Drawing out the shame: A comparative study on the effectiveness of art therapy with hypersexual adults

Abstract

Shame can be an obstacle preventing hypersexual adults from ending their compulsive sexual behaviors and working towards achieving lasting recovery. A quasi-experimental designed study compared outcomes of two different forms of treatment to reduce shame with this population; a modified CBT approach and an art therapy approach. The Internalized Shame Scale and the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory were administered at pretreatment, end-of-treatment, and again at the posttreatment follow-up. Fifty-four participants (50 men, 4 women) were recruited from three treatment facilities that specialize in treating this disorder. The results indicated that there was no significant between-group differences observed between the CBT and art therapy groups; both treatments were equally effective at reducing hypersexual behavior and shame. Results illuminate the importance of shame reduction in the recovery process and provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of art therapy as a treatment method for shame with hypersexual adults. The purpose of this research is to advocate for the use of quantitative methods in art therapy research and to provide a structure for communicating complex data using statistical procedures.