Friday Webinar: Group Therapy for Problematic Sexual Behavior

This one-hour workshop will introduce you to an innovative method for conducting group therapy with people who have repeatedly engaged in sexual behavior that conflicts with their important commitments, their professed values, their perceived sense of sexual self-control and/or their responsibility to others.  Common examples of these types of behaviors include chronic sexual infidelity, subjectively excessive use of pornography, and high-risk sexual interactions with anonymous partners or sex workers.

This group therapy format utilizes the Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) Framework, a simple, non-pathologizing, universally applicable, theory-neutral and description-based way to assess any pattern of sexual behavior across five distinct but often overlapping categories: (a) commitment violations, (b) values conflicts, (c) diminished self-control, (d) negative consequences, and (e) lack of sexual responsibility.  It accomplishes this goal by asking five conversational questions: “Are you keeping your promises?”; “Are you ok with what you’re doing?”; “Are you in control of yourself?”; “Is everything ok?”; and “Are you protecting others? “

The PSB Framework supports multiple theoretical formulations to describe and explain the many forms of problematic sexual behavior, so it avoids many risks, controversies and sources of resistance that can impede people from seeking help for their sexual behavior either through their reluctance to accept a pathologizing label such as sex addiction or because their behavior may occur for reasons other than diminished self-control.

The PSB Framework does not assess the types or frequencies of sexual practices, allowing it to easily navigate the rich diversity of normative values and practices related to sexual expression. The PSB Framework supports the possibility that sexual problems may not require sexual solutions, since commitment violations and values conflicts can be resolved by changing either sexual or nonsexual characteristics of a person’s life.

You’ll learn how “PSB groups” give people a wide range of ongoing and highly relevant opportunities to examine,explore,question, challenge and affirm the relationship between their behavior and their sexual health goals. You’ll learn the key tasks of the group facilitator and how to adapt the PSB Framework to a wide range of group therapy formats.  You’ll also learn the value of encouraging PSB group members to communicate with each other between sessions.

- - - - - - - -

Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT is the originator of the PSB Framework, a simple way to assess sexual behavior that is gradually developing wide recognition for its non-pathologizing, theory-neutral and universally applicable qualities.  He is the author of numerous professional articles, including the upcoming “A Novel Form of Group Therapy For Individuals Who Engage in Problematic Patterns of Sexual Behavior”. Bill maintains 8 weekly therapy groups and has facilitated well over 2000 group sessions using this framework.  He is a thought leader in his field who has maintained a private practice in Atlanta for over 30 years.