Robert Weiss LCSW | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

A digital-age sex, intimacy and relationships expert specializing in infidelity and addictions—most notably sex, porn, and love addiction. I frequently serve as a subject expert on human sexuality for multiple media outlets including CNN, HLN, MSNBC, The New York Times, among others. I am the author of eight books, including “Out of the Doghouse: A Step-by-Step Relationship-Saving Guide for Men Caught Cheating". To find information and resources including blogs and links to podcasts, visit www.sexandrelationshiphealing.com.

Over the years I have trained therapists and created and overseen numerous addiction and mental health treatment facilities. To learn more about training for therapists, affiliate programs for treatment (intensive outpatient or residential treatment), visit www.seekingintegrity.org or contact tami@seekingintegrity.org. For more information, please visit my website, robertweissmsw.com, or follow me on Twitter, @RobWeissMSW.

Current position (2)

CEO

Seeking Integrity, LLC

Author

HCI, Gentle Path Press, Others

Achievements (1)

Expert Witness: Ongoing Sexual Addiction and Sexual Offender

2003 to the Present

Provide expert analysis and testimony in sexual addiction and sexual offending cases
Provide detailed “fitness for duty” evaluations (MDs, attorneys, therapists, clergy, etc.)
Provide psycho-sexual evaluations fo

Degrees (1)

Master of Social Work

UCLA

1990 to 1992

Presentations

Presentations (6)

Sex Addiction 101

In the real world, tens of thousands of men and women daily voluntarily choose to attend sexual addiction 12 step programs and related therapies. Yet in the clinical world, the DSM 5 does not acknowledge the issue (Hypersexual Disorder), while many consider it a joke, a form of social control or simply “an excuse” for bad behavior. This talk is designed to offer realistic, useful insight into the problem of compulsive/addictive porn use, infidelities and other sexual acting out (on and offline). The talk will provide insight into the process addictions, their treatment and the empathic insight required to view this problem for what it is—the adult expression of early complex trauma and attachment loss.

Out of the Doghouse: Healing Relationships Affected by Digital Infidelity

What defines cheating today in our age of webcams, online porn and “adult friend finder apps”? “Sadly, those who repeatedly betray their deepest relationship commitments (online and in-person) are often both intimacy- and empathy-challenged, lacking the mature concrete insight and the related skills needed to help revitalize a wounded relationship. These tools are especially important, “after the affair” when anger and emotional instability tend to rule the roost. This talk provides a reset for professionals working with those acting out their needs and desires in a digital world, while offering new views toward addressing sexual and romantic acting out- via social media and the web. With new clarity regarding what defines ‘cheating’ today, we can help couples find the empathy, honesty and lasting behavior change required to grow relationship intimacy. This discussion will offer an overview of the problem along with specific empathy, and relationship rebuilding skills

Family Therapy Updated for the Digital Age: Understanding the Role of Social Media and Digital Tech

While much fear and hype has been created in the past decade by well-meaning clinicians and the media, the actual role and effect of digital media on American family life has yet to be fully understood and researched. So, what can a useful, caring counselor or therapist offer today to families struggling with issues such as digital boundaries, cyberbullying and tech stressors, as well as problems like online gaming, gambling and sexuality? This timely, engaging talk, by a clinical thought leader and author of several books related to our evolving digital world and its’ effect on the therapy space, gives attendees a chance to revisit, reshape and challenge their beliefs about how digital technology is affecting family life, relationships, school and the workplace. Blending current research with historical references, this talk will provide clarity in an area where we clinicians sometimes feel under-informed or even downright confused.

Understanding the effect of the digital world on sex, relationships and addiction.

While much fear and hype has been created in the past decade by well-meaning clinicians and the media, the actual role and effect of digital media has yet to be fully evolved, understood and researched. So, what can a useful, caring counselor or therapist offer today to families struggling with issues such as digital boundaries, cyberbullying and tech stressors, as well as problems like online gaming, gambling and sexuality? This timely, engaging talk, by a clinical thought leader and author of several books related to our evolving digital world and its’ effect on the therapy space, gives attendees a chance to revisit, reshape and challenge their beliefs about how digital technology is affecting family life, relationships, school and the workplace. Blending current research with historical references, this talk will provide clarity in an area where we clinicians sometimes feel under-informed or even downright confused.

Understanding Addiction and Narcissism through the Lens of Intimacy and Attachment

This presentation provides insight into how emotional survival of childhood abuse and neglect can evolve adult symptoms such as addictions and personality disorders. The material encourages deeper empathic understanding for childhood survivors who have become emotionally challenged adults. The survivor/addicts’ dissociation from healthy intimacy and frequent addictive acting out is the emphasis for discussion. Difficult to understand and often even harder to love – addicts with personality/intimacy problems can express both the arrogance and unavailability of a defended heart along with the deep inner despair of low-self-esteem and longing. This t offers an empathic model of the development of adult process addictions (sex, food, gambling), emotional detachment, narcissism and related personality problems. By juxtaposing our deep need to feel loved and valued with the learned fears that come along with intimacy (for most survivors), this presentation hopes to encourage deeper empathy

Sex and Porn Addiction 101: The Basics

Often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, the problem of sexual addiction is one frequently presented by angry spouses who feel betrayed and men who have lost health, career and family-life goals to sexual acting out. This presentation by a well-known expert and author on sexual addiction treatment offers an overview of the questions and concerns most often asked by sex addicts (of all sexual orientations) and their spouses/partners. The material will offer a review of the diagnosis of sexual addiction, common behaviors and problems encountered by sex addicts along with direction toward eliminating problem sexual behavior. The relationship between sexual addiction and early trauma survival will be reviewed along with pertinent discussion about managing and pacing recovery in multiple related areas such as behavioral (additions) and emotional/relationship (intimacy problems). The influence of Internet based sex and porn on sexual addiction will be discussed. Participants will be offered a m