In recent years clinicians report a great deal of concern about definition, diagnostic assessment, and treatment modalities when dealing with what might be called out-of-control sexual behavior. Many terms have been used to describe the phenomenon of problematic sexual behavior. Many of these concepts overlap, some are no longer popular, and some are used interchangeably. Without clear criteria and definitions, the diagnosis is difficult, if not impossible, to assign. This paper compares problematic sexual behavior with the common heuristic explanations from the current literature, which identify the problem as a compulsive, impulsive, or addictive disorder. Accordingly, this paper will look at the current treatment models employed despite these controversies.Keywords Sex addiction . Hypersexuality . Sexual compulsion . Problematic sexual behavior . Paraphilia Out-of-control sexual behavior is certainly a problem for clients, but for the treating clinician, it can be a diagnostic nightmare. Without studies or diagnostic criteria to unify thinking regarding problematic sexual behavior, clinicians are unable to be educated about assessment and treatment (Kafka and Hennen 2003). Sociocultural attitudes toward what constitutes "normal" sexuality have an extensive history, which is also reflected in social and psychological theory and diagnosis over time (Coleman 2007). Many terms have been used to describe the phenomenon of problematic sexual behavior, including hypersexuality, promiscuity, nymphomania, satyriasis, Don Juanism, paraphilia, sexual deviance, hypereroticism, hyperlibido, hyperphilia, hyperaesthesia, and perversion (Finlayson et al. 2001;Rinehart and McCabe 1997). Many of these concepts overlap, some are no longer popular, and some are used interchangeably. The terms "sex addicts" and "sexual compulsives "first began to appear in professional publications and in mass media in the 1980's.
