DR. ALEX KATEHAKIS ON SEX ADDICTION

Dr. Alexandra Katehakis, world renowned Sex Addiction Therapist and Director of the Center for Healthy Sex in Los Angeles shares a wealth of information today. What is Sex Addiction? Is it real, or just an excuse for bad behavior? She believes that compulsive sexual behavior is a way of masking very deep pain and extreme emotion dysregulation that typically originates in childhood. Dr. Katehakis explains that most sex addicts suffer from an early Attachment Disorder. Case presentations are discussed to highlight the complicated sexual arousal template that develops in the face of early childhood trauma and how shame, humiliation and fear are all fused with sympathetic arousal. The resulting compulsive sexual behavior is sometimes an attempt at self-soothing and sometimes a manifestation of trauma repetition-compulsion. “Shame is both the cause and effect of the Sex Addiction itself.” Dr. Katehakis discusses her most significant contribution to the field…long term psychotherapy for long term change and making the Carnes model a sex positive one. Her ultimate goal for her clients is a healthy sex life and healthy intimate connections. We underline the importance of group therapy as a vehicle to develop a capacity for intimate connecting with others and shame reduction. Other topics of conversation are the difference between sex and love addiction, the impact of sex addiction on the partner, the effect of the hundred billion dollar porn industry on our children and on the sexual functioning of young men, and what kind of conversations parents should consider having with their children about sex and pornography.