Finding Specialist Help
A specialist is anyone with a greater degree of experience, skill or understanding who may help you get what you want. If you are trading child-porn online, the gatekeepers when you first got into it were specialists. For your stop plan it helps to consider what special expertise would help you quit your child-sex activity. This could be:
· someone who has already quit child-porn
· someone who has quit something else and understands the difficulties of giving up pleasurable activity
· someone who is trained and experienced in promoting good health, such as
o a counsellor or psychotherapist
o a doctor or psychiatrist
o a fitness instructor or life coach
· someone who is trained and experienced in advancing the human condition, such as
o a vicar, priest, or other spiritual leader
o a philosopher
o a teacher
· someone with social knowledge or skills, such as
o a solicitor
o a debt counsellor
o a police officer
The last three types, those with training and experience, also broadly fall under the category of ‘professionals’. What’s the difference between a specialist and a professional? Mostly it’s the requirement to meet a code of ethics – doctors, therapists, legal experts, the police, teachers etc all need to abide by a set of rules or guidelines to claim credibility (or ‘accreditation’) from their professional body, such as the General Medical Council for doctors.
Bear in mind that a someone with professional accreditation may lack experience, or the experience to work with a client who downloads child-porn in a balanced and responsible manner. A certificate or professional endorsement does not necessarily mean the professional you seek help from will not panic in the face of your actions or inappropriately excuse what you’re doing because it’s too uncomfortable to address. In many professions, the practitioner is supervised by a senior colleague or someone with greater understanding and experience – this helps keep professional behaviour to a high standard and in context.
TOP TIP: consider what skills and experience you would like to build and then think about who might help you do this appropriately. Is it someone who has gone through what you’re experiencing now, or is it someone with professional training and experience? How might you get in touch with them?
TOP TIP: ask your professional helpers what professional bodies they belong to and what code of ethics or rules they are required to adhere to. It is good practice for any professional to be open about this information. You may particularly want to know about their disclosure requirements – these will be the circumstances in which the professional is obliged to inform your family, other professionals or the authorities about your behaviour. Also check whether the professional is supervised.
A list of therapists offering services for people with an interest in extreme pornography or other sexually harmful behaviour can be found in the resources area of this site.
TOP TIP: ask your professional helpers what professional bodies they belong to and what code of ethics or rules they are required to adhere to. It is good practice for any professional to be open about this information. You may particularly want to know about their disclosure requirements – these will be the circumstances in which the professional is obliged to inform your family, other professionals or the authorities about your behaviour. Also check whether the professional is supervised.
A list of therapists offering services for people with an interest in extreme pornography or other sexually harmful behaviour can be found in the resources area of this site.
© Chris Willoughby 2008-
