Presentations, Publications, Speaking Engagements, & Interviews
Webcasts and Podcast Interviews
November 2023 (upcoming podcast): Wise Squirrels: The Podcast for Late-Diagnosed Adults with ADHD
May 2023: RenaFi webcast: Conversations With Melissa: Addictive Behaviors and ADHD: Is There a Connection?
March 2022: RenaFi webcast on ADHD and Addiction
March 2021: Sex and Relationship Healing podcast with David Fawcett discussing ADHD and Its Connection to Addiction
September 2020: Super Saturday Recovery Summit podcast for InTheRooms.com discussing ADHD & Addiction
January 2020: Friday Night Virtual Series webcast for The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) discussing Problematic Internet/Mobile Phone Use.
October 2019: Webcast for On the Right ADHD Trail Summit for Men with ADHD
August 2019: Sex, Love, & Addiction podcast with Rob Weiss discussing ADHD & Relationships
January 2019: ADHD Palooza webcast: ADHD + Addictions: How They Intersect
November 2015 BlogTalkRadio interview with Carol the Coach discussing "Can Internet pornography really be an addiction?"
Conference Presentations
Let’s Talk More About ADHD & Addiction.
Presented at the 2023 Annual International Conference on ADHD.
The Intersection of ADHD & Addiction: Myths & Truths.
Presented at the 2019 Annual International Conference on ADHD.
ADHD & Addiction: An Often Overlooked Problem.
Presented at the 2018 Annual International Conference on ADHD.
Internet Gaming Addiction in Teens.
Presented at the Clinical Applications of the Principles in Treatment of Addictions and Substance Abuse (CAPTASA) 2018 Annual Conference.
Pornography Addiction Evaluation and Treatment.
Presented at the Clinical Applications of the Principles in Treatment of Addictions and Substance Abuse (CAPTASA) 2018 Annual Conference.
Is Internet Pornography Addiction Always Sex Addiction, Or Can It Be Something Else?
Presented at the 2016 Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) Annual Conference. (updated version)
The Internet-Related Addictions: Porn, Games, Facebook, and More.
Presented at the 2015 Licensed Professional Counselors Association of GA (LPCA) Annual Conference.
Is Internet Pornography Addiction Always Sex Addiction, Or Can It Be Something Else?
Presented at the 2015 Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) Annual Conference. (original version)
Magazine Articles
Internet Addiction and ADHD
Attention Magazine, April 2020
Academic Publications
Separating Models Obscures the Scientific Underpinnings of Sex Addiction as a Disorder
Carnes, S. & Love, T. (2017). Separating Models Obscures the Scientific Underpinnings of Sex Addiction as a Disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Addiction Beyond Substances—What's Up with the DSM?
Hajela, R., & Love, T. (2017). Addiction Beyond Substances—What's Up with the DSM? Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 1-12.
The Aetiology and differential diagnosis of sex addiction: An overview.
Adams, K. & Love, T. (2017). The Aetiology and differential diagnosis of sex addiction: An overview. In Birchard, T. & Benfield, J. (Eds.), The Rutledge International Handbook on Sex Addiction. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Publishing.
The Neurobiology of Sex Addiction.
Hilton, D., Carnes, S., & Love, T. (2016). The Neurobiology of Sex Addiction. In Swann, A. & Moeller, G. (Eds.), The Neurobiology of Addiction. New York: Oxford University Press.
Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review and Update.
Love, T., Laier, C., Brand, M., Hatch, L., & Hajela, R. (2015). Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review and Update. Behavioral Sciences, 5(3), 388-433.
An investigation into the potential for the inclusion of Internet Addiction with subtypes as a behavioral addiction in the revised DSM-5.
Love, T. (2014). An investigation into the potential for the inclusion of Internet Addiction with subtypes as a behavioral addiction in the revised DSM-5 (Doctoral Dissertation). Available from ProQuest Database (3728466).
Professional Speaking Engagements
The Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction
Presented to the University of Chicago Neuroscience Club, Feb 2020.
Sextacy: A personal account and scientific explanation of how porn affects your life, brain, & relationships.
Co-presented with Noah Church at the College of Charleston Fall 2015 Think Differently Forum
Article Interviews
I was interviewed in the fall of 2017 for a Unilad article called "The Shocking Effect Porn has on your Health." It's a very interesting article, and here is the part containing my specific contribution:
Internet addiction specialist and psychotherapist Todd L. Love explains:
Beyond the argument of addiction, it seems undeniable that regular viewing of porn creates unrealistic expectations for their performance abilities, the other person's role (assuming hetero, the female body), and what are 'normal' activities, as well as their own bodies (all guys have huge penises).
Young guys may go into counselling feeling confused and guilty about having engaged in some of the more physically aggressive 'techniques' they regularly viewed in porn (choking, gagging, or otherwise being sexually aggressive with their girlfriends). But they did it because that's what they grew up watching, not necessarily because they are inherently angry with females.
Similarly, young women are going into counselling feeling confused about what they have done, or feel that they are required to do, in order to please their boyfriends. Many are intuitively aware that some of the actions are not 'normal' sex acts, but nobody has told them so, so they engaged at their own physical and emotional discomfort.
July 2015 marked my first “media” appearance(s)! I’m featured/quoted in all sections of a three-part series on internet pornography addiction in article on addiction.com. I’m quoted pretty extensively in the third part, but my favorite is in the first and the very last of the third….
Todd Love, PsyD, JD, LPC, an Athens, Georgia-based psychotherapist specializing in pornography addiction, agrees that while some are able to use Internet porn casually, it can be almost immediately addictive for others, and he urges caution. “When academic studies come out and say that porn is not bad, that it helps your sex life, it’s like saying that red wine isn’t bad, it helps prevent heart attacks,” he says. “It’s a fair statement, but you wouldn’t recommend that someone who is predisposed to alcoholism have a glass of red wine every day. At some point, the benefit will be lost and the addiction will take over.” Thus, individuals who perhaps in the past would have used drugs, alcohol or gambling as a form of escape, are now potentially turning to the intensity of online porn.
Worse, they’re viewing porn at a time when critical parts of their brain are still developing. “Their brains are getting wired from the start to respond to a level of sexual intensity and novelty that cannot be matched in a healthy intimate relationship,” says Todd Love, PsyD, JD, LPC, an Athens, Georgia-based psychotherapist specializing in pornography addiction. “It’s altering their processing and perceptions of what a normal relationship is at a fundamental level,” he says.
According to Todd Love, PsyD, JD, LPC, an Athens, Georgia-based psychotherapist specializing in pornography addiction, for some young males, simple education — explaining the impact of porn — can be a game-changer. “Once young males learn what they are doing to their brains by watching so much porn, many are able to stop immediately,” he says. “For others with addictive tendencies, it can take much longer to quit.”
Dr. Love also recommends online support groups such as Reboot Nation, which encourages members to take a break from pornography, and NoFap, which offers support to members trying to curb porn use and compulsive masturbation (fapping). “The simple act of stepping into a room — real or virtual — filled with other people who suffer from the same or similar problems can be immediately therapeutic for the individual,” he says. “Then there’s the added benefit of mutual support and group coaching.”
Love cautions that these self-help strategies don’t work for everyone. “There is a subgroup of people who struggle at a deeper level and need one-on-one therapy to address underlying problems,” he says. “There are still others who are fundamentally compromised in their impulse-control abilities, such as individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” Love has found mindfulness-based strategies combined with cognitive behavioral techniques to be effective for both of these groups.
Love and many other sexual addiction therapists don’t see porn as inherently bad, or good, for that matter. “Porn itself isn’t necessarily a problem any more than alcohol is a problem,” says Love. “Chronic overconsumption of pornography by some vulnerable populations, however, is problematic in the same way that chronic overconsumption of alcohol by some vulnerable populations is problematic. The key is to understand who is using it, how, and why.”