Chemsex Freedom for Therapists Supporting Clients Between Sessions

A client can leave therapy understanding his chemsex, recognising his triggers and genuinely intending to make a change.

But many of the decisions he is trying to change happen outside the therapy room.

When he opens Grindr. When he is sexually aroused, lonely, rejected or excited. When somebody says they're partying. When boundaries that seemed clear earlier in the week suddenly become negotiable.

That is the space Chemsex Freedom was designed to support.

Chemsex Freedom is not therapy and is not intended to replace therapy. It has a different role: providing clients with structured daily work during the time between sessions.

The programme is designed to help men move from understanding their patterns towards applying that understanding in everyday life.

Different clients. Different goals.

Chemsex Freedom does not assume that every man should have the same outcome.

Some clients want to stop chemsex.

Some want more control — perhaps fewer or shorter sessions, clearer boundaries, reduced risk, or a smaller role for chemsex in their lives.

Others are not sure yet. They know something is changing or becoming concerning, but they are not ready to decide whether abstinence, moderation or another form of change is right for them.

There are also men who do not want NA, CMA, group treatment or a recovery identity, but still want privacy, structure and a serious way of examining their relationship with chemsex.

And therapists may recognise another client:

“I knew exactly what was happening — and I did it anyway.”

For these clients, insight may already exist. The challenge is translating that insight into action when the pattern is actually unfolding.

Chemsex Freedom gives clients structured opportunities to notice what happens before an urge, when boundaries begin changing, what they intended to do, what actually happened, what helped and what they may need to do differently next time.

That can also create useful material to bring back into therapy.

UNDERSTAND → CHANGE → BUILD

The 90-day programme moves through three broad stages:

UNDERSTAND

What is happening? What does chemsex give me? What are my patterns and triggers?

CHANGE

What do I actually want? What is my plan? How do I put that plan into practice when it meets real life?

BUILD

What happens after I reach my immediate goal? How do I build sex, intimacy, pleasure, relationships and connection in ways that make change sustainable?

Therapists do not need to learn a new modality or incorporate a Chemsex Freedom protocol into their practice.

You remain the therapist.

Chemsex Freedom provides structure between sessions, while you continue working with your client within your own clinical approach.

Who is Chemsex Freedom for?

It may be relevant to clients who: • want to stop chemsex • want greater control over their use • are unsure what they want yet • understand their patterns but struggle to change them • want to develop and test a realistic plan • prefer an individual, private approach • need support translating insight into action • have reached an immediate chemsex goal and need to consider what comes next

Chemsex Freedom will not be appropriate for every client and is not a substitute for detoxification, medical treatment, psychiatric care, crisis intervention or other appropriate professional services.

Professional Preview for Therapists

If you have a client in mind but would prefer to examine Chemsex Freedom before recommending it, a Professional Preview for clinicians is available.

Chemsex Freedom:

chemsexfreedom.com

This video is part of Chemsex: Clinical Resources for Therapists.

Justin Duwe

Psychologist • Sexologist

Author, The Truth About Chemsex

Founder, Chemsex Freedom™