Counselling for buyers of sexual services seems effective
In Gothenburg, Sweden, individual counselling has been offered to buyers of sexual services. According to an interview study with men between the ages of 38 and 77, most men reported that they had stopped or reduced buying sexual services after the treatment.
Facilities that offer psychosocial support to people who buy sexual services are almost non-existent outside of Sweden. Those that do exist are mainly located in Sweden – the municipally operated KAST clinics. KAST is an acronym taken from the Swedish term 'köpare av sexuella tjänster' (buyers of sexual services).
The clinics offer psychosocial supportive counsellling to people who buy sexual services and who experience this, or other aspects of their sexuality, as problematic.
The KAST clinic in Gothenburg founded in 1997 was the first of its kind. This study describes the KAST clinic activities in Gothenburg and evaluates the perceived effect of the treatment among its clients.
Professional counselling with therapeutical approach
The treatment offered by the KAST clinic is individually tailored supportive counselling, which incorporates elements of several psychotherapeutic methods. Given the lack of scientific studies on effective treatment methods of people who buy sexual services, the professional expertise and experience found in the KAST clinics serve as important foundation for the development of effective approaches and methods.
Furthermore, the clinics' work has been guided bye the needs of the individual. Their clients have very different needs and finds themselves in very different situations, which requires flexibility and an eclectic approach.
The key element of the treatment at KAST clinics is the relationship between therapist and client, which is characterised by a balance between confronting the client with their own actions while simultaneously conveying that the client is worthy of respect and compassion.
To capture the clients’ perceptions of the treatment and its effects, semi-structured, individual, in dept interviews were conducted with seven clients between the ages of 38 and 77, and data from self-assessment form from 29 men were also used.
Most of the clients who were interviewed and who filled in the self-rating scale at the end of their treatment or follow-up, reported that they had experienced a positive change. Their well-being and intimate relationships had improved, and they had stopped or reduced buying sexual services after finishing the treatment. Other compulsive sexual behaviors viewed as problematic by the clients were also reported to decrease.
Since the sample size of the study is too small to draw conclusions about treatment effects end generalize these to the population of sex buyers as a whole, a more large-scale study, involving several KAST clinics, is carried out between 2022 och 2025.
Report: KAST in Gothenburg – a counselling clinic for buyers of sexual services (pdf)
Publication date: 7 February 2023
Last updated: 11 June 2024