When pornography use starts to take up too much space
Some people come looking for help with “pornography addiction”. It is an understandable expression for something specific: wanting to stop or cut down and not managing to, again and again, even though it is already affecting daily life.
Not all concerns about pornography are the same. Sometimes the distress comes from a conflict with one’s own values. At other times there is a persistent difficulty controlling the behaviour: more time than desired, attempts to quit that do not last, impact on the couple, work or rest. ICD-11, the WHO’s international classification of diseases, distinguishes compulsive sexual behaviour from distress due solely to moral judgements: the former may need professional care; the latter deserves a different space for conversation.
At ATVE the work starts in session and is supported between sessions, because difficult moments do not happen in the consulting room: they happen on a Tuesday night, at home, with the phone at hand. That is why we agree on forms of support between meetings (messages, audio notes or calls) to apply what has been worked on right when it is hardest.
The support complements psychological or medical care; it does not replace it. When other care is needed, coordination or referral is proposed, agreed with you.
You can write without sharing details: it is enough to say that you want information. I answer, Antonio.