Sex Addiction

Sex addiction counselling in Colchester

Sexual compulsivity (whether expressed through compulsive use of pornography, multiple secret relationships, or other patterns) produces a specific kind of isolation. The behaviour is hidden. The shame is heavy. The gap between public life and private experience has grown wide enough to become its own form of suffering. And because the subject is rarely spoken about honestly, even in therapeutic settings, it can feel as though this is uniquely yours to carry.

It is not. And it is treatable.

Understanding sexual compulsivity

Like other compulsive patterns, sexual compulsivity is rarely about what it appears to be about. It is typically a response, to disconnection, to shame with a longer history, to the absence of genuine intimacy, to unprocessed trauma. The behaviour provides relief that is real and immediate, even as its consequences accumulate. Understanding what that relief is responding to is the work of therapy.

The approach at the Colchester practice draws on integrative and Jungian psychotherapy. Where trauma underlies the compulsivity (which it frequently does) EMDR may be incorporated.

Pornography addiction

Compulsive pornography use is the most common presentation in this area and the one surrounded by the most confusion, including about whether it constitutes addiction in a clinical sense. Whatever the terminology: if a person’s relationship with pornography has become distressing, difficult to interrupt, secretive, and damaging to their sense of self or their relationships, it warrants serious therapeutic attention. This practice provides it, in Colchester, in complete confidence.

Confidentiality

All sessions at the Colchester practice are conducted under strict and absolute confidentiality. No referral is needed to begin.

Further reading: What is sex addiction?.

Discretion in a town this size

Sex addiction carries more shame than almost any other presentation, and in a town where faces are familiar, the fear of being seen seeking help keeps many people from it. The Colchester practice is arranged for exactly this concern: a private setting in a quiet residential street, appointments timed so clients do not cross paths, and absolute confidentiality. For those who prefer it, sessions can also be held online before meeting in person.

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• Clinical Supervision in Colchester
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See all therapy services in Colchester.