Dr Andrea Stoltenberg is a Clinical Psychologist and the Lead Psychologist at the Changing Unwanted Behaviour (CUBE) Clinic at UCL and the CNWL Club Drug Clinic. She completed her undergraduate psychology training at University of Bath and doctoral training in clinical psychology at University College London. She was part of setting up the CUBE clinic in 2022 and has over 10 years of experience in working with children, young people and adults in the NHS, including working across primary-, secondary- and higher-education institutions. Her special interest is in preventative interventions for mental health and addictions, and she is contributing to assessment and treatments of students presenting with compulsive sexual behaviours.

Workshop: Enhancing clinical confidence in addressing compulsive sexual behaviour in young adults

There remains ongoing debate as to whether compulsive sexual behaviour is best understood as an impulse control disorder or a behavioural addiction. Nonetheless, its clinical presentation and treatment approaches overlap with those of behavioural addictions. Compulsive sexual behaviour is also highly comorbid with a range of mental health conditions and other substance and behavioural addictions. Addiction practitioners are therefore likely to encounter compulsive sexual behaviour in clinical practice and are well placed to support this population. Increasing concern about problematic pornography use and recent introduction of the Online Safety Act, underscore the timeliness and relevance of this topic. However, many mental health and addiction practitioners report limited confidence and expertise in addressing problematic pornography use and other compulsive sexual behaviour.

Although addictive and compulsive behaviours are common among higher education students, access to specialist UK addiction services for this group remains limited. In response, the CUBE (Changing Unwanted Behaviours) Clinic (an NHS service based within a UK university) was established in January 2022 to provide specialist assessment and psychological therapy for students experiencing substance and behavioural addictions, including problematic pornography use. This interactive workshop aims to enhance delegates’ knowledge, confidence, and skills in working sensitively with this group, and will be of interest for both researchers and clinicians. Drawing on challenges encountered within our service as well as findings from our service evaluation and research, the session will translate real-world evidence into practical guidance.

Participants will explore diagnostic frameworks, consider common clinical presentations, develop skills in assessment and discover more about targeted psychological interventions.