Recovery from Hypersexual Disorder (HD): An Examination of the Effectiveness of Combination Treatment

Abstract

To examine the effectiveness of a combination treatment for hypersexual disorder (HD), using regular involvement with a 12-step program related to sexual behavior and weekly individual psychotherapy, this qualitative study recruited volunteers with minimum three-year concurrent experience of the two interventions and minimum two-year abstinence from unwanted sexual behavior. Transcript analysis of interviews with four participants revealed the strength of 12-step meeting attendance and active involvement with a sponsor. The analysis further revealed the complementary benefit of individual psychotherapy, including inherent tension between the two interventions. The discussion section addresses, among other things, the clinical importance to treat clients’ dysregulation.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all interview participants, group representatives of the 12-step meetings who responded to my inquiry, Ms Janet Morris, and Mr Banjo Aromolaran.

Disclosure statement

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest relating to the topics discussed in this work.

Data availability statement

The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.