Sexual Masochism (Paraphilia) What is the treatment for paraphilia?

Sexual Masochism (Paraphilia) What is the treatment for paraphilia?

sexual masochism paraphilia

Sexual Masochism (Paraphilia) What is the treatment for paraphilia?

Facts about paraphilia

• Paraphilias are defined as fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors that are recurrent, intense, occurring over a period of at least six months and cause significant distress or interfere with important areas of functioning emotional disorders.
• With the exception of masochism, paraphilias are diagnosed almost exclusively in men.
• There are a number of different types of paraphilias, each of which has a different approach to the sexual arousal of the victim.
• It is believed that there are biological, psychological and social risk factors for developing paraphilias.
• While the desired paraphilic victim for sexual stimulant depends on specific paraphilia, the characteristics of the disease are often very similar.
• In order to establish the diagnosis of a paraphilia, mental health professionals lead or often refer the person to a medical interview, physical examination and routine laboratory tests. Professional evaluate the entire history of mental health symptoms.
• The treatment of paraphilias usually involves the combination of psychotherapy and medications.
• Paraphilias have been found to be quite chronic, so a minimum of two years of treatment is recommended even for smoother paraphilia.
• Preventing the development of any paraphiliac behavior generally involves relieving psychosocial risk factors for its development.

What is a paraphilia? What are the different types of paraphilias?

What is a paraphilia? What are the different types of paraphilias?

The word paraphilia is derived from Greek; For means around or beside it, and philia means love. Paraphilias are emotional disorders that are defined as recurring, intense sexual fantasies, urges or behaviors that occur over a period of at least six months and cause significant distress or interfere with the patient's work, Social function or other important areas of exploitation. This is opposed to sexual variants, which are sexual behaviors that are not typical but are not part of any disease.

The number of people suffering from paraphilia is considered difficult to measure for several reasons. Many people with one of these disorders suffer in secret silence or shame, and some are involved in offensive sexual behavior and are therefore invested in their non-paraphilic relationship. Therefore, most estimates of the prevalence of paraphilia are obtained from the number of people involved in the criminal justice system because of pedophilia. Most pedophiles are men, with only 1% to 6% are women.

With the exception of masochism, which is 20 times more common in women than in men, paraphilias are diagnosed almost exclusively in men. Many people who suffer from a paraphilia have more than one. For example, about a third of pedophiles also have another paraphilia. More than half participate in three or four of these behaviors instead of one. Most people who develop a paraphilias begin to fantasize about before 13 years.

There are a number of different types of paraphilias, each of which has a different approach to the sexual arousal of the victim:

• Voyeurism: watching one does not suspect anything / does not allow anyone who is naked, undressed or engaging in sexual activity
• Exhibitionism: exposing their own genital organs to an unsuspecting person
• Frotteurisim: touching or rubbing against a person who does not consent
• Sexual masochism humiliated, beaten, bound or suffer
• Sexual sadism: the physical or emotional suffering of another person
• Pedophilia: Sexual activity with a prepubertal child is (usually 13 years or less)
• Fetishism: sexual fascination with inanimate objects or very specific body parts
• Transvestite: disguise is sexually exciting and interferes with functioning
• Other specified paraphilias: Some paraphilias do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for paraphilic disorders but may have uncontrolled sexual urges that cause enough suffering for the patient are recognized. Examples of these specific paraphilias include necrofilia (organisms), scatologia (obscene phone calls) and zoophilia (animals).

Impulses to engage in coercive or aggressive sex that rape are not considered symptoms of mental illness. Therefore, this sexual offense is not considered a paraphilia.

What are the causes and risk factors for paraphilias?

Biological issues are considered risk factors for paraphilias include differences in brain activity during sexual arousal and the overall structure of the brain. It was found that male pedophiles have lower IQ scores on psychological tests compared to men who are not pedophiles. Research has also determined that tend to have a history of getting lower grades to school than their non-pedophile counterparts, regardless of intellectual abilities and learning styles.

There are several psychological theories on how to develop paraphilias. Some see these disorders as a manifestation of stopped psychosocial development, with paraphiliac behaviors that defend the person's psyche against anxiety (defense mechanisms). Other paraphilias believe are the result of the victim associating something to sexual arousal or having unusual sexual experiences of improved early life by having an orgasm. Some see these disorders as another form of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Psychologically, pedophiles acting on their impulses to commit sexual offenses tend to indulge in grossly distorted thinking in the sense that they use their position of power and see the offense in an appropriate way to meet their needs ; They considered sexual needs uncontrollable.

Another theory about risk factors is paraphilia that are related to stages of psychological development of children such as temperament, early formation of the relationship, repetition of trauma and disrupted sexual development, as follows:

• Temperament: tendency to be too inhibited or uncontrolled emotions and behaviors
• Early relationships training: lack of stable self-awareness, difficulty managing emotions and seeking others for help and comfort
• Repetition of trauma: People who are victims of violence, especially if they occur during childhood, can identify the abuser so that they act as they were inflicted to victimize others in some way. They can also act somehow a trauma to hurt you.
• The disordered development of sexuality: Models of what is found sexual arousal tend to form in adolescence. It is believed that people who are raised in a home that is too sexually permissive or inhibited are at greater risk of developing a paraphilia.
• Family risk factors for the development of paraphilia include a high conflict between parents or parents with low supervision due to the lack of affection of the mother and generally do not feel well treated by their parents. People with paraphilia tend to have trouble making and keeping friends and other relationships.

What are the symptoms and signs of paraphilia?

While the desired paraphilic victim for sexual stimulant depends on specific paraphilia, the characteristics of the disease are often very similar. Specifically, people with paraphilias tend to be awakened by stimulating the exclusion or almost exclusion of most common sources of sexual arousal, as an attractive person of the same age. The intensity of the attraction can be overwhelming enough to cause distress. Unusual or forbidden nature of a paraphilias often causes symptoms of guilt and fear of punishment.

The symptoms may include paraphilia concern for the obsession that may interfere in the person trying to think of other things or participate in more conventional sexual activity with an appropriate partner for age. Patients may experience paraphiliac depression or anxiety temporarily relieved by participation in paraphilic behavior, leading to a cycle of addiction.


How to Diagnose Paraphiliac Health Professionals?

Usually, mental health care providers make the diagnosis of paraphilias, including licensed mental health therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses and social workers. One of these professionals will likely drive or consult the paraphiliac for a thorough medical interview and physical examination as part of the diagnosis. Paraphilic to ensure that the person does not suffer from a medical condition that could complicate the assessment or treatment of their mental health, routine laboratory tests are often performed during the initial assessment.

In this review, the patient can answer a series of questions from a standardized questionnaire or self-test to assess the presence of paraphiliac symptoms. It will thoroughly examine the entire history or presence of all mental health symptoms, so that paraphilia is distinguished from other types of mental disorders. Individuals with pedophilia may also have personality disorders or mood disorders, and about 60% have additional paraphilias, such as exhibitionism, voyeurism or sadism.

In order to qualify for the diagnosis of a paraphiliac, the individual must experience recurrent and significant sexual arousal by the object of their attraction; They act on this attraction impulses, fantasies or actions; And symptoms of experience for at least six months to the point that the individual suffers from significant levels of distress or interference with their work, social function or other important aspects of life

What is the treatment for paraphilia?

what is the treatment for paraphilia ?

The research center on paraphilias treatment focuses mainly on pedophilia, because of the terrible impact of this behavior on the victims and because of the participation of pedophile offenders with the justice system. These studies have shown that treatment tends to work only if the person is motivated and committed pedophile to control their behavior and when the treatment combines psychotherapy and medication.

Psychotherapy for pedophilia and other paraphilias tends to use cognitive-behavioral therapy. The approach of psychotherapy tends to help the person with the pedophilia to recognize and to fight the rationalizations on their behavior and to empower the victim of the pedophilia in the development of the empathy for the victim and the techniques to control their impulses Sexual abuse. This therapy tends to take an approach to the treatment of sex offenders using a relapse prevention model that is similar to treating people with substance abuse. This approach attempts to help the paraphiliac person anticipate situations that increase the risk of sexual interference and find ways to avoid or respond more productively to these triggers. People with paraphilias can also benefit from social skills training to help them develop reciprocal relationships that are age-appropriate.

Drugs that suppress the production of testosterone, the male hormone can be used to reduce the frequency or intensity of sexual desire pedophiles. It can take three to ten months for the removal of testosterone to reduce sexual desire. Studies on the efficacy of selective recurrence inhibitors (SSRIs) in the treatment of pedophilia and other paraphilias vary in their conclusions about their efficacy. However, SSRI can be a useful adjunct to other treatments because they tend to reduce the obsessional and associated sexual urges to paraphilias and can also help increase parafilo's ability to control pulses. Examples of SSRIs include drugs such as fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro).

There is some preliminary research that stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) may increase the effectiveness of SSRIs and naltrexone may be the lower part of the sexual obsessiveness associated with paraphilias.


What is the prognosis of paraphilia?

It was found that paraphilias are quite chronic, so a minimum of two years of treatment, even for smooth paraphilia is recommended. While most people with non-sexual sexual paraphilia and sexual offenses are not considered a mental illness, people who commit sexual offenses sometimes have a paraphilia.


Is it possible to prevent paraphilias?

Since paraphilic behavior tends to be highly stigmatized and some paraphiliac behaviors are illegal, monitoring how successful treatment often involves rates of criminal recidivism. Therefore, prevention of paraphilias of future behavior often focuses on the prevention of sex offenders have access to potential victims. Preventing the development of any paraphiliac behavior generally involves relieving psychosocial risk factors for its development.