Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) is a

twelve-step program Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its members ...

for people recovering from

sex addiction According to proponents of the concept, sexual addiction, also known as sex addiction, is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The con ...

and

love addiction Love addiction is a proposed model of pathological passion-related behavior involving the feeling of falling and being in love. A medical review of related behaviors in animals and humans concluded that current medical evidence does not have defi ...

. SLAA was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1976, by a member of

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

(AA). Though he had been a member of AA for many years, he repeatedly acted out and was serially unfaithful to his wife. He founded SLAA as an attempt to stop his compulsive sexual and "romantic" behavior. SLAA is also sometimes known as the Augustine Fellowship, because early members saw many of their shared symptoms described by St. Augustine of Hippo in his work '' Confessions''. COSLAA is another twelve-step fellowship created to support the family members and friends of sex and love addicts. SLAA encourages members to identify their own "bottom-line behaviors." The organization identifies these behaviors as "any sexual or emotional act, no matter what its initial impulse may be, which leads to loss of control over rate, frequency, or duration of its occurrence or recurrence, resulting in spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and moral destruction of oneself and others." Maintaining "

sobriety Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels or effects from alcohol or drugs. Sobriety is also considered to be the natural state of a human being at birth. A person in a state of sobriety is considered sober. Organizations o ...

" in the SLAA program requires abstaining from one's bottom-line behaviors. However, these behaviors are never set in stone and may change as SLAA members continue in the program. Examples of bottom-line behaviors might include sexual or romantic activity outside the scope of monogamous relationships, anonymous or casual sex, compulsive avoidance of intimacy or emotional attachment, one-night stands, compulsive masturbation, obsessive fantasy, compulsive attraction to unavailable or abusive partners, and a wide variety of addictive sexual, romantic, or avoidant behaviors. Many of those practicing the SLAA recovery program develop the ability to engage in a healthy committed relationship. SLAA encourages recovery from

sexual anorexia Sexual anorexia is a term coined in 1975 by psychologist Nathan Hare to describe a fear of or deep aversion to sexual activity. It is a pathological loss of "appetite" for romantic-sexual interaction, often the result of a fear of intimacy to the ...

, emotional anorexia and social anorexia, three related areas of self-deprivation that lead to isolation and often accompany patterns of addictive behavior. SLAA publishes the book ''Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous.'' It is approved by the organization for use in their fellowship. In an article regarding the applicability of 12-step fellowships to black women, feminist theorist Christine Saulnier criticized the SLAA book, contending that it ignored the social and political circumstances under which sexual behaviors arise and are labeled deviant.

References

External links

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous Fellowship-Wide Services

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous UK Website

COSLAA for partners and family members of sex and love addicts
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SLAA Live Chat - 24/7 Online Recovery Meeting for fellows of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1976 Twelve-step programs Non-profit organizations based in Texas Human sexuality organizations Sexual addiction LGBT family and peer support groups

See also

References

External links