Various articles and publications I have written will be posted here.
The Porn Trap: A Guide to Healing from Porn Addiction, for Sufferers and their Loved Ones. Wendy and Larry Maltz
This book covers all aspects of internet pornography addiction, but it is particularly helpful regarding the impact of porn addiction on the addict’s partner. It is intended as a support to someone in therapy rather than a standalone self-help book. Partners, whether involved in the therapy or not, will find this book helpful in explain porn addiction. Therapists will find it useful as a resource but they are not the primary audience.
The book starts with an examination of how addictive internet porn can be and moves on to discuss how addiction can arise. It then looks at what factors inhibit or maintain an addiction. There is an effective discussion of the harm that porn addiction causes and the chapter “Partners in Pain” describes how partners struggle with the discovery of a porn addiction and coming to terms with it. For example, it discusses how the partner may become the “porn cop” and how unhelpful this is likely to be. The book then sets out practical ways of combatting porn addiction using six key steps such as creating a porn-free environment and seeking professional help. There is a chapter on how the couple can work together to heal their relationship, although the authors are clear that the primary responsibility for the damage caused by the porn addiction rests with the addict. It ends with information on how to build a fulfilling sex life.
Two key features of the book are frequent check lists to allow the reader to assess their behaviour and the inclusion of quotes from addicts. The check lists help the reader recognise patterns of behaviour which they share with other addicts and the quotes, even though some may find them repetitive after a time, do make real the power of porn and the damage addiction can do to the addict and those around them.