Simon Wilson
Sex Addiction and Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Therapy
If you are seeking help for sex addiction, compulsive sexual behaviour or problematic pornography use, I offer specialist therapy in London and online across the UK. You may feel caught in a repetitive pattern that affects your relationships, work or wellbeing, despite repeated efforts to change.
The work is confidential within the usual ethical, legal and safeguarding limits, non-shaming and attentive to personal responsibility. The aim is to help you understand what is happening, address its impact and develop greater choice in how you respond.
My specialist training and experience
I am a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and COSRT-accredited psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist and clinical sexologist. I have specialised in sex addiction and compulsive sexual behaviour for 15 years.
I hold a Level 5 Diploma in Sex Addiction and Compulsive Sexuality Counselling from ISAT. My master’s dissertation focused on sex addiction and compulsive sexual behaviour, bringing sustained academic study alongside my specialist clinical work.
I previously managed the Addiction Treatment Programme at Priory Hospital North London, specialising in substance and behavioural addictions. This experience informs my work with sexual behaviour, emotional difficulties and relationship consequences.
When to seek support
You may notice:
Feeling unable to stop or reduce sexual behaviour
Repeated pornography use despite wanting to stop
Secrecy, shame or living a double life
Repeated infidelity or sexual behaviour that feels out of control
Escalation in behaviour over time
Effects on relationships, trust, work or self-esteem
Compulsive sexual behaviour and “sex addiction”
“Sex addiction” is a commonly used term for sexual behaviour that feels repetitive, difficult to control or harmful. I use compulsive sexual behaviour as the broader clinical term. The ICD-11 recognises Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder as an impulse-control disorder, but not everyone seeking therapy will meet its diagnostic requirements.
Assessment considers the pattern of behaviour, your sense of control, its consequences and the wider psychological, sexual and relational context. High sexual desire alone is not CSBD, and distress arising entirely from moral disapproval is not sufficient for that diagnosis. Therapy may still be appropriate when a formal diagnosis is neither present nor required.
Understanding the pattern
Compulsive sexual behaviour rarely has one simple cause. Assessment explores how the behaviour developed, what triggers it and what continues to reinforce it. Relevant factors may include trauma, attachment difficulties, shame, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, depression, loneliness, neurodivergence or relationship conflict. We may also explore the relief, stimulation or escape the behaviour provides.
The aim is to develop an individual psychological and relational understanding, rather than applying the same explanation or treatment model to everyone.
What therapy involves
Therapy begins with careful assessment and shared goals for change. My approach brings together psychosexual, psychological, behavioural and relational perspectives. Depending on your needs, the work may include:
Identifying triggers and interrupting established behavioural cycles
Developing emotional regulation and alternatives to sexualised coping
Addressing shame, secrecy, avoidance and distorted thinking
Strengthening impulse control and decision-making
Establishing practical boundaries and strategies for reducing harm
Preparing for setbacks and developing a relapse-prevention plan
Exploring trauma, attachment and underlying emotional difficulties
Addressing the impact on partners and relationships
Supporting honesty, accountability and meaningful behavioural change
The work is paced carefully and focuses on developing greater choice, responsibility and a healthier relationship with sexuality.
What happens at the first appointment?
The first appointment is a conversation about what has brought you to therapy, the pattern you are concerned about and what you would like to change. Assessment may explore when difficulties began, attempts to stop, the role of stress or substances, sexual and relationship history, and the effects on everyday life.
You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis or a complete explanation. We consider your needs together, agree initial priorities and discuss whether individual therapy, relationship work or another form of support would be appropriate.
Help for problematic pornography use
People sometimes search for “porn addiction” when pornography use feels difficult to control or is causing harm. The starting point is to understand your experience: what happens before and after use, how it fits into your sexual life, and whether it affects sleep, work, intimacy or relationships. Frequency alone does not determine the need for treatment.
Depending on your needs, therapy may involve recognising triggers, planning responses to urges, establishing practical boundaries and exploring the emotional or relational role of pornography. Goals are agreed individually and reviewed as the work develops.
Partners, disclosure and betrayal
Compulsive sexual behaviour can profoundly affect partners and relationships, particularly where there has been secrecy, repeated infidelity, financial impact or an unexpected discovery.
Individual therapy may include understanding the impact on others, preparing for honest and responsible disclosure, developing accountability and considering what rebuilding trust would require. This does not make a partner responsible for the behaviour or assume that reconciliation will be appropriate.
Where joint work is needed, Relationship Therapy or separate support for the affected partner may be recommended. Boundaries between individual and relationship therapy are considered carefully to protect confidentiality and avoid conflicts of interest.
Working with men in high-responsibility roles
I work predominantly with men, including those in senior, regulated, high-responsibility or public-facing roles. Concerns about reputation, employment and family relationships can make seeking help particularly difficult.
Therapy provides a non-shaming setting for honest reflection, while maintaining attention to accountability, potential harm and the realistic consequences of behaviour.
Harm, safeguarding and forensic assessment
Concerns about potentially harmful, high-risk or illegal sexual behaviour require careful clinical assessment, clear confidentiality boundaries and attention to safeguarding.
Therapy supports understanding, responsibility and psychological or behavioural change. It is not a formal forensic assessment, an expert opinion for legal proceedings or statutory risk management.
Where a legal or forensic assessment is required, this is considered separately and is not combined with an ongoing therapeutic relationship. Forensic Sexology provides a distinct route for specialist assessment.
Professional experience and research
Alongside my clinical work, I am Chair of COSRT and Founder and Director of the Institute of Psychosexual Psychotherapy. My work includes teaching, supervision and the development of specialist professional training.
My current research develops the concept of Compulsive Sexual Spectrum Disorder: a proposed framework for understanding compulsive sexual behaviour across a spectrum of severity, complexity and impact. It is a developing conceptual model rather than a separately recognised diagnostic category.
Practical information
Sessions are available in Central London and online across the UK. Individual sessions normally last 50 minutes and cost £120.
The initial consultation provides an opportunity to discuss the behaviour, its effects and what you would like to change. We can then consider whether my experience and approach are appropriate for your needs.
Related specialist services
Psychotherapy for broader individual work involving trauma, emotional distress, shame and psychological complexity
Relationship Therapy for joint work involving betrayal, disclosure, intimacy and recurring relationship patterns
Forensic Sexology for specialist assessment where sexual behaviour, risk or legal questions require separate consideration
Further reading
Problematic Pornography Use: When Does a Habit Become a Clinical Concern?
Sex Addiction, Compulsive Sexual Behaviour and High Sexual Desire: Why the Difference Matters