Eric Griffin-Shelley and Helen Griffin-Shelley

Outpatient therapy of sex and love addictions involves a variety of
components including individual and group psychotherapy, psycho-
education and bibliotherapy, and self-help work. After initial diagnostic
formulations have been made by the therapist and the patient, a treatment
plan is needed to guide their work. A key element in this plan is the role
of individual and group psychotherapy. In this chapter, we will address
the value of each of these therapeutic approaches, with special emphasis
on the potential for healing the sex and love addict. Then we will examine
the different ways that these two therapies can be used alone or in
combination. Finally, we will discuss some of our failures as indicators of
the limitations of our therapeutic endeavors.

Many of our initial contacts with clients are initiated because of a crisis
or extremely stressful event in the sex and love addict's life. Someone,
something, or some event has compelled the person to seek help. For one
client, it was a confrontation with the police over sexual acting out in
exhibitionistic ways. For another, a spouse had threatened him with
divorce if he did not do something about his "sexual problem." A woman
felt near the verge of suicide because her sexual behaviors seemed out of
her conscious control and likely to cause her to violate her most sacred
beliefs and commitments. Another client sought help because she found
that she could not break away from a drug-addicted boyfriend who was
becoming more paranoid, jealous, and physically dangerous.

All of these clients came to us for help, and most of them wanted to be

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