NYCSAT provides therapy for sex addiction in New York City

Sexual Addiction takes on many forms; from the use of pornography and masturbation, to multiple extramarital affairs, frequenting prostitutes, regular visits to massage parlors and strip clubs, exhibitionism and voyeurism.

Some people who suffer from sexual addiction also fit the definition of sexual anorexia; an inability of having a relationship of a sexual nature beyond a paid-for or anonymous experience. Sexual anorexic behavior can also be seen in sex addicts who are married, but avoid being sexual with their spouse, in essence, being sexually anorexic with their partner. These sex addicts have an aversion to intimacy.

("Sexual Anorexia" is a term used to describe the compulsive avoidance of sex and sex-related matters. The word anorexia means without appetite - anorexia being derived from the Greek word, orexis. What makes it a form of addiction is the compulsive avoidance of sex that sexual anorexics build their lives around.)

Sexual addiction is best described as a progressive intimacy disorder characterized by compulsive sexual thoughts and acts. Like all addictions, its negative impact on the addict and on family members increases as the disorder progresses. Over time, the addict usually has to intensify the addictive behavior to achieve the same results.

Eventually, the pursuit of sex becomes more important than family, career, and even personal health and safety. As sexual preoccupation increases, the sex addict follows a routine or ritual leading to acting out on desires which are then followed by feelings of denial, then shame, despair and confusion.

A sex addict is defined by their struggle to control or postpone sexual feelings and actions. A sex addict does not know how to be genuinely intimate with their signifcant other over an extended period of time. His primary relationship is the relationship with sex.

A wide range of behaviors can be symptoms of sex addiction, including:

Compulsive Masturbation
Continued Cheating / Extramarital Affairs
Anonymous sex
Multiple one-night stands
Obsessive Dating
Excessive use of pornography
Risky or unsafe sex
Cybersex
Exhibitionism
Voyeurism
Prostitution or use of prostitutes

Some sex addicts engage in only one form of destructive sexual behavior, others in a few. What determines if a person is addicted to sex, is whether his or her behavior is compulsive. A sex addict is unable to stop the behavior on their own for an extended period of time without going through intense struggle, without obsessing about the behavior, or without substituting the behavior with another addictive behavior.

Check the list below to see what applies to you:

Have you had sex at inappropriate times, in inappropriate places, and/or with inappropriate people?
Have you unsuccessfully tried to control your sexual behavior?
Do you lie about your sexual activities?
Do you make promises to yourself concerning your sexual behavior that you find you cannot follow?
Do you sometimes have sex with people you do not want to have sex with?
Have you ever felt that you had to have sex?
Do you keep a list, written or otherwise, of the number of partners you’ve had?
Have you lost count of the number of sexual partners you’ve had
Have you had sex regardless of the consequences (e.g., the threat of being caught or facing financial problems, or the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease)?
Do you feel entitled to sex?
Have you ever threatened your financial stability or standing in the community by pursuing a sexual partner?
Have you ever had a serious relationship threatened or destroyed because of outside sexual activity?
Do you find yourself flirting with or sexualizing someone even if you do not mean to?
Does your sexual behavior affect your reputation?
Do you have sex to try to deal with or escape from life’s problems?
Do you feel uncomfortable about your masturbation because of the frequency with which you masturbate, the fantasies you engage in, the props you use, and/or the places in which you do it?
Do you find yourself needing greater variety and energy in your sexual activities just to achieve an “acceptable” level of physical and emotional relief?
Are you unable to concentrate on other areas of your life because of thoughts or feelings you are having about sex?
Have you ever wished you could stop or control your sexual activities for a given period of time?
Do you feel that your sexual life affects your spiritual life in a negative way?
Do you feel that your life is unmanageable because of your compulsive sexual thoughts or behaviors?
Have you had sex at inappropriate times, in inappropriate places, and/or with inappropriate people?
Do you make promises to yourself concerning your sexual behavior that you find you cannot follow?
Do you sometimes have sex with people you do not want to have sex with?
Have you ever felt that you had to have sex?

Treatment: NYCSAT offers comprehensive, individually tailored sex addiction therapy and counseling, in a confidential, discrete and supportive enviroment to accommodate every patients' unique needs and life circumstances.

We conduct a thorough assessment of each person we treat. This provides us with key information about the origins and contributors of the behaviors, such as unmet needs, trauma, learning and attention differences, co-addictions, substance abuse, eating disorders, codependency, and/or mood disorders.

Our treatment methods are comprehensive, not based on one single method of treatment, or a single recovery program. We are highly experienced in a multitude of interventions, and we keep abreast of the latest research.

NYCSAT tailores each treatment to the person’s specific needs, ensuring the highest likelihood of success. Understanding the person and their unique presentation of symptoms and issues is the single best way to ensure that treatment will target and address the presenting cluster of problems.

Aspects of treatment always include learning to idenify triggers, focus on risk recognition, and develop a personal treatment plan. We address your feelings of shame and faulty beliefs so you can develop better communication and intimacy with family and friends. Another focus is to address the underlying issues of your sex addiction, in order to help you build a solid foundation and insure recovery from sex addiction.

NYCSAT serves the NY Metropolitan and Tri-state area. We offer a range of intensity of treatment, from weekly individual and/or group, to Intensives depending on the need. To set up an appointment or a confidential consultation call us at 212.665.7352

Sex Addiction