Facebook and Twitter have been ablaze with the news of Whitney Houston's death since Saturday night. The celebrity spectacle is complicated and distancing but important to examine.

In the last several years there has been widespread attention on the sexual behavior of well-known and powerful individuals who previously kept their exploits under the radar. While acting-out behavior, particularly amongst celebrities, is not new, it is not so easily hidden as it once was, due largely to the proliferation of social media and broad internet access. At the same time, we continue to hear about a range of inappropriate sexual behavior by many of less means. In both cases, those involved appear to feel as if they are exempt from following the rules – that is until they get caught. These behaviors, however, are often compulsive and involve a great deal of risk taking, in spite of negative consequences. This is the core of sex addiction.

Clients new to Freedom Institute sometimes wonder how a psychotherapeutic method that involves inviting other group members to play our “Inner Addict” can possibly help us stay sober. I can relate. I had a similar reaction myself when I first participated in psychodrama as a client, early in my recovery. All I knew with certainty was that – on my own – I could not get off the endless rollercoaster ride my life had become, vacillating between feeling flooded by unwanted emotions and enjoying the adrenaline high that accompanies the illusion of control. Little did I know that 16 years later, brain research would shed light on why and how psychodrama and other action methods can move clients efficiently along their path to freedom from the endless cycle of addiction.