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2. Sex Addiction Treatment:
An Introduction
Instructor: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, NCC
Executive Director, AllCEUs

3.  Define Sex Addiction
 Discuss Similarities and Differences Between
Drug Addiction and Sex Addiction
 Explore Interventions for Sex Addiction

4.  A person, activity or substance used to
escape from negative feelings (physical or
emotional) despite experiencing negative
consequences

5.  Similar to Other Addictions
◦ Dopamine surge/High
◦ Cravings
◦ Triggers/Conditioned Stimuli
◦ Brain changes (Worse with younger age)
◦ May start as recreational
◦ Relationship, Financial, Emotional Problems

6.  Differs from other addictions
◦ Biologically driven urge
 Eat, Sleep, Procreate  Survive
 Coolidge Effect
◦ Cannot abstain forever
◦ “Socially sanctioned”

7.  Needing more of the same substance to get
the same high
◦ Tolerance
 Dopamine system self-regulating
 Coolidge Effect
◦ In response to worsening problems

8.  Using more or for longer than intended
◦ Online porn sites, dating apps  Novelty
 Unsuccessful efforts to cut down
◦ Biologically driven urge for stimulation as well as
procreation

9.  Spending significant time and/or resources
(i.e. money) thinking about, preparing for,
acquiring, using and/or recovering from use

10.  Continued use despite negative
consequences in one or more areas of life
due to the addiction
◦ Relationship
◦ Financial
◦ Work
◦ Emotional (Anxiety, Motivation, Depression)

11.  Driven by survival mechanisms
◦ Reduce pain (emotional, physical)
◦ Safety (Eliminate threats)
◦ Food/water
 Maintained by positive and negative
reinforcement

12. ◦ Give your brain a rest from the rush
◦ Take care of yourself to allow your brain to recover
 Sleep
 Nutrition
 Exercise
◦ Consider pharmacological interventions
◦ Identify other things that make you (or used to
make you) happy
◦ Find activities to occupy your time

13.  Identify and eliminate or recondition things
that trigger your cravings
◦ People, places, things (including TV shows),
emotions, times of day
◦ Engage in competing behaviors
 Identify the function of your behavior and
develop alternatives.

14.  Only allow yourself to experience sexual
pleasure with a single other person in a
monogamous relationship.
 Understand that during the rewire, there may
be a period when you cannot get aroused.
 Procreation is genetically programmed, once
your brain recovers, arousal will be possible
again.

15.  Address loss of motivation through
◦ Goal setting
◦ Decisional balance exercises
◦ Rewards
Remember that as the dopamine system recovers
motivation will return

16.  Live in the present instead of the past /future
 Observing/Awareness
◦ External and Internal
◦ Vulnerabilities and Assets
 Describing
 Accept without judgment
 Act with Awareness / Purposeful Action

17.  Cope with crisis situations/urges in healthier,
less self-destructive ways
 Examples:
◦ Urge Surfing
◦ Alternate activities
 Less problematic (ice)
 Active Distraction (Do 15)

18.  Manage and tolerate your emotions
 Accept that sometimes your can't change
them or reduce their intensity
 Learn what makes your negative emotions
worse
 Get support
 See the silver lining

19.  Maintain healthy relationships
 Act assertively
 Take good care of yourself
 Don’t forget about karma

20.  Sex addiction has similarities and differences
with drug addictions
 The younger the brain changes occur, the greater
the possibility for damage
 Antidepressants can be helpful in the short-term
 DBT interventions can also be extremely helpful;
 As with any addiction, the reason someone
started and continues needs to be addressed.

21.  Unlike other addictions, permanent abstinence
from sex is not recommended, so a strong
relapse prevention plan is needed.
 Common triggers to many addictions including
sex addiction include anxiety, boredom,
depression, guilt, habit, relationship problems,
shame, stress, television/media, and low self-
esteem.