Looking for Love

According to Diamond, a San Francisco psychotherapist and ``certified addictionologist,'' sexual obsessionalmost invisible because it is so prevalentis a treatable addiction. Sexual preoccupation afflicts men and women on all levels, according to the author who cites his own period as an ``attachment junkie,'' even as he functioned as a ``successful psychotherapist, husband and father of three teenage children.'' In Diamond's view, interpersonal or love addiction springs from the dark underside of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and '70s, when, he asserts, freedom evolved into compulsion. One form of therapy, a 12-step process of recovery in a program akin to the AA prescription, is described here in various premutations relevant to the author's clients. Although the focus is on sexual addiction, other related addictions, such as alcoholism, are discussed as well. A self-help questionnaire and resource directory are also included. Psychotherapy and Social Science Book Club selection. (August)