Love Deformed, Love Transformed

How is human love deformed in sexual addiction? How can human love be transformed? David Bellusci considers three signs of addiction and then, by looking at neurotic tendencies within a psychoanalytical framework, as well as the neurobiological nature of sexual pleasure, explores the causes of sexual addiction. Behavioral expression of addiction is examined in pornography, masturbation, cybersex, and multiple sexual partners. Working within a Christian anthropology drawn from Thomas Aquinas, Bellusci considers the morality of pleasure; how pleasure suggests an antinomy of satisfaction-dissatisfaction. He explores how the fallen human condition effects the will, and the consent to sin. He concludes with a focus on how the addict may be supported, at the psychological, relational, and spiritual levels. ""With great sensitivity, Bellusci makes clear the mental processes taking place in lust-obsessed individuals. His study fills a very desperate need in the field of sex addiction by supplementing Freudian psychology with the completeness and reality of Aquinas. Bill Wilson once wrote that 'When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically' and Bellusci provides the scientific and philosophical groundwork to sustain this claim. Recommended especially for spiritual directors."" --Andrzej Skulski, Military Chaplain for the Royal Canadian Navy ""With Love Deformed, Love Transformed Father Bellusci offers clinicians a theological approach to the widespread therapeutic and pastoral problem of sexual compulsivity. By providing a detailed but accessible academic analysis of the topic, he advances a needed rapprochement between what secular science can offer, through explanation of Freudian psychoanalysis, and theological wisdom as represented by Thomas Aquinas. Undertaking this important task will hopefully contribute to practical improvement in the lives of many who suffer."" --Wayne Ottenbreit, president, Catholic Psychotherapy Association of Canada David C. Bellusci holds a Licentiate in Theology, a PhD in Philosophy, and a PsyD in Clinical Pastoral Psychotherapy. He belongs to the Dominican Order and teaches Philosophy and Religious Studies at Catholic Pacific College, in Langley, British Columbia.