Sex Rehab Increases on National, Local Level - Evanston, IL Patch

http://evanston.patch.com/articles/sex-rehab-increases-on-national-local-level[11/26/2011 10:27:32 PM]

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Tiger Woods, Russell Brand and David Duchovny all have at least one thing in common besides fame. They've all been treated for sexual addiction.
Sex rehab, however, isn't just for celebrities. According to an article in The Los Angeles Times last month, the number of sex therapists certified by the
International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, has doubled to about 900 since 2007, while therapists say demand for their services
increases on a monthly basis.
The trend has also found its way to Chicago and Evanston, where sex therapists say they have noticed a dramatic upsurge in business.
"Evanston residents are not any different from anyone else," says Chris Anderson, an Evanston sex therapist who has treated hundreds of patients
during the past 20 years. "Sex addiction is sex addiction. The fact is, it's an illness."
Anderson attributes the rise in clientele to the internet and how it affords easy access to pornography, escort services, causal hookups and video sex
all with the added bonus of anonymity.
"What's happened in recent years is similar to what happened in the '90s with the legalization of casinos," Anderson says. "There was an explosion of
people with gambling problems. With the explosion of the internet, there's been a significant increase in people with sexual addiction problems."
While therapy of any kind can be expensive, Dr. Richard Carroll, director of Northwestern's Sex and Marital Therapy Program, says that there are also
a number of affordable resources in Chicago, including 12-step programs like: Sexaholics Anonymous, Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, and Sex and
Love Addicts Anonymous.
Though, Carroll says, a combination of the two forms12-step support groups and therapy with a specialistis the most effective route to treating a
sexual addiction.
Sex Rehab Increases on National, Local Level
Evanston and Chicago have numerous sex addiction therapy programs available for those who
suffer from sexual compulsive behavior. Clients can choose from sex therapy with specialists or
free 12-step programs.
Rel at ed Topi c s: Rehab, Tiger Woods, and russell brand
The Neighborhood Files
By Angela Shawn-Chi Lu Email the author December 5, 2010

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Sex Rehab Increases on National, Local Level - Evanston, IL Patch
http://evanston.patch.com/articles/sex-rehab-increases-on-national-local-level[11/26/2011 10:27:32 PM]
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"When you actually are treating this, they both are helpful," Carroll says. "The 12-step programs provide community support."
According to Carroll, these two approaches represent the two competing models that dominate the field: the sexual addiction model and the
compulsive sexual behavior model.
The sexual addiction model is based on Alcoholics Anonymous and requires 12-step treatment. While the compulsive sexual behavior model followed
by mental health professionals treats the underlying disorders that are at the root of sex addiction with medication.
Those underlying disorders include anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder.
"The problem I have with the sexual addiction folks is often they miss what is an underlying mental health problem," Carroll says. "The popular notion
that everyone who has this has been abused is not true."
The two models are at the center of a major debate surrounding the pending entry of the illness into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, the American Psychiatric Association's official record of mental disorders.
Ultimately, Carroll says the debate concerns which of three terms would be used to label the diagnosis: hypersexuality, sexual compulsive behavior or
sex addiction. Critics of the term "sex addiction" say it is inaccurate because there is a lack of scientific evidence showing that sex addicts build up a
tolerance over time or go through withdrawal if deprived two features of substance addiction.
Overall, therapists agree much more research is required for the illness to become an official diagnosis. Funding for that kind of work, however, hasn't
been easy to come by.
"The government is loath to give money to research this," Carroll says. "In general the government has avoided what has been considered provocative
topics. The larger issue that's going on in society is a serious swing back to conservative attitudes about sexuality and sexual behavior."
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