Sex Addiction

Sex addiction counselling in Colchester

Sexual compulsivity (whether expressed through compulsive use of pornography, multiple secret relationships, or other patterns) produces a specific kind of isolation. The behaviour is hidden. The shame is heavy. The gap between public life and private experience has grown wide enough to become its own form of suffering. And because the subject is rarely spoken about honestly, even in therapeutic settings, it can feel as though this is uniquely yours to carry.

It is not. And it is treatable.

Understanding sexual compulsivity

Like other compulsive patterns, sexual compulsivity is rarely about what it appears to be about. It is typically a response, to disconnection, to shame with a longer history, to the absence of genuine intimacy, to unprocessed trauma. The behaviour provides relief that is real and immediate, even as its consequences accumulate. Understanding what that relief is responding to is the work of therapy.

The approach at the Colchester practice draws on integrative and Jungian psychotherapy. Where trauma underlies the compulsivity (which it frequently does) EMDR may be incorporated.

Pornography addiction

Compulsive pornography use is the most common presentation in this area and the one surrounded by the most confusion, including about whether it constitutes addiction in a clinical sense. Whatever the terminology: if a person’s relationship with pornography has become distressing, difficult to interrupt, secretive, and damaging to their sense of self or their relationships, it warrants serious therapeutic attention. This practice provides it, in Colchester, in complete confidence.

Confidentiality

All sessions at the Colchester practice are conducted under strict confidentiality. No referral is needed to begin.

Further reading: What is sex addiction?.

Discretion in a town this size

Sex addiction carries more shame than almost any other presentation, and in a town where faces are familiar, the fear of being seen seeking help keeps many people from it. The Colchester practice is arranged for exactly this concern: a private setting in a quiet residential street, appointments timed so clients do not cross paths, and strict confidentiality. For those who prefer it, sessions can also be held online before meeting in person.

Related services in Colchester

• Jungian Analysis in Colchester
• Bereavement Counselling in Colchester
• Addiction Counselling in Colchester
• Eating Disorder Therapy in Colchester
• Stress Counselling in Colchester
• Clinical Supervision in Colchester
• Trauma Counselling in Colchester

See all therapy services in Colchester.

Dr Philippe Jacquet is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, a Jungian analyst and an HCPC registered art psychotherapist, with twenty-five years of clinical practice. His Doctorate of Professional Practice at the University of Essex examined male eating disorders from the perspective of analytical psychology. Registration can be checked on either public register.

How the work is delivered from here

All international sessions are by secure video, in English or French. Online therapy is not a reduced version of consulting room work: it is the format that lets weekly work survive living abroad, travelling, or relocating. Sessions run in United Kingdom hours, which suits most regions, and if your time zone makes none of it workable, say so when you enquire rather than assuming it rules you out.

For clinicians and treatment services

Dr Jacquet supervises clinical teams in private residential addiction treatment and in a private psychiatric hospital. For treatment centres, psychiatric units and group practices looking for external clinical supervision, including in places where no supervisor of this seniority is available locally, team supervision is also delivered by video. For individual practitioners, see clinical supervision.

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