Title: Compulsive Sexual and Love Behavior: Etiology and Culturally-responsive Treatment for Sex Addiction

Abstract: The pathologization and treatment of “sex and love addiction”, or compulsive sexual or love behavior remains a controversial topic. From the “perversion” of non-hetero/cis-normative sexual attraction and intimacy, to the pursuit of the inclusion of hypersexual disorder in the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual (DSM), the pathologization of compulsive sexual behavior persists. Although the last two editions of the DSM failed to include sex addiction as a diagnosis, researchers have identified common symptoms experienced by persons engaged in compulsive and impulsive sexual and love behavior. This training provides additional training regarding the etiology, and evidence-based culturally-responsive treatment modalities for clients/patients experiencing out-of-control sexual compulsions.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the evolution of the proposed diagnostic criteria for Sex Addiction, as well as the history, and social and cultural context of this process addiction.
• Identify the impact of compulsive sex and love behavior on the client/patient’s loved ones, family system, and community.
• Apply pragmatic evidence-based culturally-responsive interventions for the treatment of Sex Addiction.

Facilitator:

Cortny Stark PhD LPCC LADAC CRC (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Department of Counseling and Human Services, and telehealth therapist for the Trauma Treatment Center and Research Facility in Rio Rancho, NM. Dr. Stark’s research focuses on LGBTQQIA+ issues in counseling, using qualitative methods to explore the experiences of counselor-advocates and community-based advocates for transgender and gender-expansive individuals. As a counselor educator, she encourages her students to critically evaluate taken-for-granted beliefs about gender and sex, and advocate for social change for historically oppressed communities.

References:

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