Porn Addiction: The Treatment Process
Erin Snow
It is not unusual for porn addicts starting treatment to expect that much of their work in therapy will focus on the identification and resolution of childhood issues. That is not, however, the case. Yes, identifying and acknowledging early-life trauma is an aspect of porn addiction treatment, but it’s just one among many, and resolving that trauma is rarely an initial priority. After all, helping porn addicts understand their early-life issues doesn’t exactly provide them with the concrete tools they need to cope with life without using porn to self-soothe and self-medicate.
So, what does happen in treatment for porn addiction?
The progression of treatment is actually logical and relatively straightforward. The first step is a thorough assessment of the addict’s behavior and current situation. This careful evaluation explores and evaluates nearly every aspect of the addict’s life, including their sex and relationship history. The addict is assessed not just for porn addiction but for other psychological issues (including other addictions), along with relationship, family, legal, work, social, recreational, and financial concerns that may need to be dealt with.
Once the therapist has a full understanding of the addict and the addict’s life situation, treatment focuses on stopping addictive behaviors, breaking through denial, managing the crisis or crises that drove the addict into recovery, and relapse prevention. Other concerns, in particular client/family safety, may also be important in the initial stages of treatment.
The preferred methodologies in porn addiction treatment are highly directive forms of therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). These pragmatic, accountability-based approaches recognize that porn addiction, like all other addictions, is, first and foremost, a behavioral problem needing a behaviorally focused treatment approach.
With CBT and DBT, the early work of porn addiction treatment is reality-based, focusing on the addict’s behaviors and well-being in the here and now instead of looking at and seeking to resolve past traumas. Yes, there is definitely a time and place in addiction recovery to examine and process childhood trauma, but early recovery is not it. As such, early treatment is task-oriented, with assignments (reading, writing, participating in workgroups and support groups). Typically, these assignments are completed between therapy sessions and discussed during sessions.
Many porn addicts find out relatively quickly that a weekly one-hour session with their CSAT is not enough to break away from active addiction. A more intense focus on recovery is needed. Often, that is found in either inpatient rehab or an intensive (daily) outpatient program. Typically, these programs are followed up with standard outpatient therapy paired with 12-step recovery. (This mirrors the treatment process for other forms of addiction.) Following residential treatment, most porn addicts continue in recovery with a combination of individual and group therapy, 12-step recovery, and online workgroups.
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If you or a loved one are struggling with sex, porn, or substance/sex addiction, Seeking Integrity can help. In addition to residential rehab, we offer low-cost online workgroups for male sex addicts and male porn addicts new to recovery. Click HERE for information on our Sex Addiction Workgroup. Click HERE for information on our Porn Addiction workgroup.