What is a paraphilia?

PARAPHILIAS -- Greek for "beyond normal", and is the modern day psychiatric term for sexual perversions. Paraphilias refer to intense, repetitive sexual urges, fantasies or behaviors where the sexual goal is an unusual situation, activity or object. They differ from what some people might consider "novel" sexual activity in that these behaviors cause significant distress or impairment in areas of life functioning. In other words, the person typically recognizes the symptoms as negatively impacting their …

…behavior, and psychoanalytic therapies are used to treat individuals with paraphilias. Some prescription medicines have been used to help decrease the compulsive thinking associated with the paraphilias. Hormones are prescribed occasionally for individuals who experience intrusive sexual thoughts, urges, or abnormally frequent sexual behaviors. The treatment must be long-term if it is to be effective. The course of paraphilias is usually chronic in nature. The prognosis for complete recovery is generally considered to be guarded.