Pornography use and recovery / PPU-A12-1
Relationship Agreements about Media — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind relationship agreements about media and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Noah and a partner have never clearly discussed expectations about sexual media.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Partners can clarify agreements without assuming identical preferences.
The idea
Partners can clarify agreements without assuming identical preferences.
An ordinary example
Noah and a partner have never clearly discussed expectations about sexual media.
What this can look like
Privately identify preferences, boundaries, and questions; joint discussion requires safety and voluntary participation.
Check the fit
What needs clarification before a broken agreement is assumed? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
A chosen change goal and a clinical diagnosis are different questions. Address functioning, control, consent, values, and distress without assuming that sexual expression itself is pathological.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- What needs clarification before a broken agreement is assumed?
Conceptual background
AASECT Position on Sex Addiction — American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.