Alexandra Katehakis

Alexandra Katehakis is the clinical director of the Center for Healthy Sex in Los Angeles and an author. Katehakis is a clinical supervisor at American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) and clinical supervisor and member of the teaching faculty for the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) a national certifying body for sex addiction therapists. She has been a contributor to Psychology Today, Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post, as well as a panelist at sexuality conferences and public events.

Biography
Alexandra Katehakis holds a doctorate in human sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, and is a licensed psychotherapist in family therapy with a 1997 graduate degree from Antioch University. She holds licensure and certification with several different mental health organizations: Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT-S) with the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP); Certified Sex Therapist (CST-S) with the American Association of Sex Educators Counselors and Therapists (AASECT); and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).

She joined the Walking Theater Group in 1992 at the invitation of actor Joseph Culp who co-founded the process with John Cogswell. She later co-founded the Walking-In-Your-Shoes Group with Culp and shared in the further development of this transpersonal body mind process.

In 1997, Katehakis was one of the early practitioners in the field of sex addiction. She became certified as a sex addiction therapist by Patrick Carnes. In her practice, Katehakis focuses on treating sexual dysfunction, sexual anorexia, sexual addiction and love addiction in individuals and couples. Her first book, Erotic Intelligence, offers a healthy model of sexuality for sex addicts. Since 2006, Katehakis has studied affective neuroscience with Allan N. Schore, incorporating affect regulation theory and interpersonal neurobiology into her psychobiological approach to sex addiction treatment.

In 2009, Katehakis' article "Affective Neuroscience and the Treatment of Sexual Addiction" was published in Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention. The article focused on the neuropsychobiological impact of early childhood trauma on the affective, cognitive, and behavioral development of sexual addicts.

In 2016, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists awarded Mirror of Intimacy with the Clark Vincent Award, and in 2015, the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists awarded co-authors Alexandra Katehakis and Tom Bliss with the AASECT 2015 Book of the Year Award. Katehakis is the 2012 recipient of the Carnes Award for contributions to the field of sex addiction, presented by the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH). She was also a co-recipient of the 2013 Clark Vincent Award from the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) for her role as a contributing author to the clinical textbook, Making Advances: A Comprehensive Guide for Treating Female Sex and Love Addicts. In 2013, Katehakis joined the clinical team at the Meadows inpatient trauma and addiction rehabilitation center in Arizona as a Senior Fellow.

From February 2015 until January 2018, Katehakis appeared as a regular guest expert weekly every Friday on Dr. Drew Midday Live with Mike Catherwood alongside Drew Pinsky and Mike Catherwood on KABC (AM). From 2011 to 2016, Katehakis was a contributor to Psychology Today and The Huffington Post, writing their annual Best and Worst Sex List. Katehakis makes appearances on radio, film and television news shows, as well as online and print interviews. Notable appearances include Inside Hollywood, Spike TV, Los Angeles Times and CNN. She has appeared on panels at national conferences to discuss sex addiction alongside the likes of Daniel J. Siegel and Christopher Kennedy Lawford, as well as movie screening panel discussions for Shame (2011 film) and, Thanks for Sharing (2012 film), with the film's co-writer Matt Winston.

Publications

 * Papers
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (September and October 2016). "Sex Addiction: Holistic Treatment Goals and Protocols for Body, Brain, and Relationship". The Neuropsychotherapist.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (Winter, 2017). "Sexual Fantasy and Adult Attunement". The American Journal of Play. 9 (2): 252–270.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (September and October 2016). "Sex Addiction: Holistic Treatment Goals and Protocols for Body, Brain, and Relationship". The Neuropsychotherapist.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (Winter, 2017). "Sexual Fantasy and Adult Attunement". The American Journal of Play. 9 (2): 252–270.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (September and October 2016). "Sex Addiction: Holistic Treatment Goals and Protocols for Body, Brain, and Relationship". The Neuropsychotherapist.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (Winter, 2017). "Sexual Fantasy and Adult Attunement". The American Journal of Play. 9 (2): 252–270.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (September and October 2016). "Sex Addiction: Holistic Treatment Goals and Protocols for Body, Brain, and Relationship". The Neuropsychotherapist.
 * Katehakis, Alexandra (Winter, 2017). "Sexual Fantasy and Adult Attunement". The American Journal of Play. 9 (2): 252–270.


 * Books
 * Erotic Intelligence: Igniting Hot, Healthy Sex While in Recovery from Sex Addiction (Health Communications, 2010) ISBN 978-0-7573-1437-7
 * Making Advances: A Comprehensive Guide for Treating Female Sex and Love Addicts (SASH, 2012) ISBN 978-0-9857-4720-6
 * Mirror of Intimacy: Daily Reflections on Emotional and Erotic Intelligence (CHS, 2014) ISBN 978-0-6158-4951-5
 * Sex Addiction as Affect Dysregulation: A Neurobiologically Informed Holistic Treatment (W. W. Norton & Company, 2016) ISBN 978-0-3937-0902-5
 * Sexual Reflections: A Workbook for Designing and Celebrating Your Sexual Health Plan (CHS, 2018) ISBN 978-1717166128
 * What Turns You On?: A Guide to Living Your Best Sex Life. (CHS, 2023) ISBN 979-8366233897