Gary Katz Part 1: Ibogaine for Sex Addiction and Betrayal Trauma

Gary Katz is a certified sex addiction therapist and a certified partner trauma therapist, as well as the founder for the Center for Intimacy Recovery in New York. He has been trained in a variety of modalities including sensorimotor psychotherapy and EMDR. Prior to opening the Center for Intimacy Recovery, Gary worked in education for more than 20 years. He is also an ordained rabbi. Gary joins us on to discuss sex addiction, betrayal trauma, and the potential that ibogaine has to heal people on both ends of the spectrum.

 What we discuss: 

• What is sex addiction?

• What it’s like to live with compulsive sexual behavior

• ‘Rock Bottom’ when you’re struggling with sex addiction

• Gary’s personal experience with ibogaine

• What makes ibogaine interesting from a therapist’s perspective?

• Defining betrayal trauma

• Working with betrayal trauma: how it differs from working with people dealing with compulsive sexual behavior

• How ibogaine helped a group of women suffering from betrayal trauma

• Treatment options: Standard of care vs. ibogaine

Why it’s important: 

This is the first episode of Ibogaine Uncovered in which we discuss a very real (and incredibly misunderstood) maladaptive coping mechanism: compulsive sexual behavior (also known as sex addiction). While this topic may not get as much coverage as substance or alcohol use disorder, an estimated 3-6% of Americans struggle with it everyday. Gary Katz explains what the spectrum of compulsive sexual behavior can look like, how compulsive sexual behavior can lead to betrayal trauma, and the role ibogaine can play in helping both those with compulsive sexual behaviors and those who have experienced betrayal. 

Relevant Links:

• The Center for Intimacy Recovery
• About Gary
• Retreat for Betrayed Partners
• Statistics on Sex Addiction in America
• What is Betrayal Trauma?