Problematic Internet use for sexual activity is often explained by some combination of unique features of the Internet and user characteristics. Disease models of addiction are also often used. Experiential personal construct psychology offers an alternative, humanistic, nondisease diagnostic conceptualization of problematic online sexual activity. A detailed case example demonstrates an experiential personal construct psychology conceptualization. The article concludes with reflective comments provided by the client described in the case example.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
3.
BancroftJ.VukadinovicZ. (2004). Sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, sexual impulsivity, or what? Toward a theoretical model. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 225-234.
4.
BurgessA. W.MarchettiC. H. (2008). Contemporary issues. In HazelwoodR. R.BurgessA. W. (Eds.), Practical aspects of rape investigation: A multidisciplinary approach (pp. 3-23). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
5.
BurrellM. (2002). Deconstructing and reconstructing substance use and “addiction”: Constructivist perspectives. In NeimeyerR. A.NeimeyerG. J. (Eds.), Advances in personal construct psychology: New directions and perspectives (pp. 203-232). Westport, CT: Praeger.
6.
DelmonicoD. L. (2002). Sex on the superhighway: Understanding and treating cybersex addiction. In CarnesP. J.AdamsK. M. (Eds.), Clinical management of sex addiction (pp. 239-254). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
7.
DelmonicoD. L.GriffinE. J. (2008). Online sex offending: Assessment and treatment. In LawsD. RichardO’DonohueW. T. (Eds.), Sexual deviance: Theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 459-485). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
8.
DelmonicoD. L.GriffinE.CarnesP. J. (2002). Treating online compulsive sexual behavior: When cybersex is the drug of choice. In CooperA. (Ed.), Sex and the internet: A guidebook for clinicians (pp. 147-167). New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.
9.
HorneyK. (1945). Our inner conflicts: A constructive theory of neurosis. New York, NY: Norton.
10.
KellyG. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs (2 Vols.). New York, NY: Norton.
11.
KlionR. E.PfenningerD. T. (1997). Personal construct psychotherapy of addictions. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 14(1), 37-43.
12.
LeitnerL. M. (1999). Levels of awareness in experiential personal construct psychotherapy. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 12, 239-252.
13.
LeitnerL. M. (2001). The role of awe in experiential personal construct psychology. Psychotherapy Patient, 11, 149-162.
14.
LeitnerL. M. (2004). Experiential personal construct diagnostic system. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH.
15.
LeitnerL. M. (2010). The integral universe, experiential personal construct psychology, transpersonal reverence, and transpersonal responsibility. In RaskinJ. D.BridgesS. K.NeimeyerR. A. (Eds.), Studies in meaning 4: Constructivist perspectives on theory, practice, and social justice (pp. 227-245). New York, NY: Pace University Press.
16.
LeitnerL. M.CelentanaM. A. (1997). Constructivist therapy with serious disturbances. The Humanistic Psychologist, 25, 271-285.
17.
LeitnerL. M.FaidleyA. J. (1995). The awful, aweful nature of ROLE relationships. In NeimeyerG.NeimeyerR. (Eds.), Advances in personal construct psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 291-314). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
18.
LeitnerL. M.FaidleyA. J.CelentanaM. A. (2000). Diagnosing human meaning making: An experiential constructivist approach. In NeimeyerR.RaskinJ. (Eds.), Construction of disorders: Meaning making frameworks for psychotherapy (pp. 175-203). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
19.
LeitnerL. M.PfenningerD. T. (1994). Sociality and optimal functioning. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 7, 119-135.
20.
LeshnerA. I. (1997). Frontiers in neuroscience: The science of substance abuse: Addiction is a brain disease, and it matters. Science, 278, 45-47.
21.
LittleM. (1991). Compulsive sex: From masturbation to “disposable lovers” Americans are using sex to cope. Tennessee Nurse, June, 28-29.
22.
PhilaretouA. G.MahfouzA. Y.AllenK. R. (2005). Use of internet pornography and men’s well-being. International Journal of Men’s Health, 4, 149-169.
23.
PrescottC. A.KendlerK. S. (1999). Genetic and environmental contributions to alcohol abuse and dependence in a population-based sample of male twins. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 34-40.
24.
SchneiderJ. P. (2004). Understanding and diagnosing sex addiction. In CoombsR. H. (Ed.), Handbook of addictive disorders: A practical guide to diagnosis and treatment (pp. 197-232). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
25.
SteinD. J.BlackD. W.ShapiraN. A.SpitzerR. L. (2001). Hypersexual disorder and preoccupation with internet pornography. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1590-1594.