Inside Jesse James' Reported Sex Addiction Treatment
Jesse James could be confronting tough issues in a spa-like setting.
April 1, 2010 — -- What do you do with a problem like Jesse James?
After four women came out claiming to have had affairs with James, the husband of Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock checked himself into a treatment facility, possibly to deal with sex addiction issues.
"Jesse checked himself into a treatment facility to deal with personal issues," James' representative said in a statement to People magazine late Tuesday. "He realized that this time was crucial to help himself, help his family and help save his marriage."
According to RadarOnline.com and TMZ.com, James checked into the Sierra Tuscon facility in Arizona, which specializes in drug, alcohol and sex addiction, as well as other disorders. James' representative didn't immediately respond to ABCNews.com's requests for comment; a representative for Sierra Tuscon said the facility doesn't confirm or deny reports of patients in the facility.
Sierra Tuscon might have special meaning for James -- it's the same facility that Bullock reportedly used while she prepared to shoot the 2000 movie "28 Days," in which she plays a hard drinker forced into rehab.
Considering James has no known history of drug or alcohol abuse, it's plausible that he's taking a page from Tiger Woods' book, seeking to tame the beast that allegedly made him cheat. Sound like a stint at the spa? Yes and no, according to mental health experts contacted by ABCNews.com. The surroundings may be lavish:
"It's definitely posh," said integrative medicine specialist Dr. Eric Braverman, who has sent patients to Sierra Tuscon in the past. "There's therapy, there's a forest, there are outdoor activities. It's like Canyon Ranch with counseling."
But if James is undergoing sex addiction treatment, he's got a world of (emotional) pain ahead of him.
"Most studies show that 80 percent of people struggling with sexual compulsions have some kind of family-of-origin or sexual trauma," said Aline Zoldbrod, a psychologist specializing in individual and couples therapy and author of the book "SexSmart."
"Trauma is not just sexual trauma, it's emotional neglect, physical neglect or abuse, emotional abuse, experiencing or witnessing family violence, and/or growing up with parents who are addicted or mentally ill. In treatment, the patient is forced to take a long, hard, deep look at his family history and to confront the painful feelings which he or she has avoided in a supportive, informed atmosphere."
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