Pornography use and recovery / PPU-A16-3
Support without Policing — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about support without policing while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Noah wants encouragement but not password demands or repeated interrogation.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. Support works best with clear permission and limits.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore support without policing using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: Support works best with clear permission and limits. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Design an optional support agreement that specifies wanted check-ins, privacy, and the right to renegotiate. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Noah wants encouragement but not password demands or repeated interrogation.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What distinguishes support from control in this arrangement? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What distinguishes support from control in this arrangement?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
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.