Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder

Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD) encompasses a broad spectrum of behaviours, with individuals frequently reporting multiple activities that they experience as compulsive. Across the literature, a variety of overlapping and contested terms have been employed—including sex addiction, hypersexuality, hypersexual disorder, out-of-control sexual behaviour, and problematic pornography use. The inclusion of CSBD in the ICD-11 as an impulse control disorder, rather than as an addiction, represents an important step towards diagnostic clarity; nevertheless, definitional ambiguity continues to shape both clinical and research debates. Ongoing challenges persist in relation to conceptualisation, assessment, and treatment, compounded by the relative paucity of research into therapists’ experiences of working with this client group. This chapter offers a critical review of the current state of research, theoretical and clinical understandings, assessment measures, and treatment effectiveness. It concludes by identifying key limitations in the evidence base and proposing recommendations to guide future research and clinical practice.