of the patterned, compulsive sexual behavior. At times this can be achieved by a heightened inner awareness of the destructiveness of the actions. Typically an elevated degree of external support including a more controlled external environment, a structured program, e.g. a 12 Step program, and positive peer influence is needed. The second phase of recovery involves addressing the underlying pain that fuels the addictive process. This phase requires a foundation of abstinence from the undesired sexual behaviors.

In the second phase sex addiction recovery our treatment methods help clients identify the internal plea for help lying just beneath their problem sexual behavior. The power of the compulsion is systematically broken by helping residents find more adaptive ways to access and to release the upsurges of pain, terror or rage that have been haunting them. The process of internal alienation is replaced by self-nurturance, and by the ability to engage in intimate relationships.