Assertiveness training is specifically designed to enhance the interpersonal skills one needs to stand up for ones rights. (One of the symptoms of many porn addicts). Assertiveness training is preceded by a careful assessment of the client's responses in certain types of situations. The assessment is designed to answer these questions: What situations are of concern to the client? What does the client typically do in these situations? What arc the personal and environmental blocks to more assertiveness in these situations? Lack of assertive behavior is often related to deficits in social skills or to interfering emotional reactions
Modeling can be an effective technique in assertiveness training. In this series of photos, (a) the therapist demonstrates an introduction for a shy client, (b) the client practices with others, and (c) the client uses her new skills in the stress-producing setting of a job interview. And though appropriate behaviors are available but are not performed because of anxiety, the focus may be on enhancing the client's anxiety management skills. Modeling and behavioral rehearsal play important roles in assertiveness training programs. Positive feedback is offered after each rehearsal, and prompting is provided when needed. Homework assignments are used if, as is desirable, the client agrees to carry out tasks that require assertiveness outside the training sessions. If the assertiveness deficits extend over a broad range of social behaviors, a number of training sessions may be needed. However, if the problem is fairly specific, a few sessions may be sufficient.
Paradoxical Intention Paradoxical intention is a technique in which the therapist instructs the client to perform behaviors that appear to be in opposition to the client's therapeutic goals. For example, an individual who complains of inability to fall asleep within a satisfactory interval might be asked to remain awake as long as possible. An agoraphobic who cannot go into crowded places for fear of suffering severe heart palpitations might be instructed to go into crowded places and try to become anxious/Paradoxical intention is a relatively new technique that requires more research. It is not yet clear when it is appropriate or why it seems to be effective in particular cases. Perhaps it is effective because it requires the client to maintain the very behavior that he or she seeks to change under conditions)hat cannot support continuation of that behavior. Exposure to anxiety-provoking situations is an element of paradoxical intention and may contribute to its effectiveness.
Behavior Modificationfor Sex Addiction Operant methods use schedules of reinforcement and shaping to gradually achieve a desired response. Special prompts might be employed to high light a situation that calls tor a particular response. And refers to gradual elimination of these special cues when they are no longer needed. Positive reinforces (such as praise or money) are used to strengthen desired responses. The token economy is one of the most common applications of operant principles to modify maladaptive behaviors. Extinction procedures and punishment might be used to eliminate undesirable responses. When punishment is employed to eliminate a response, it is a good idea to positively reinforce an alternative, more desirable, response at the same time. Reinforcement and cognitive approaches may be combined in some cases. For example, both environmental and cognitive factors usually play important roles in therapy for depressed people. A depressed person might be helped to do things that lead to positive reinforcement from others. At the same time, the therapist would help the individual become aware of and change internal events, such as negative self-statements, that enhance his or her feelings of pessimism and worthlessness (symptoms of sex addiction). Simultaneously strengthening social skills. Members of a therapy group have opportunities to learn and gather support from other members and from the therapist. Modifying thoughts and attitudes can be a very valuable therapeutic approach for porn and sex addiction. Another major development of recent years is the use of biofeedback procedures in which the individual is reinforced whenever a designated change in bodily functioning takes place. Through biofeedback the individual becomes better able to control internal processes, such as body temperature and heart rate, that are related to maladaptation.