Treating Sex Addiction
At Vancouver Center for Sex Addiction Recovery, our sex addiction treatment program is designed to not just address compulsive sexual behaviors but to change and repair the underlying dynamics that often drive the addiction. We then focus on helping individuals learn to attach and function in their adult relationships in ways that work for them and provide the connection and meaning that are primary to our health and happiness as human beings.
Treatment Focus
At Vancouver Center for Sex Addiction Recovery we are committed to providing equal support and expertise to all three parties impacted by sexual addiction: the addicted individual, the partner and the couple. Our treatment program is designed for all three entities. We have found that when both individuals and the couple are treated simultaneously and together treatment is more successful.
Sexual addiction (SA) is defined as any sexually-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one’s work environment. Sexual addiction has been called sexual dependency and sexual compulsivity. By any name, it is a compulsive behavior that completely dominates the addict’s life. Sexual addicts make sex a priority more important than family, friends, and work.
Are you finding that your secretive behavior is causing you great angst and seems to be spiraling out of control? Have you tried to deny that it is a problem and you have even told yourself that you are not hurting anyone? Have you tried hundreds of times to stop to no avail???
Sex becomes the organizing principle of addict’s lives. They are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their unhealthy behavior.
You are spending more and more time away from loved ones to pursue your guilty pleasure. You make up lies, say you have to work late, find excuses not to go to the kids games or tell your spouse that you have a little more work to do on the computer before you come to bed.
Here are the facts about sexual addiction:
- This work requires long term therapy.But our promise to you is that once you do the work ….you will be healthier than 85% of the general public….You can beat this thing but not without doing the work.
- People hide the severity of the problem. They delude themselves about their ability to control their behavior. You will always want to minimize the problem until you get the help you deserve.. Denial is what keeps you locked into this behavior! Shame keeps you from talking to your physician or to your pastor.
- Men are 3 times more likely to have this problem than women. They are also more likely to suffer from another addiction like alcoholism, drug addiction, workaholism or compulsive gambling.
- We are learning that women also suffer from this problem but unfortunately it is masked by the appearance of frequent relationships and something we call sex and love relationship addiction.
- Sex addicts come from families with addictions.
- Brain imaging shows that we need @ least 2 years to alter synaptic connection to healthier functioning.
- Recovery takes 3 to 5 years of hard work but the work can also be seen as exciting because it involves self discovery with a trained therapist, repair of your adult relationships and freedom from the bondage of shame and guilt.