Treating Out of Control Sexual Behavior: Rethinking Sex Addiction

Winner of 2018 SSTAR Health Professional Book Award presented by The Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) Health Professional Book Award Committee.

"I have been waiting for a book that would offer a sex-positive, non-judgmental, and non-pathologizing alternative approach for working with "sex addiction." Doug Braun-Harvey and Michael Vigorito aim men forward toward their sexual health with this refreshing critical, and compassionate model to help those in the grip of problematic sexual behavior. This book will change your thinking and your clinical work at the intersection of sexuality and psychotherapy."

-Esther Perel, LMFT, Author of Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence

This groundbreaking book reconsiders popular notions of addictive sex. Braun-Harvey and Vigorito's sexual health psychotherapy protocol is an innovative treatment approach for men experiencing sexual lives beyond their control. "Out of control sexual behavior" (OCSB) is defined as a sexual health problem in which consensual sexual urges, thoughts, or behaviors feel out of control. As opposed to a clinical disorder, OCSB is framed as a behavioral problem within the normal range of sexual expression.

The book provides step-by-step tools for assessment, treatment planning, and implementation stemming from the authors' work with hundreds of individual and group therapy clients. OCSB treatment matches individual and group therapy interventions with current motivational interviewing and readiness-for-change research. Further, this approach emphasizes the clinician's ethical responsibility to provide the most effective treatment while protecting client sexual rights and welcoming sexual diversity. Rich and varied composite case examples demonstrate clinical sexual health treatment conversations as well as stories of hope and guidance to understand how sexual health is an ally for changing OCSB.

Key Features:

• Presents a much-needed sexual health alternative to conventional thinking about assessing and treating OCSB
• Posits OCSB as a sexual health behavior problem rather than a process addiction or psychosexual disorder
• Promotes sexual health principles as the framework to envision and guide men's sexual behavior change
• Includes a practical, step-by-step pathway model to assess and treat OCSB
• Organizes a wide range of best-practice clinical interventions for individual and group psychotherapy
• Includes composite case examples demonstrating successful treatment outcomes

Douglas Braun-Harvey, LMFT, CGP, CST, is a sexual health author, trainer, and psychotherapist who bridges sexual and mental health and facilitates organizational change. In 2013, Doug Braun-Harvey cofounded The Harvey Institute, an international education, training, consulting, and supervision service for improving health care through integration of sexual health. He teaches and trains nationally and internationally, linking sexual health principles with drug and alcohol treatment, group psychotherapy, HIV prevention and treatment, and child maltreatment. Since 1993, he has been developing and implementing a sexual health-based treatment approach for men with out of control sexual behavior (OCSB). Previous publications includeSexual Health in Recovery: Professional Counselor's Manual (2011) and Sexual Health in Drug and Alcohol Treatment: Group Facilitator's Manual (2009). He has earned several distinctions, including the 2013 Carne's Award from the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, a 2011 Sexual Intelligence Award, the 2011 President's Award from the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals, and the 2011 Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Western Region Public Service Award for promoting sexual health awareness and providing the intellectual framework for integrating sexology and chemical dependency. Mr. Braun-Harvey is a licensed marriage and family therapist (MFT), certified group psychotherapist (CGP), and certified sex therapist (AASECT Certified). He is on the web at www.DBHnow.com and in private practice in San Diego, California.

Michael A. Vigorito, LMFT, LCPC, CGP, is a sexual health consultant, author, and psychotherapist. As a consultant, Mr. Vigorito trains behavioral health providers to integrate sexual health into their systems of care through routine sexual health screenings, sexual risk reduction counseling, and culturally competent interventions. As a clinician, Mr. Vigorito developed, supervised, and conducted therapy in integrative behavioral health programs that worked with substance addiction, mental illness, and HIV/AIDS. In his Washington, DC, private practice, Mr. Vigorito provides individual, couple, and group psychotherapy specializing in sexual health, including out of control sexual experiences, sexual dysfunctions, sex/drug-linked behaviors, and sexual dissatisfaction. He is licensed as a marriage and family therapist (MFT), licensed clinical professional counselor, and is a certified group psychotherapist. Mr. Vigorito is also a member of the American Group Psychotherapy Association; the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality; and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. More about Mr. Vigorito can be found at www.iCounselingServices.com.