Accessing Professional Support
If you are looking for a therapist, we recommend a Christian counsellor that shares your worldview. An example might be Anglicare Counselling, or look at recommendations by Safe Ministry. If you are unsure of any local options, talk with your pastor about who might be accessible near you.
For Professional Therapists
Most therapists are trained to explore the complex factors behind a person’s compulsive behaviours: identifying triggers, understanding the traumas they may be escaping, tracing the origins of negative habits, and assessing any comorbidities that sit alongside the presenting issue. Each client’s story is unique, and these variables are often diverse and interwoven. It is therefore unrealistic to expect lasting change in a compulsive behaviour without careful, longer-term work in these broader areas.
At the same time, in the post-smartphone era there is growing insight into the nature of modern behavioural addictions, including pornography and social media. Among younger people in particular, there is often a lower rate of significant underlying trauma, with the compulsive habits themselves increasingly driving mental health challenges. For many, constant access to phones and the internet, combined with the aggressive tactics of Big Tech, the porn industry, and peer expectations, allows behaviours to quickly develop into entrenched compulsions. For a significant number of clients, addressing the primary behavioural problem becomes the immediate priority.
Some factors in the modern research you may not be aware of:
- The earlier a person is exposed to sexualised material, and the more frequently they repeat the behaviour, the more likely they are to present with entrenched compulsivity and sexualised attitudes and behaviours in later years.
- Frequent engagement in intense dopaminergic experiences – such as porn-induced sexual stimulation, masturbation, sexual voyeurism, and unfettered fantasy – impacts users at a neurological level. The neuroscience of addiction is therefore an important dimension for therapists to understand, including concepts such as deltaFosB and its role in reinforcing neural pathways, the processes of desensitisation and reduced dopamine receptor responsiveness, and structural changes observed in behavioural addictions (for example, reduced grey matter, hypofrontality, impaired self-control, and alterations in the prefrontal cortex, limbic system, and endocrine functioning).
- Without strategies that intentionally address this neurological dimension – including neuroplasticity-focused exercises, periods of abstinence, and healthy “dopamine replacement” activities – clients are likely to continue struggling with powerful compulsive urges, even when other life issues are being addressed.
At Resist Ministries, education sessions are offered for therapists and counsellors who wish to deepen their understanding of the scientific literature on behavioural addictions and to engage with best-practice methodologies emerging from specialist addiction treatment fields. Contact us for more information.