Services / Addiction and recovery
Pornography and sex addiction counselling
Compulsion, not morality. A confidential place to work on pornography or sex addiction without being judged.
What this counselling is
This page covers both pornography addiction and sex addiction. The pattern underneath them is usually the same one, and the work is the same work, so we treat them together rather than sending you to a different page for a different word.
People almost never book this on the first thought about it. They book after a year or two of deciding to stop, stopping for a fortnight, and starting again, usually while carrying a level of shame that makes the whole thing very hard to say out loud to anybody.
The work here treats it as a compulsion rather than a character problem. What it is doing for you, when it happens, what the cycle looks like from the outside, and what would have to be in place for a different evening to be possible. Shame gets addressed directly, because it is part of the engine rather than a by-product: feeling worse about yourself is one of the most reliable triggers for going back.
Nobody is going to preach at you, and nobody is going to be shocked. If the honest answer is that you do not know whether it is a problem or not, that is a perfectly good reason to book one session and find out.
What it helps with
- Trying to stop and not being able to
- Hours going that you meant to spend elsewhere
- Using it to manage stress, loneliness or sleep
- Escalation, and content you are not comfortable with
- The effect on intimacy and on a real relationship
- A partner who has found out
- Shame, secrecy and the cycle they keep feeding
- Use at work, or anywhere it carries real consequences
Common questions
How do I know if it is actually a problem?
The useful test is not how often, it is what it is costing and whether you can stop when you decide to. If it is eating hours you meant to spend elsewhere, if you have tried to cut back and not managed it, if you are hiding it, or if it is changing what you want or expect from a real partner, that is worth bringing in. Plenty of people who use pornography never need this page.
Is this a religious or moral programme?
No. Nobody here is going to tell you that pornography is a sin or that you are a bad person. The work is about compulsion and what drives it. If your faith matters to you it belongs in the room and it will be respected, but it is not the framework being applied to you.
Will I be judged?
No, and this is the fear that keeps most people from booking for years. Shame is not a side issue here, it is a large part of what keeps the cycle running: use, shame, secrecy, stress, use again. A counsellor reacting with disgust would simply be another turn of that wheel.
What actually happens in the sessions?
The early sessions look at what it is doing for you, because it is almost always doing something: stress, loneliness, boredom, sleep, or the only reliable way to switch off. From there the work goes to the triggers and the times of day it happens, the practical blocks that make acting on it harder, and what else could do that job.
My partner found out. Should they be involved?
That is your call, and it can be either. Some people do individual work and nothing else. For others the discovery has landed like a betrayal, and the relationship needs its own attention alongside the individual work. Your partner can also book their own sessions separately, which is often the fairest option, because they need somewhere to take it that is not you.
Is what I say confidential?
Yes. What you say is confidential and is not shared with your partner, your family or your employer. There are limits set by law, the main one being where somebody is at risk of serious harm, and those limits apply to every client rather than to this service in particular. They will be explained to you at the start.
What if I have tried to stop before and gone back to it?
That is the normal shape of this work rather than a sign it will not hold. Blocking software and deleted accounts on their own tend not to last, because they deal with the access and not with the reason. Understanding what happened last time is usually more useful than starting again as though it did not.
Can I use my NDIS plan to pay for this?
No. Advance Minds is a registered NDIS provider and can deliver therapy funded through the CB Daily Activity part of a plan, but addiction therapy is not included in that. If you have an NDIS plan and want to understand what it does cover here, the NDIS page explains it.
Do I need a referral from my GP?
No. You can book directly through the website without a referral and without going through anybody else first.
Who you'd be working with
Shuv Homsi
Lead Therapist · ACA-Registered Clinical Supervisor
Shuv brings extensive experience in addiction counselling alongside relationship and mental health work. His own journey through addiction and recovery shapes how he works: empathy and authenticity first, then practical strategies that hold up in real life.
You will be allocated to the therapist who best meets your needs once you have booked. You do not have to work out who you need to see before you have spoken to anybody.
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Not sure if this is the right place to start?
Book an appointment and say what is going on. You do not have to work out what you need, or who you need to see, before you book.
Before you book: the form asks for a few details, including an emergency contact. If you do not have a diagnosis, writing "none" is a perfectly good answer. And if you are booking for someone else, say so in the "relationship to client" field and we will work it out from there. If there is a particular therapist you would like to see, put their name in the "Additional Information" box and we will take it into account.
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