E-Books →Sexual Addiction and Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) An Introduction

To assist clients in overcoming a sexual addiction there are minimal options. Unlike gambling where absolute abstinence from the behavior is the desired effect, this type of a decision regarding sex will hinder a healthy relationship. One strategy is to use a Sexual Boundary Plan (Weiss, 2004). Fortunately, with Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) and related techniques, this is not the only strategy to assist clients with a sexual addiction.
It is important to remember that a sexual addiction is similar to alcoholism in that the individual uses sex to cope with pain and numb difficult feelings. For the sex addict, sex is mood altering like a drug, and the individual needs more and more to achieve the same elevated feeling. Often this results in more frequent sexual behaviors and increased risks. Sex becomes the focus in a person's life and thus there is no room for healthy relationships. In addition to abuse experiences, other traumas for the sexual addict are betrayal, abandonment or rejection. "If the betrayal is severe enough, trauma results. Fear and terror become the catalyst that allows betrayal to move into the area of trauma" (Cox & Howard, 2007, p.6).
From the Metapsychology Monographs Series
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