Are you caught in the pornography trap?

 Indianapolis Christian Psychological Services wants to help.  Pornography use and addiction is a growing problem for men and women in the Christian community.  Many have tried to fight the addiction on their own and have failed, usually because people treat the problem as though it is a matter of will power.  Pornography addiction is not simply a matter of will or weak will power.  Until and unless the needs behind the addiction are understood and addressed, the addiction will continue.  We have a specialized program to help you and your mate conquer the problem of pornography addiction.




Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Romans 8:37-39
"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."




Our Counseling / Treatment paradigm is based on helping our clients with three contributing factors to pornography use:

  • Spiritual Needs:  Pornography use is really a new name for an old problem.  In Exodus 20:4 -6 we are told:

    "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.  You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments"  (NAS).

    Pornography use is the trap of Idolatry.  The sophistication of the images have changed from rock and wood to video and computer screens but the underlying principles are the same.  All of the behaviors and motivations that lead to idol worship in ancient cultures are at work in pornography addictions, and the solutions to the problem are the same as well.

    Pornography use is a form of worship and expresses our created need to worship.  If we merely stop the use of pornography without instilling a lifestyle of worshiping our heavenly Father, we will fail in our attempts to control our behavior.  With pornography use we fall prey to all of the problems idolatry brings: lost blessing, intergenerational sin, a cycle of unmet spiritual need, broken and injured families, failure to achieve our potential, and exposure to demonic influence.
     

  • Relational Needs:  Pornography use is often an attempt to have controlled intimacy:  two things that are mutually exclusive.  Controlled intimacy is the essential lie behind pornographic fantasy.  Pornographers sell the lie that we can have a satisfying relationship with the images they create, lived out within the control of our own minds.  The Truth is that we need to develop meaningful and satisfying intimacy in our marriages: first emotional intimacy and then sexual intimacy.  Intimacy in marriage requires giving up control, and becoming vulnerable through honest communication, accountability, mutual submission, and shared responsibility.  While one partner may be the direct consumer of pornography, the addiction always involves and affects both partners in a marriage.  Both have a part to play in healing from the addiction.  Addressing the need for emotional intimacy in your life is a proactive and essential part of fighting pornography addiction.

We also want to help singles develop their capacity for relational intimacy as well.  Often this means examining the patterns of exposure to pornography that go back into adolescence and childhood.  It means reclaiming healthy relationships with parents and extended family and preparing yourself for your future mate.  It may also mean undoing the harm of premature exposure to sexuality prevalent in our culture.  Engagement and marriage will not stop an addiction to pornography, because pornography addiction is not just about sex.   

  • Behavioral Patterns:  Pornography involves a highly addictive and hypnotic medium.  It has characteristics of chemical dependency because people get addicted to their own adrenaline responses to electronic images and the thrill of secretiveness.  Under the law of diminishing returns, people may require more and more stimulation to achieve the same "high" or be drawn into increasingly extreme, risky, and destructive forms of pornography in order to be satisfied.  People can also lose hours and hour of time in addictive behavior.  The loss of time and sleep can interfere with work and social functioning.  When someone is caught using pornography it can have devastating effects on family and work relationships.  The hypnotic nature of porn addiction leads people to crave the images and to return to their source of pornography in an attempt to deal with boredom, anger, loneliness, passivity, need for escape, or need for excitement.  We will help you develop a plan to break the behavioral cycle so that you have healthy alternatives to using pornography for satisfying these emotional and physical motivators.

Our Treatment Approach:

We use a psycho-educational approach to break the pornography use cycle.  We will help you through the use of assessment tools to better understand yourself; education on the nature of porn habits and the development skills to break those habits; and relational counseling to address the interpersonal and historical roots of the habit.  We recommend that husbands and wives attend together.  People cannot conquer pornography addiction on their own.

We'll help you with solving the problems that often accompany porn addiction such as what to do about internet use and email, accountability issues, and dealing with workplace temptations.  At the end of your treatment with us you will have a comprehensive plan to prevent recurrence and to recover from relapse, and you will have a comprehensive and individualized understanding of porn addiction.

We require that clients entering our program commit to six sessions of individualized counseling.  These sessions will guide you through assessment and testing (to help you understand yourself and the exact nature of your addiction), education on breaking addictive cycles, and the beginning steps of repairing relational injuries.  Many of our clients choose to continue in psychotherapy to address more deeply the relational problems that are often masked by addictive behavior.

Please Note:  This program is not designed or intended for people who use child pornography or who have pedophilia.  Pedophilia is a much more complicated psychological and spiritual problem.  Pedophiles will not be accepted into our program and will be referred to sexual addictions treatment specialists. 



If we can be of assistance, don't hesitate to contact us!  Your privacy is important to us.  Appointments are available Monday through Friday.  Some evening and weekend hours are available.  Ministers:  we welcome inquiry's on our views.  We want your trust.

Phone:  (317) 291-9007
Fax:  (317) 291-9061
E-mail:  info@indypsych.com

Indianapolis Christian Psychological Services
6337 Hollister Drive
Indianapolis, IN   46224

 
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