Published research and outcomes

An exploratory clinical evaluation of a 10-session compassion-focused group intervention for men with compulsive sexual behaviour, delivered within an NHS sexual health service. Fifty-nine men completed the programme across seven cohorts, including a substantial proportion engaging in chemsex.

Outcomes were measured on validated instruments at baseline, end of intervention, and follow-up. The programme produced a large reduction in compulsive sexual behaviour, significant reductions in sexual shame and self-criticism, and meaningful improvements in self-compassion. Eighty-six per cent of completers met criteria for reliable change on the primary outcome measure. Outcomes were equivalent for participants whose primary presentation was chemsex and those for whom it was not, in a population historically under-served by both sexual health and substance misuse services.

The findings support compassion-focused group therapy as a culturally sensitive, non-shaming alternative to abstinence-based approaches for this clinical population, with particular relevance for LGBTQ+ men and for the intersection of sexual behaviour and minority stress.

A qualitative companion to the outcomes study, drawing on feedback from men who completed the group programme. The analysis surfaces participants’ own accounts of what changed during the intervention and what made change possible.

Three themes are consistently described: the relief of finding, often for the first time in adult life, that they were not the only one carrying these patterns; the power of being understood by other men who had been through the same thing; and a shift in how participants understood and related to their own behaviour, away from self-blame and towards a more compassionate clinical framing.

The findings position the experience of the group itself, the space, the acceptance, and the shared understanding, as one of the most significant drivers of change, alongside the explicit therapeutic content.