Times of India
15 March 2011
London, India

Sex addiction, in which sufferers have relentless sexual urges, will soon be formally recognised as a psychiatric disorder by American Psychiatric Association, a media report said.

The "addiction" is being discussed by experts for inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association, the Daily Mail’ reported. The manual is considered the definitive guide to what constitutes a genuine psychological disorder rather than an imaginary one.

Sex addiction actually became highly publicised when celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Russell Brand sought treatment for the condition.

The United Kingdom’s health service is starting a preliminary project for sex addiction treatment, which experts say, could spark a boom in drug companies repackaging anti–depressants and sex–drive–suppressants.

The Priory chain of clinics say that its patients "work on themselves for eight or nine hours a day in group therapy, in individual sessions with their psychiatrists and with a wide range of trained therapists".

Clinical psychologist and sex therapist Janet Hall said that patients with sex addiction problems now make up the majority of her clients.