Short report
Hypersexuality from a psychodynamic point of view
M. Hebbrecht, R.A. Pierloot
This article describes the most important psychoanalytic concepts regarding the phenomenon of hypersexuality. Unusually frequent heterosexual contact is, by no means, a form of sexual 'supernormality'. Hypersexuality is determined and governed by different intrapsychic needs and reflects a deficient integration of love and sexuality. Stoller's psychoanalytic conceptualization of sexual perversions seems to be the most elaborated theoretical framework. But hypersexuality may also have a specific function in the actual interpersonal context. The psychodynamic concepts and their therapeutic implications are critically evaluated.