Stephen Southern

Treatment of compulsive cybersex behavior.

Compulsive cybersex has become a significant problem for many men and women who have fallen prey to the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of online sexual behaviors. Some patients develop problems with compulsive cybersex due to predisposition or accidental conditioning experiences. Other compulsive users of cybersex present with underlying trauma, depression, or addiction. Three case studies highlighted obsession, compulsion, and consequence in the pathogenesis of compulsive cybersex. While men and women differ somewhat in their use of cybersex, both genders exhibit maladaptive coping, conditioned behavior, dissociative reenactment of life trauma, courtship disorder, intimacy dysfunction, and addictive behavior. Comprehensive treatment of compulsive cybersex would include the following components: relapse prevention, intimacy enhancement, lovemap reconstruction, dissociative states therapy, arousal reconditioning, and coping skills training. Thanks to recent treatment advances in several fields, help is available for those caught in the dark side of the net.

Countertransference and Intersubjectivity: Golden Opportunities in Clinical Supervision

Countertransference and intersubjectivity are concepts emerging from contemporary psychoanalytic practice and transtheoretical psychotherapy that represent golden opportunities for strengthening clinical supervision. Examination of countertransference within the intersubjective matrix of client, therapist, and supervisor promises to improve clinical supervision and professional practice. Case studies addressing unresolved shame and addictive family dynamics demonstrate the clinical benefits of careful examination of parallel processes in the client-therapist and therapist-supervisor dyads. Historical antecedents and recent literature indicate directions for research and training.

Shame by Any Name: The Map Is Not the Territory

ABSTRACT This report describes the journey from the well-established constructs of sexual addiction and compulsivity toward new directions in sexual health and optimal sexuality. Conflicting diagnoses are discussed. The ultimate destination for the field is professional consensus seeking, advocacy for effective treatment, and advancement of sexual health.

Recovery from Sexual Compulsivity

ABSTRACT Sexual compulsivity is a developmental adaptation to neglect or abuse that leads to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional consequences as well as impairment in capacity for intimacy. Recovery from sexual compulsivity involves integration of various psychotherapy components needed to address underlying trauma, repetition compulsion, developmental roadblocks, compulsive behavioral reenactments, emotion dysregulation, and intimacy disorder. Effective treatment involves trauma work, symptom-specific treatment, and reconstruction of an erotic template or love map that reduces objectification, compulsion, and variance while affording opportunities for corrective emotional experience, skills development, and enhancement of choices for intimacy.

Counseling at the Crossroads An Interview With Robert L. Smith

This article presents an interview with Dr. Robert L. Smith, Executive Director of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. Smith discusses the development of his interest in marriage and family therapy, his integration of career development with a family systems approach, recent trends in Marriage and Family Therapy, and his personal experiences as an adoptive parent.

Introduction to the Special Issue Adoption and Foster Care

The Family Journal publishes special issues that address topics held to be of great importance by the members of the editorial board. This special issue on adoption and foster care explores the experiences of children and adults who have been affected by adoption or foster care. The authors discuss counseling implications and interventions.

Continuing the Journey

The editorial process of The Family Journal continues to apply the relational perspectives and systems constructs of couple and family counseling to facilitate bridge building between professionals engaged in many fields of theory construction, research, and practice. The process of soliciting, reviewing, and accepting manuscripts for publication is shared by the overall editorial board and the section editors, who enlist colleagues as ad hoc reviewers. We believe that the journal is improving its capacity to stimulate thought and discussion, integrate perspectives, and advance knowledge through these intentional efforts. However, the editor realizes that this journey invites some conflict or disagreement. Letters to the Editor may be submitted by anyone who wishes to voice an opinion or preference regarding possible directions for future volumes of the journal. The present issue is very representative of the investment in diverse perspectives. The issue contains articles that address theory, research, and practice in couple, marriage, and family counseling and therapy. Therefore, we maintain the commitment upon which the journal was founded. I am especially pleased that Daniel Eckstein has chosen to share his 18-year adventure writing the ‘‘For Couples’’ column. His article charts a journey in which he has collaborated with many colleagues to produce thought provoking observations and clinically valuable recommendations. His efforts have involved students and professionals in the work of the journal. Judith A. Nelson has joined us as editor of the Sex Therapy section. She has been active in training, practice, and professional development. Her contribution is made especially significant in that coincidentally her section article is being published in this issue with a regular article on intercultural couples, which she coauthored with colleagues. We are blessed with her willingness to share from her work and experience. Our journal includes manuscripts submitted through the regular review process, as well as through the efforts of section editors who are able to solicit specialized contributions, which can be considered in a rapid manner by ad hoc peer reviewers. The combination of regular and section articles ensures the timeliness and utility of the journal for the IAMFC membership, couple and family counseling specialists, counseling professional generalists, and worldwide scholars. This issue contains articles devoted to theory, practice, and research. The research articles include several qualitative contributions, an emerging area of inquiry. There are articles devoted to counselor training and development, multicultural issues, substance abuse, school counseling, choice theory, play, attachment theory, leadership, identity development, and infertility. The multicultural articles inform and contribute to cultural competence in working with families dealing with medical conditions, intercultural couples, Cambodian refugee families, and African American families. The fabric of our journal is beautifully knit through our collective efforts.

In Praise of Mortality: Impermane and Intimacy

Fear of death and losses in life contribute to withdrawal from the world and lack of knowledge about oneself. Finding one’s place in the world is facilitated by appreciating impermanence, immersing oneself in nature, and becoming fully present in intimate relationships. This reflection integrates literature and poetry to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by impermanence.

Building Bridges: Inclusiveness Spans the Distance

Professions are typically based on mastery of a body of knowledge and skills, adherence to ethical guidelines, and participation in a collective identity. Some professionals experience a sense of calling in which the community is served. Professional counselors must balance private interests and public service. Competition among health care professionals tends to promote exclusivity in practice. With increasing specialization in behavioral health care in general and professional counseling in particular, differences rather than commonalities contribute to professional identity. It is possible to span the distance between various specializations by emphasizing inclusiveness as a core value. The relational perspectives and systems constructs of marriage and family counseling and therapy facilitate bridge building between professionals in seemingly disparate fields. Marriage and family counselors understand that conflicts in couples and family systems contribute to physical and mental health problems. Individual health issues also affect interactions between partners and among family members. Individual health and family functioning are inextricably bound. Therefore, issues and concerns in virtually any domain have significant connections to couple, marital, and family lives. Marriage and family counseling is not limited to theory, research, and practice with couples and families. We have a stake in helping to resolve problems and enhance functioning in many aspects of life. The scope of the profession should not be fixed exclusively on relational issues. We should include in our professional perspective many levels of individual and social systems. The Family Journal should afford a means by which we build bridges to other professions and specializations within professional counseling. Specifically, we should practice inclusiveness with respect to prospective manuscripts. Although the editorial board and our association would prefer that the journal publish manuscripts concerned with counseling and therapy for couples and families, we should not exclude manuscripts written by diverse health care professionals, which describe theory, research, or practice in other specializations or settings. We are currently in the process of reviewing the existing sections of The Family Journal. Some section editors no longer have the time or interest to develop submissions in their areas. Other sections will be developed to foster inclusiveness and build bridges to new readers and authors. The current issue represents an attempt to include some articles that may have been redirected in the past to other journals. To highlight opportunities for new submissions, I have grouped the articles according to themes that could be developed into full-fledged sections: Addiction and Offender Issues, Schools and Families, and Assessment. I would like to hear from readers and association members who are interested in these themes, as well as other domains that could be addressed. We are recruiting additional section editors to build the bridges needed to connect professionals who serve couples and families.