Contrary to Love

Patrick Carnes, Ph.D., is currently Executive Director of the Gentle Path programme at Pine Grove Behavioral Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA., and the primary architect of the Gentle Path treatment programmes for the treatment of sexual and multiple addictive disorders. He is author of Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction(1983), the first work designed to help addicts deal with their sexual compulsions, and to examine the tangled web of trauma, love, addictive sex, hate, and fear often found in family relationships. He has published numerous other works as well, including Contrary to Love: Helping the Sexual Addict (1989), A Gentle Path through the Twelve Steps (1994), The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships (1997), Open Hearts (1999), Facing the Shadow (2001), and In the Shadows of the Internet (2001). With 30 years in the addiction field, Dr. Carnes is in high demand as a speaker, presenter, and interview subject and continues to be the leading voice in the field of sex addiction. In addition, his assessment tools related to sex addiction and trauma offer therapists a proven means to begin the treatment process with clients. He has been awarded the distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH), and each year SASH (formerly known as the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity) bestows a ""Carnes Award"" to deserving researchers and clinicians who have made outstanding contributions to the field of sexual medicine.