« Back to Volume 10 (2001), Issue 4
Pojdi na slovensko stran članka / Go to the article page in Slovene
The concept of sexual narcissism
Silvana Gasar
Full text (pdf) | Views: 20 | Written in Slovene. | Published: December 1, 2001
Abstract: David Farley Hurlbert, a marriage and sex therapist in Belton, Texas, and Carol Apt, a therapist in private practice in Lexington, Kentucky, developed the concept of sexual narcissism after they studied the characteristics of nonalcoholic abusive males. Men and women who claim to be sex addicts or sexually compulsive are actually sexual narcissists, according to the abovementioned authors. Sexual narcissists lack the ability to experience intimacy. They are fixated on the sex act, but they cannot be intimate. He or she compensates for low self-esteem through high sexual esteem, and tries to build a positive self-image with one sexual encounter after another. They believe that sexual narcissism is more common in men. Treatment can be very difficult, because they never face the problem. It is important that the sexual narcissist is never identified as a patient - their fragile egos cannot handle being considered inadequate in any way. Group therapy does not work with them. A more constructive treatment plan includes gradual confrontation. Only long-term treatment will tell if such subjects can learn to become intimate.
Keywords: sexual narcissism, sex roles, marriage, sexuality, intimacy, self-esteem
