When He’s Married to Mom: How to Help Mother-Enmeshed Men Open Their Hearts to True Love and Commitment by Kenneth M. Adams, Ph.D. with Alexander P. Morgan

Excerpt from book - In his unconscious – and sometimes conscious – mind, a mother-enmeshed man is representing his mother’s interests, while his own have become secondary. If he does something he thinks she wouldn’t like, he feels disloyal to her. If he "gets serious" about a woman, suddenly, without understanding why, he is overwhelmed with feelings of fear, anxiety, and guilt. Ambivalence and withdrawal inevitably follow.

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Silently Seduced: When Parents Make their Children Partners, Understanding Covert Incest by Kenneth M. Adams, Ph.D.

Excerpt from book - Covert incest occurs when a child becomes the object of a parents affection, love, passion, and preoccupation. The parent, motivated by the loneliness and emptiness created by a chronically troubled marriage or relationship, makes the child a surrogate partner. The boundary between caring and incestuous love is crossed when the child exists to meet the needs of the parent rather than the child.

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Clinical Management of Sex Addiction co-edited by Patrick J. Carnes, Ph.D. and Kenneth M. Adams, Ph.D.

Excerpt from book - Sexual addiction can best be conceptualized as an intimacy disorder manifested as a compulsive cycle of preoccupation, ritualization, sexual behavior, and despair. Central to the disorder is the inability of the individual to adequately bond and attach in intimate relationships. The origin of the disorder is rooted in early attachment failure with primary caregivers. Sexual addiction becomes a way to compensate for this early attachment failure.

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