Book Review: Sex Under the Influence
I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Fawcett give a presentation on Sex Under the Influence at the 2023 IITAP conference.
This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.
It was one of the more enjoyable discussions I caught while at the conference. He has a vast amount of experience working with dual chemical and sexual addictions. He is very clearly passionate about helping people work through these issues.
So, when he published a book on the subject, I was eager to read it.
Sex Under the Influence is aimed at Individuals
While this book’s target audience is individuals who are struggling with sexualized drug use, it will also be useful to clinicians who are not as familiar with the pairing of sex and drugs in a compulsive manner.
Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.
The first chapter does a nice job with the following points:
- What sexualized drug use is
- How people use sex and drugs together and why
- The biology of the addictive process and the consequences when pairing sex and drugs gets out of hand
Chapter 2 is either a nice primer or recap about what addiction is and how it can be experienced by people.
Chapter 3 looks at addictive behaviors in a variety of demographic groups.
I really enjoyed this chapter. It did something few books on addiction do: it discussed what addiction can look like for men, women, and transgender individuals.
We know from the scientific literature that men and women experience addiction differently both socially and biologically. Dr. Fawcett also discussed how addiction may differ based on one’s sexual orientation.
An entire chapter looking at the diversity of the addictive process was appreciated.
Recovery Tools from Sex Under the Influence
Starting in Chapter 5, the book provides tools and information for recovery. For clinician’s reading this book, particularly those who are trained in treating problematic sexual behavior, a lot of this work will be familiar.
For people struggling with addiction who are thinking about or entering into recovery, the second half of the book provides valuable tools such as:
- The three-circle exercise
- Emotion regulations tools
- Relapse prevention planning
Subsequent chapters delve into the long-term process of recovery. It implicitly and explicitly acknowledges this is a long-term or lifelong process.
Recovery, particularly from issues with sexuality, require us to deepen connections. It requires us to delve into intimacy and our own sexuality.
Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?
Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!
My Favorite Part
One of the things I particularly like about Sex Under the Influence is the author’s discussion of harm reduction.
So often, recovery is seen as an abstinence-only model and harm reduction is not discussed.
Abstinence-only models can drive away those thinking about recovery but feel full abstinence is impossible.
Additionally, abstinence-only models often are not realistic for problematic sexual behavior. Sexuality is part of who we are as humans.
The author spends a chapter discussing harm reduction and how it can be applied to sexualized drug use.
This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.
Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.
Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.
