I've seen a lot of posts on here about sex positivity, accepting your sexuality and advocating against pathologizing healthy sexuality, which is great, but I feel like there needs to be a PSA. It is absolutely possible to have an unhealthy relationship with sexuality or unhealthy sexual behaviours, so: if you are struggling with sexual compulsions that are interfering with your ability to manage your daily life, cause you distress and are not rooted in internalized religious, political or queerphobic beliefs and you see a "mental health professional" who labels themselves as a CSAT (Certified Sex Addiction Therapist), you run the other way.
While it's true that CSATs are mostly licensed therapists, sex addiction is not a diagnosable condition and the literature around it is based in pseudoscience, moral panic and in some cases, conversion therapy. The scientific community largely does not agree with an addiction model applied to sexuality and you cannot be a therapist for something that is not a diagnosable condition. The ICD-11 instead lists CSBD (Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder), which is different in its presentation, prognosis and treatment and its diagnosis requires factoring in the socialization and internalized beliefs of the patient. If you have CSBD or suspect it, be aware there is a whole industry of religious fundies and their organizations out there looking to take advantage of you and abuse you both psychologically and financially, so take care of yourselves and stay safe. I knew someone who had CSBD and they put them in a group setting with like, people who masturbated once a month and literal sex offenders. What you're going to want to find instead is a licensed sex therapist or a therapist specializing in impulse control disorders.
Other red flags to look out for to avoid puritanical therapy abuse: anything labeling itself ARP (addiction recovery program), accountability software, accountability partners, anything that directly tells you that your behavior could escalate to something criminal, anything that tells you that you can be conditioned like Pavlov's dog to be queer, have a kink or a paraphilia (which they unfortunate equate), and anything that wants to include your family members in your treatment before you've brought up any issues with them
