While not included in the diagnostic classifications of sexual disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), sexual addictions and compulsivities are increasingly being encountered by mental health professionals, and the field of sexual addictions is gaining wider acceptance (Delmonico & Carnes, 1999; Garos, 1997). Research shows the majority of people struggling with sexual addictions and compulsivities involving the Internet are married, heterosexual males (Cooper, Delmonico, & Burg, 2000), and that women who are married to these men are directly impacted by this problem (Schneider, 2000b). Although there is research on many issues relating to wives of sex addicts, there is currently a void in the research literature regarding the kinds of support women find most beneficial when dealing with a spouse's sexually addictive or compulsive behaviors. The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the kinds of support women find most beneficial when dealing with a spouse's sexually addictive and compulsive behaviors. Using grounded theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), twenty-two women from Canada and the United States were interviewed to find out what they found most helpful as they sought support to cope with a spouse's sexually addictive and compulsive behaviors. A theory of support for this population emerged from the data. It was found that women in affected marriages utilize two main categories of support, namely, coping supports, and change-oriented supports such as Recreational, Relational, Professional, Spiritual and Conceptual. Responding to problematic sexual behavior is moderated by numerous internal and external factors. Five common factors of positive support experiences were identified across the sample. These five common factors were: (a) Connection, (b) Advocacy, (c) Validation, (d) Education, and (e) Direction (CAVED). This study did not succeed in identifying distinct pathways of support for women who discover this problem versus those who have it disclosed to them, nor did this study identify specific treatment modalities that are effective. The results of this study provide a useful template for clinicians, support networks and researchers to begin understanding what is helpful and unhelpful when working with this population.

En 2017, il n'est plus nécessaire de se rappeler un numéro de téléphone par cœur, de patienter gentiment pour goûter les fruits et légumes de saison ou d'attendre quelqu’un à la gare avec impatience sans avoir eu de ses nouvelles : les émotions sont d'avantage liées à des moyens de communication bien plus immédiats. Le rythme naturel du temps qui passe dans nos vies semble s’apparenter pour l'homme (et pour la femme) du nouveau millénaire, davantage à une accélération effrénée et constante, une course contre le temps, dans l'illusion d'un monde instantané, hyper-rapide, super efficace : un monde « smart ». De cette manière, plutôt que d'écouter et de respecter le rythme naturel de notre respiration, de notre corps, nous choisissons à chaque instant de courir toujours plus vite, dans l'illusion omnipotente de gagner la course contre le temps, l'infaillible gardien de notre existence. Nous exprimons le désir d'être constamment connecté, créant l'illusion de l'hyper-présence. L'évolution technologique a radicalement transformé notre style de vie, notre manière de communiquer, notre propre expérience humaine et émotive. Si d'un côté la révolution technologique à laquelle nous appartenons, et dont nous continuons à en être les acteurs a permis la transformation globale des processus de communication de masse, celle-ci a en même temps permis l'émergence de nouvelles fragilités et la manifestation évidente de psychopathologies en relation à Internet. C’est à partir de la consultation de plus de 240 articles scientifiques internationaux et avec les données fournies sur la prévalence de ces nouvelles formes d’addiction en Asie (le continent technologiquement plus avancé et concerné à ce sujet), que le comité scientifique APA (American Psychiatric Association – Société Américaine de Psychiatrie) a décidé d’introduire l’Internet Gaming Disorder dans la dernière version du DSM, en Mai 2013. Le domaine de l’addiction à Internet est une frontière extrêmement emmêlée et complexe qui représente un nœud névralgique des discussions d'une partie de la communauté scientifique internationale. Voraces et habiles consommatrices des nouvelles technologies, les nouvelles générations sont particulièrement exposées au risque de développer ces nouvelles formes de dépendance. Il est nécessaire que la communauté scientifique internationale s'interroge sur de nouvelles stratégies d'intervention pour pouvoir intercepter et accueillir ces formes de malaise juvénile, qu’elle sache les définir pour les identifier et les soigner grâce à des protocoles d'intervention pour répondre de manière toujours plus efficace aux besoins réels des ces jeunes consommateurs. D'où l’intérêt de développer des projets de recherche portant sur ce sujet. Cette thèse, décrit donc un problème en émergence et la proposition d’une approche thérapeutique possible face à ces nouvelles formes d’addiction avec les arts thérapies, plus précisément avec la dramathérapie. Le cadre expérimental de cette thèse s’articule en deux parties : la première partie correspond à l’étude des répercussions physiologiques notamment sur la variation des compétences visuelles par rapport à un usage abusif ou addictif des écrans. Cette étude, qui constitue la principale expérience psychopédagogique de prévention de cette thèse, a été adressée à 250 adolescents italiens sains. La deuxième partie est une expérience clinique de prise en charge des addictions à Internet, auprès d’un public de 13 adolescents et jeunes adultes atteints du syndrome d’Asperger, addictifs aux jeux vidéo. Un dernier projet de dramathérapie adressé à des adolescents et des jeunes adultes, souffrant d’addiction aux substances constitue l’ouverture du regard clinique face aux comorbidités possibles qui caractérisent la pratique clinique de notre champ d’étude. (...) / In 2017, there is no longer a need to remember a phone number by heart, wait for the right time to taste seasonal fruit or vegetables, or wait for someone at the station without having news briefly before hugging him on the train quay Emotions are more closely related to much more immediate communication flows. The natural rhythm of time flowing in our lives seems to be synonymous for the man (and the woman) of the new millennium of a frantic and constant acceleration against time, in the illusion of a flashy world, super-fast, super-efficient: a smart world. In this way, instead of listening to and respecting the natural rhythm of our breath, our body, we choose at any time to run faster and faster, in the omnipotent illusion of winning the race against time, the unreliable guardian of our existence. We express the desire to be constantly connected, creating the illusion of hyper-presence. Technological development has radically changed our lifestyle, our way of communicating, our human and emotional, individual and collective experience. On the one hand, the technological revolution has allowed the global transformation of the mass communication process and is an inexhaustible source of knowledge and discovery; not to be demonized but to be explored with intelligence and curiosity; it has at the same time led to the emergence of new vulnerabilities and manifestations of Internet-related psychopathological discomfort. It is through the consultation of over 240 international scientific articles and data on the prevalence of these new forms of dependence in Asia (the continent most technologically advanced and involved in this regard), that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) decided to introduce the Internet Gaming Disorder in its latest version of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in May 2013. The field of Internet addiction is an extremely tangled and complex border that represents a nerve node discussion in part of the international scientific community. Voracious consumers and clever users of new technologies, that is the new generations, seem to be particularly at risk of developing these dependencies. This is why it is important to develop research projects and it is urgent to propose psycho-educational prevention projects for the adolescent population. This thesis describes an emergency problem and the proposal of a possible approach facing these new addiction forms through arts therapies, more precisely through dramatherapy. The experimental part of this thesis is articulated in two parts: the first one corresponds to the study of physiological repercussion on variations of visual skills related to the use or abuse of screen use.This study, that represents the psycho pedagogical and prevention experience of this thesis, was addressed to 250 Italian sound teenagers. The second part consists of a clinical experience of cure of Internet addiction addressed to 13 video games addicted adolescents and young adults with Asperger syndrome. A further project of dramatherapy addressed to drugs addicted adolescents and young adults represents a clinical perspective in front of possible comorbidities that characterize the clinical practice in our field of study. The dramatherapy approach in the field of prevention and cure of web related addictions is considered regarding two important aspects: the recovery and reclamation of the body and sensory experience (size altered in the virtual experience facing the monitors) and the possibility to expose the person to a gaming experience through a shared transitional space. The body dimension, completely abandoned or altered in the virtual experience, is recovered and exalted through dramatherapy. The therapeutical approach is born, grows and develops in the body. In our view the stage represents the appropriate mediation between the virtual space of the abuse and real space of existence. (...)