Customer Reviews

Treating Pornography Addiction: The Essential Tools for Recovery

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As a wife in a long-term marriage, I was afraid of losing everything when my husband confessed his secret addiction. It began in his early teens, and he successfully concealed it from everyone for more than forty years.

I had no hope that he could overcome his problem, and I knew I couldn't stay with him if he didn't.

My first impulse was to leave him but then I came across Dr. Skinner's book and tapes on Amazon and ordered them. I listened to the tape for spouses first and felt a weight lift from my shoulders. I understood that this problem was one my husband would have to solve on his own.

The trouble was that he lacked the know-how--until he listened to Dr. Skinner's tapes and read the book. Three months later, he's still listening, still learning, and living the lessons.

It's not enough simply to want to get over a problem that is so complex and deep-rooted. A person needs information, insight, practical skills, and support. Also to be held accountable on a regular basis.

I didn't know any of this until I heard Dr. Skinner's tapes; they teach all of that and much more. It's hard to convey his thorough understanding of 's dark territory and the light he brings to bear on the subject.

What I learned is that even the most addicted man CAN get over this problem, and a marriage CAN survive - but only with the right treatment and both partners' hearts must be willing to make the effort.

Dr. Skinner offers hope and help to all who seek it. I cannot recommend his work highly enough.

Dr. Skinner wrote the keys to overcoming pornography addiction and very helpful exercises to self-evaluate your addiction status. If you do the things asked in this book you will find yourself looking back at memories in your life that have effected you but you did not realize it. It helped me find key insights on why I was drawn to pornography, that it was a synthetic negative replacement of what I was really looking for and that I would be far happier in life pursuing other fulfilling endeavorer.

I read this book in one evening. Being the wife of an addict, I have read many books on this topic looking for some sort of sanity. This book has simple advice and tools that are easy to apply for anybody willing to take that next step.

From someone who has recently stopped smoking through Allen Carr's Easy way to quit smoking, I have an idea of what helped me along that process (or the addiction process in general) and an understanding of things that may not have. I turned to this book because it was specific to quitting pornography.
To start with, Dr. Skinner does a great job of illuminating the "reaction sequence." This little illustration in his book, along with a description of what you feel when facing an addiction, is phenomenal and does help with self awareness. Therefore the first half of the book is down to earth, encouraging and great. And then comes the second half..
He spends most of the second half saying.. You'll fail.. You'll fail and should continue therapy.. It's dam tough, and yeah you'll fail so keep someone close; [in stark contrast to Allen Carr's optimism which I found inspiring]. In addition, way too much of a moral overtone and help seeking from "God." Jokes aside if you want to have faith great, but he certainly didn't do a good job incorporating that aspect in.

In conclusion, good read, but pick it up if you want to learn more about your addiction, not if you want some inspiration/motivation to start or continue your journey.

I highly recommend this book to counselors or individuals seeking practical methods of dealing with pornography addiction. Dr. Skinner's does a great job of describing the drivers and nature of the problem and his approach outlines doable steps toward recovery. It is the best book on the subject I have seen. We are now recommending it to individuals in our counseling practice with good success.

This book is important because pornography addiction still doesn't get the attention it deserves. For many people it is a real and serious problem. But I'm not convinced that Skinner adds much new to the discussion.

He does offer a powerful model for how to approach addictions in general, but not much nuance about the specific issues around pornography. Where the psychology of pornography addiction is touched on, it tends to be simplistic--about unsatisfying human relationships with others and so on. And there is a false presumption that once a teenage boy gets a look at a lingerie catalog that there will be an inexorable decline into depravity. People are actually more complex than that.

But my biggest issue with the book is the somewhat moralistic tone. There is not an acknowledgement of an appropriate role for erotica or sexual fantasy in a person's life. Sexual fantasy itself seems to be on trial, from a moralist's vantage point. One of the criticisms of pornography is that it erodes the spiritual life. Although that perspective could be important for many people, some will find that less relevant or even an obstacle. Another common problem caused by pornography addiction is the shame that usually accompanies it. But this book does nothing to address the negative attitudes about healthy sexuality that fuel that shame. In fact it could indirectly support those negative attitudes.

Maybe I'm asking for the equivalent of beer ads at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. But I think that sexual compulsions have to be understood in the context of what would be healthy sexuality.

If a moral/spiritual approach could work for you, or if you can sidestep that aspect of the book, this could be a useful roadmap.

this book is great if you or your spouse has a serious addiction to pornography. it helped me to understand what it is men go through. however my husband didn't fit into any of the 7 levels the book presents. so i was a little disappointed because we both felt like he couldn't really relate to what the book was talking about. the questions that they have you ask are great though. my husband has a hard time talking about his feelings and the questions really helped open up some doors. overall, it was worth the price, and does have some great information.

This book is truly a great help for anyone wanting to free themselves from an obsession with pornography. Dr. Skinner also has CDs available under the same name at Amazon and they are worth the price! Whenever you want to review the information, you can just pop in a CD and get motivated all over again. It is also super for people who you may not be able to persuade to read a book. It is a great product and a valuable tool, indeed!

This is one of the best books on the subject and what criticism there is of it is the reuslt of viewing one book as all conclusive. This gets right to the heart of the problem in clearly written prose. It is practical, which many others filled with theory and history of the problem are not.
The exercises will help your understand the problem from your own life experience and can give you the self understanding to know how you got addicted and what you need to do to get past the fastest growing addiciton in this country, if not the world.
At the end the author shares his favorite books on the subject, a joy for bibliophiles.

John Laughlin aithor of Reading Thomas Merton: His Life and Work

This book was life changing for me. It showed me the origin of my issue and then it outlined the cycle that occurs when I am feeling driven to internet porn. It then gave me the tools to understand how to stop the compulsive behavior that lends itself to the escape. This is really a handbook as much as anything. You can go back to the book on a continuous basis until you have developed the skills to control your behavior. This book works.