Dr Paula Hall is widely recognised as the UK’s leading expert in the field of sex and porn addiction and is author of Understanding & Treating Sex and Pornography Addiction (Routledge 2019), Sex Addiction – The Partners Perspective (Routledge 2015) and Sex Addiction – A Guide for Couples (Routledge 2019) and numerous academic papers.

She is also founder of the Laurel Centre which provides therapy for individuals, couples and groups around the UK as well as training for professionals, including the Accredited Diploma in Compulsive Sexual Behaviours and Sex Addiction (CPCAB Level 5).

Paula has been a psychotherapist for nearly 30 years, specialising in sex and pornography addiction for 15 of those. She describes her approach as biopsychosocial and sex positive and continues to develop her expertise alongside advances in practice and research.

PRESENTATION TITLE:

Sex is not the problem – Reclaiming healthy sexuality in porn addiction recovery

For many struggling with porn addiction, sex is not the problem, but for some, what they learned about sex is. When early sexual understanding is shaped predominantly by pornography, sexuality can become performance-driven, goal-oriented, and disconnected from relational and emotional reality. Hence partnered sex may be avoided in preference for the safety and reliability of porn and online sexual interactions. Recovery, in this context, is not simply about stopping behaviour. It is about unlearning, recalibrating, and reclaiming a sexuality that is grounded in consent, connection, and personal meaning.

At the end of the presentation delegates will be able to:

1. Describe how the role of sex is compulsive sexual behaviour and porn addiction
2. Discuss how porn shapes sexual expectations
3. Identify pathways for developing healthy, integrated, realistic sexuality.