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Friday, December 9, 2016

Is sex addiction real? Maybe not, therapists say

6:30 AM Bilal Muazin No comments

summer portrait of a kissing young adult couple, back lit

Young couple kissing.(Photo: fotografixx, Getty Images)

Claiming a sex addiction may be a go-to for misbehaving celebrities and politicians, but from a science perspective there isn't enough study to prove sex addiction isÂ real, according to a professional organization of sex educators and therapists.

There is not enough empirical evidence to classify sex addiction or porn addiction as a mental disorder, the The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)Â said in a statement to members lastÂ week. TheÂ organization saidÂ that current sex addiction therapy and counseling is not adequately informed by human sexuality and thus not supported as a standard practice by the organization.

While the organization is in no way saying that people donâ€™t experience real physical, psychological and health consequences from their sexual urges, sex addiction is an â€œoversimplification of a complex area of human sexual behavior,â€ Douglas Braun-Harvey, a sexual health author and psychotherapist, said in a statementÂ Dec.9.

â€œI think the most important thing to remember is that there are people who are suffering from their sexual behavior being out of control, but what ends up happening is that the suffering, the fear and the consequences it brings to their careers and families get prematurely and very quickly labeled sex addiction,â€ said Braun-Harvey, who is one of the authors of the AASECT statement.

USA TODAY

Q & A: Is Anthony Weiner a sex addict?

AASECT certification is needed in many states to become a sexual counselor, according to the organizationâ€™s website.Â So the organizationâ€™s stance on sex addiction sends an important message, especially at a time when sex addiction therapy is constantly in the headlines.

In early November, former politician Anthony Weiner was spotted riding a horse at a treatment facility that offers equine therapy for sex addiction, AP reported. Â And a quick Google search shows sex addiction therapists and treatment facilities are plentiful.

Joseph Burgo, a clinical psychologist, and author of >The Narcissist You Know told USA TODAY in August that sex addiction is controversial for a number of reasons.

"When it's something like alcohol you are addicted to or drugs, that's one thing, but when it's food or sex, those are normal human needs, so it's more controversial," he said, adding that little research has been done on sex addiction.

"Addiction implies a biochemical basis, and there are not sufficient studies to demonstrate that," Burgo said.

Follow Mary Bowerman on Twitter: @MaryBowermanÂ

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2h55WIi

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Thursday, December 8, 2016

Metropolitan police to investigate sexual abuse claims at London clubs | Football

3:30 PM Bilal Muazin No comments

The Metropolitan police has launched an investigation into historical sexual abuse claims involving London football clubs, becoming the 21st force across the country to have begun similar inquiries into teams in their areas.

Britainâ€™s largest police force said specialist officers would look into allegations of â€œnon-recentâ€ crimes, but refused to say which clubs it was investigating.

â€œWe take all the allegations we receive very seriously and they will be dealt with sensitively,â€ said DCS Ivan Balhatchet of the Metâ€™s sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command. â€œAnyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, whatever the circumstances, or has any relevant information should contact their local police or the NSPCC.â€

Football sex abuse scandal: how the story unfolded

According to police, more than 350 potential victims have come forward since the former Crewe defender Andy Woodward waived his right to anonymity to reveal in an interview with the Guardian that he had been a Âvictim of sexual abuse

Gary Johnson, the former player who was paid Â£50,000 by Chelsea not to go public with allegations that he was abused by their former chief scout Eddie Heath, has said that a personal apology from the clubâ€™s board, delivered in person on Wednesday, was â€œtoo little, too lateâ€.

Johnson was a member of Chelseaâ€™s first team from 1978 to 1981 after joining the club as an 11-year-old in 1970. The 57-year-old spoke out recently to say he was groomed from the age of 13 by Heath, who was chief scout from 1968 to 1979 and is now dead. Chelseaâ€™s insurers paid Â£50,000 in compensation, without liability, in return for a confidentiality clause.

Johnson told the BBC that the Â£50,000 he received was â€œnot enough for the pain and suffering Iâ€™ve hadâ€, adding: â€œIt [the abuse] took away my childhood â€" I can never get that back.â€

In Holyrood, Nicola Sturgeon resisted calls for the inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in Scotland to be widened to include football clubs, after the Scottish Labour leader, Kezia ÂDugdale, pressed her during first ministerâ€™s Âquestions about revelations of abuse in Scottish clubs.

The first minister said: â€œMy view is we should allow that inquiry to get on with its job and we should allow the police to get on with their job of investigating allegations of abuse in football.â€

Earlier, a former chief Âexecutive of the Scottish Football Association called for a separate inquiry as the revelÂations across the UK continued to mount. Gordon Smith told BBC Radioâ€™s Good Morning Scotland that an investigation into how clubs and national bodies had responded to allegations was needed.

â€œThere should be an inquiry, an inquiry into anybody who knew anything about this sort of thing,â€ he said. â€œIf this was happening at a club, what action did they take? Weâ€™re now finding out some of the cases down in England where the club tried to hush the situation, even paid a player money to not say anything about it.â€

The SFA has said it is part of a task force set up to coordinate complaints and information relating to child sexual abuse within football and that it is passing on all information it receives to Police Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Premiership club Patrick Thistle have admitted firing one of their employees in 1992 over abuse claims. The club disclosed that a former physiotherapist, named as John Hart, who died in 1995, was dismissed after the allegations came to light more than 20 years ago.

In a statement, the club denied any cover-up, stating: â€œThe current board and management knew nothing of this until an internal investigation uncovered it in the last few days. As a result, the club informed the SFA and Police Scotland.â€

This follows revelations concerning a former youth coach for Celtic, Hibernian and Falkirk football clubs, who was on Wednesday charged with a child sex offence and has been remanded in custody.

Jim McCafferty, who worked in football across the central belt of Scotland and in Ireland from the 1980s, was arrested in Belfast on Tuesday after presenting himself at a police station. He was charged with engaging in sexual activity with a child aged 13-16 between December 2011 and December 2014.

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Pizzagate gunman refuses to dismiss online conspiracy theory claims about child sex ring

1:00 PM Bilal Muazin No comments

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28 of Salisbury, N.C., surrenders to police Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, in Washington. Welch, who said he was investigating a conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton running a child sex ring out of a pizza place, fired an assault rifle inside the restaurant on Sunday injuring no one, police and news reports said. (Sathi Soma via AP) Â (Sathi Soma)

The man accused of firing an assault rifle inside a Washington pizza shop refused to completely dismiss the online conspiracy theory accusing the eatery of running a child sex ring that brought him there in the first place -- although he said he regretted how he handled the situation.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, told the New York Times in a Wednesday videoconference that the online articles he read about Comet Ping Pong pizzeria â€" which linked the supposed ring to Hillary Clinton â€" left him with the â€œimpression something nefarious was happeningâ€ and he wanted to â€œreally able to look into it.â€

Court documents showed that Welch entered the eatery and fired an AR-15 rifle several times inside the restaurant but later exited with his hands up. He surrendered to police when he found no signs of children being held as sex slaves.

"I just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way," he told the newspaper.

While Welch acknowledged that his â€œintelâ€ on the restaurant was not 100 percent, he refused to dismiss that what he had read online was untrue, conceding only that there were no children "inside that dwelling."Â

He also rejected the term â€œfake newsâ€ believing that it diminishes stories shared outside the mainstream media.

Related News...

Welch told the newspaper he started driving to Washington from his Salisbury, N.C., home intending only to give the restaurant a "closer look." But while on the way, he said he felt his "heart breaking over the thought of innocent people suffering."

Welch would not say why he brought an AR-15 into the pizza shop and fired it, the newspaper reported.

On Thursday, a judge delayed a preliminary hearing for Welch. His public defender requested the delay, saying she needed more time to investigate the case. He will be back in court Tuesday.

Welch appears to have lived an aimless life that became turbulent in the weeks before he was drawn to the nation's capital by a fake news story.

Friends and family say he is a well-meaning father of two girls who wanted to be a firefighter. But he also unnerved some with his religious fervor and sometimes had trouble detaching himself from the internet.

In the weeks before his Washington arrest, there were other signs of turbulence. In late October, Welch struck a teenage pedestrian with his car in his hometown, requiring the boy to be airlifted to a hospital, according to a police report that said he wasn't immediately charged. More recently, days before he drove to Washington, he was dropped from the rolls of a volunteer fire department.

In past years, he was convicted of drunken driving and minor drug charges.

But the one constant, friends and family say, was his love for his two young daughters.

"He's a father and a very loving man, very concerned about children," said his aunt Tajuana Tadlock, adding: "He's not a vigilante, by no check of the words."

Tadlock said Welch's parents haven't been able to talk to him to ask what he was thinking, and the family's only information comes from the news and the public defender.

In recent years, Welch often mentioned his Christian faith. Interspersed with Facebook posts about his daughters are the registered Republican's musings on the Bible and religion.

Danielle Tillman of Raleigh said she met Welch a few months ago and has known his current girlfriend for years. She recalls Welch made her uncomfortable while talking at length about religion. At one point, he grabbed her hand and prayed, asking for "the demons to come out of me," she said.

Welch's family has roots in the Salisbury area, where his father and grandfather served in local government, according to the Salisbury Post. Friends say he attended West Rowan High School. A woman at the family's property declined to answer questions this week.

Around age 18, Welch pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug possession charges in neighboring Cabarrus County, according to online records of the January 2007 offense.

Welch enrolled at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, but court records say he didn't graduate.

On a break from college in 2009, Welch was interviewed by the Salisbury Post after he made it halfway through a hike of the 500-mile Colorado Trail. He told the newspaper the hike helped him overcome an addiction to the internet.

"It's a good feeling, going solo," he told the newspaper. "There's something spiritual about it."

In April 2013, Welch was charged with impaired driving with a blood-alcohol content of .09, court records show. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to probation and community service and underwent alcohol counseling.

Rowan County records show that after a short marriage, his wife filed for divorce in November 2014. The thin file doesn't say why they split up. The divorce complaint was dismissed in 2015 after neither attended a scheduled hearing. Documents related to his arrest say they remain separated, and his two children live with him.

Welch twice served briefly as a volunteer firefighter, and his aunt said he was recently taking classes needed to get a paying job as a firefighter.

Locke Fire Chief Rusty Alexander said Welch barely showed up at the fire station after joining in 2012, and lasted about six months.

"He tried it, and basically it wasn't for him," Alexander said.

In May 2016, Welch became a volunteer firefighter in the town of Spencer, Chief Gray Grubb said. Grubb said Welch stopped attending training sessions and didn't answer alarms, so he was removed from the active roster Nov. 30.

"When we interviewed him, he seemed like a good guy," Grubb said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Pizzagate gunman refuses to dismiss online conspiracy theory claims about child sex ring

11:30 AM Bilal Muazin No comments