Human behavior is much more complex and fluid than our systems sometimes allow for.

The legal system, for example, is adverserial and tends to assume stable agency, regardless of biology.

Negative behavior can result from complex interaction of biology, circumstance, choice, disease, medications.

Accontability needs to be balanced with humility and compassion.

A recent Psychology Today post titled “The Forensic Evolution of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder” explored the definition of compulsive sexual behaviors and the debate that surrounds them.

The authors, Dr. Beata Bőthe and Dr. Mónika Koós, note that at the core of the debate is a difficult question: If one cannot control sexual impulses, a basic human instinct, is this a personal failure requiring responsibility and accountability, or is it a medical condition requiring treatment? After all, the struggle to push aside sexual fantasies or opportunities in favor of higher objectives is a near-universal human experience.

As a neurologist, I have long been interested in this question.

I knew that the experts who collaborated on the DSM-5 had considered a new diagnostic category, “Hypersexual Disorder,” but ultimately did not include it in the final version. What I did not know was that the major reason for this was fear of forensic........

© Psychology Today