The pragmatic case study of Ed – a man who struggled with internet addiction

Abstract

BackgroundThis report describes the case of Ed, a mid-30s male, who sought help after struggling over two decades with social anxiety and compulsive behaviours. In recent years Ed had developed an internet pornography addiction, and felt shackled in an unsatisfactory marriage.Content and FocusAn evolving theoretically integrated therapy, spanning a four-year period, was co-created between therapist and client, predominantly using relational Transactional Analysis (Berne, 1961, 1966; Hargarden & Sills, 2002) and the Skilled Helper Model meta-framework (Egan, 2010). The treatment integrated individual and group therapy modalities.ConclusionsThe outcomes suggest the utility of a pluralist psychotherapeutic approach combining interventions under a meta-framework.