SM: Can recovering addicts ever have sex?
Pinsky: Usually there’s a period of abstinence. But it’s like an eating disorder, you have to eat. There’s a healthy way to approach the behavior. [But] it’s like any other addiction; they can slip into trouble very easily. It’s all very alluring, very powerful biology is pulling on them.

SM: What are the treatment options for sex addiction?
Pinsky: It’s 12 step [programs] primarily. That’s all that really works. Sometimes individual psychotherapy and sometimes medications are helpful. But the treatment is a similar model to any other treatments of addiction.

For more information on sex addiction and to find a treatment program near you, visit the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health at http://www.sash.net/. Or to take a Sexual Addiction Screening Test that can help determine if you or your partner might be a sex addict visit www.sexhelp.com.

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