Sex & Porn
Does pornography or another sexual pattern feel difficult to manage? Is it affecting your relationships, work, or personal values? Are you exhausted by lying, keeping secrets, or making promises to yourself that feel increasingly difficult to keep?
We can talk about it openly, honestly, and compassionately.
You may have regrets about choices you’ve made. We all have experiences we wish we had handled differently. You don’t have to dismiss those feelings or set aside your values to receive support. There’s room to understand what happened, what you’re feeling, and what you want to do differently.
There’s a difference between recognizing “I did something that goes against my values” and believing “I’m a bad person who cannot change.” Shame can become part of the cycle you want to break. Together, we’ll explore how it may be contributing to hiding, avoiding difficult feelings, and returning to familiar behaviors.
If lying or keeping secrets has become part of your experience, we can talk about that, too. You can bring the things that feel hardest to say into a conversation where you’ll be met with care. We’ll work toward the honesty, connection, and changes that matter to you, while practicing a kinder way of relating to yourself.
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you notice urges, thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without automatically acting on them. You’ll practice pausing, allowing uncomfortable feelings to be there, and choosing what to do next based on the person you want to be. You don’t have to wait for an urge to disappear before taking a meaningful step. When setbacks happen, we’ll work on learning from them and returning to what matters to you.
Together, we’ll explore what you may be seeking—connection, pleasure, comfort, or relief—and develop ways to respond that fit your values.
ACT has shown promising results in research on problematic pornography use and difficulty managing sexual behavior. The evidence includes a study comparing ACT with a waiting list and a broader review of psychotherapy research. You can explore these and other relevant studies below.
The Men’s Sexual Compulsivity Group meets Saturdays at 6:30 p.m., Tucson time. The $350 package includes two individual therapy sessions and eight group sessions. Sign up and start the same week.
The package includes a hassle-free, full-refund guarantee for any reason within 10 days of your first session, no package no-show fees, and five months from your first session to complete all package services.
Individual therapy is available for $65–$80 per session, based on your hourly wage.
When trauma or PTSD is part of the picture, I use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to address those concerns.
For readers who want to explore the research:
ACT and pornography use, 2010: An early study of six men found reductions in pornography viewing after ACT, with improvements maintained at three months. The findings are preliminary, and the study did not include a comparison group. Twohig & Crosby
ACT and pornography use, 2016: A study of 28 men found greater reductions in reported pornography viewing with ACT than with a waiting list. Participants were predominantly from one religious background, which limits how widely the findings can be applied. Crosby & Twohig
ACT self-help, 2017: A study involving 19 adults reported improvements in problematic pornography viewing through an eight-week follow-up. It did not include a comparison group. Levin and colleagues
ACT and difficulty managing sexual behavior, 2024–2026: A pilot study of 12 adults reported improvements after eight individual online sessions. A follow-up of 10 participants found improvements remained at one year. These preliminary findings came from research without a comparison group. 2024 pilot study, 2026 follow-up
Psychotherapy for problematic pornography use, 2025: A review of 20 studies involving 2,021 participants found encouraging results for treatments including cognitive behavioral therapy and ACT. The authors also identified weaknesses in the research and called for stronger studies. López-Pinar and colleagues
Sexual shame and emotional avoidance, 2024: Research combining data from more than 112,000 people across 16 countries identified sexual shame and using pornography to escape difficult feelings among the strongest indicators of problematic use. This shows a connection, rather than proving that shame causes the behavior. Bőthe and colleagues
Shame and self-compassion, 2014: A study of 172 men assessed for difficulty managing sexual behavior found connections among shame, repetitive negative thinking, self-compassion, and sexual behavior. It supports exploring these concerns together, although it was not a treatment trial. Reid and colleagues