Sex Addiction & Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Polygraph Examinations
Clarity, Accountability, and a Structured Way Forward.
A sex addiction or compulsive sexual behaviour polygraph examination can help assess a structured disclosure or examine a clearly defined issue concerning past behaviour, pornography use, online activity, contact, or relationship boundaries. It is not a therapy session, diagnosis, or guarantee of truth, but it can provide a structured process to support accountability, disclosure, and informed decision-making.
The term 'sex addiction' is commonly used by the public and in relationship recovery settings. Clinically, some presentations may be discussed in terms of Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder, which is recognised in ICD-11. A polygraph examination is not a clinical diagnosis and should not replace therapy or medical advice.
Living with Doubt
Uncertainty about a partner's sexual behaviour, undisclosed contact, pornography use, or online activity can cause significant anxiety, distress, and damage to relationships. Whether you are experiencing doubt as a partner or carrying the weight of undisclosed behaviour yourself, the situation can feel overwhelming and isolating.
A polygraph examination does not promise certainty or resolve complex relationship issues on its own. However, it can offer a structured process to assess a disclosure or examine a clearly defined issue within an agreed scope — providing a foundation for accountability, informed decision-making, and, where appropriate, the beginning of a recovery process.
"It is not about blame. It is about creating a structured opportunity for honesty, clarity, and a way forward."
Integrating Polygraph Examination into Recovery Support
Confidential Examinations. Respectful, Recovery-Focused Support.
The Centre for Forensic Neuroscience understands the sensitive nature of these enquiries. The examination process is guided by professional standards, careful definition of the issue and scope, appropriate examination design, technically appropriate question formulation, and respect for everyone involved.
Qualified Examiner
Dr Keith Ashcroft is a Chartered Psychologist, polygraph examiner, and member of the American Polygraph Association. All examinations are conducted to recognised professional standards.
Confidential and Discreet Process
Information is handled discreetly and professionally. Any limits to confidentiality, such as safeguarding concerns or agreed third-party reporting, are explained before the examination.
Respectful and Trauma-Informed Approach
The process is conducted with sensitivity. You will be treated respectfully, without judgement, and with an understanding of the emotional difficulty of these situations.
Structured, Evidence-Informed Method
The examination follows a structured process using recognised polygraph procedures. Results should be considered alongside wider context, professional judgement, and any therapeutic or safeguarding input.
How the Process Works
Each polygraph examination follows a structured procedure designed to ensure clarity, informed consent, and a respectful process throughout.
Initial Enquiry and Suitability Review
We discuss the purpose of the examination, the issue requiring examination, its proposed scope, and whether a polygraph examination is appropriate for the situation. The suitability assessment is designed to identify circumstances where proceeding may not be in the individual's best interest and where delaying the examination until further therapeutic work has taken place is clinically preferable. This is a safeguarding measure, not an administrative step.
Consent and Scope
The examinee must understand the purpose and process, understand the defined issue and examination scope, and provide informed consent to the examination. The examiner determines the technically appropriate relevant questions required to examine that issue. Every final examination question is fully reviewed with the examinee before physiological data collection.
Pre-Examination Interview
The examiner explains the process, reviews the issue and scope, and ensures the examinee fully understands every final examination question before any data collection begins.
Polygraph Examination
Sensors record physiological responses while the examinee answers the relevant yes/no questions.
Analysis and Report
Results are analysed by the examiner in relation to the defined examination issue and scope, then summarised in a written report. The report should be interpreted cautiously and in context.
Types of Polygraph Examination
Every case is unique. The examination type is selected according to the issue being examined, its scope, and the wider context.
Disclosure Polygraph Examination
Used where a structured disclosure and material areas of concern are reviewed to define the examination scope. Findings contribute to an assessment of whether the disclosure appears substantially complete within that scope.
Specific Issue Polygraph Examination
Focused on a clearly defined factual issue, such as whether a particular behaviour, contact, or event occurred within an agreed period.
Maintenance or Monitoring Polygraph Examination
Used periodically during recovery or therapeutic work to examine defined recovery-related issues, disclosure requirements, or behavioural boundaries within an agreed period.
Preparing for a Disclosure Polygraph Examination
A disclosure-focused examination is usually most useful when the examinee has already prepared a clear written disclosure or summary of the relevant behaviour.
Before the appointment, it may be helpful to clarify:
- the period of time being considered;
- the relationship boundaries or behaviours at issue;
- any pornography, online activity, contact, messaging, or in-person behaviour that needs to be addressed;
- whether a therapist, solicitor, or other professional is involved;
- who will receive the report;
- how the result will be used.
The Issue Comes Before the Questions
A disclosure examination is not designed around the number of questions a client, partner or therapist wishes to ask. The written disclosure and concerns arising from it are reviewed first to define the examination issue and scope. Areas of concern and suggested questions are valuable case information: they show what matters, where potential omissions may exist, and which material issue areas may require examination.
They are not automatically administered verbatim. The examination issue must be sufficiently defined and behaviourally anchored to permit a technically appropriate examination; broad propositions such as "Have you told me everything?" cannot simply be used as standalone test questions without careful definition of the relevant disclosure scope and issue areas. The examiner determines the appropriate examination design and formulates the limited number of technically appropriate relevant questions required. Every final question is fully reviewed with the examinee before physiological data collection.
For a Disclosure Polygraph Examination, the findings are interpreted within the defined scope and contribute to the overall assessment of Disclosure Confidence regarding the substantial completeness of the disclosure. This does not mean that a polygraph examination can establish absolute historical truth or guarantee that every possible detail has been disclosed.
Who This Service May Help
- Individuals in recovery from compulsive sexual behaviour
- Couples working through disclosure after betrayal or hidden behaviour
- Therapists supporting structured disclosure work
- Partners seeking clarity around agreed relationship boundaries
- Legal or safeguarding professionals requiring a carefully scoped private examination
Important: This service is not suitable where a person is being coerced, where informed consent is absent, or where the examination is being requested to intimidate, shame, or control another person.
Private Therapeutic Polygraph Suitability Questionnaire
This private questionnaire opens as a separate browser-only page for prospective clients and partners considering whether a Disclosure Polygraph, Specific-Issue Polygraph, or Maintenance / Monitoring Polygraph may be appropriate.
It is not a booking form and does not submit answers to The Centre for Forensic Neuroscience. Your answers are processed privately in your browser and can be downloaded or printed locally if you choose.
Open Private QuestionnaireWorking With Therapists and Supporting Professionals
Where a therapist, counsellor, solicitor, or safeguarding professional is involved, Dr Keith Ashcroft can work within a clearly defined professional framework.
The role of the therapist or supporting professional is to manage the therapeutic, legal, or safeguarding context. The role of the polygraph examiner is to define and examine the relevant issue within an agreed scope, using an appropriate examination technique and carefully formulated relevant questions. The examiner does not provide therapy, diagnose Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder, or determine what decisions a couple, therapist, or professional should make after the examination.
Where appropriate, written instructions, submitted concerns, or professional context may inform the examination scope without dictating technical question formulation. This helps ensure that the examination is properly scoped, ethically appropriate, and aligned with the wider support process.
Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice
The Centre for Forensic Neuroscience recognises that clients and partners entering recovery may have experienced significant psychological distress. A therapeutic polygraph examination is not intended to increase that distress and is never presented as a replacement for therapy.
Within a recovery context, polygraph examinations are integrated within an established therapeutic pathway. The examination is one component of a broader process and should support—not undermine—ongoing treatment. Its purpose is to reduce uncertainty, facilitate honest disclosure, improve accountability, and support therapeutic progress when clinically appropriate.
Pre-Examination Suitability Screening
Every referral undergoes structured pre-examination suitability screening. This screening considers whether the timing, circumstances, and clinical presentation of the individual are consistent with a constructive examination process.
An examination may be postponed or declined where there is evidence of:
- acute psychological instability;
- unmanaged mental illness;
- active crisis;
- coercion;
- inability to provide informed consent;
- or where the treating therapist believes further therapeutic work should occur first.
These decisions reflect professional judgement regarding when an examination should, and should not, proceed. The welfare of both the client and the partner remains central throughout the process.
For referring clinicians: Where a therapist has concerns about a client's readiness for examination, The Centre for Forensic Neuroscience welcomes direct communication before a referral is made. A brief consultation can help determine whether the timing is appropriate or whether further preparatory therapeutic work is advisable.
Possible Outcomes and Next Steps
A polygraph examination may produce a result that is consistent with no significant response, a significant response, or an inconclusive outcome.
The result should not be treated as a standalone verdict. It should be considered alongside the wider context, the examinee's disclosure, any therapeutic or safeguarding input, and the purpose for which the examination was requested.
Where a significant response or inconclusive result occurs, the next step may be further discussion, additional disclosure work, therapeutic support, legal advice, safeguarding review, or a decision not to proceed further. The appropriate response depends on the circumstances.
Therapeutic Confidence-Based Reporting
Where a report is shared with a partner, therapist, or supporting professional, the language used can significantly affect how the result is understood. The Centre for Forensic Neuroscience avoids simplistic terms such as “passed”, “failed”, “truthful”, or “deceptive”. Instead, reports may describe findings using carefully framed confidence bands, depending on the purpose of the examination.
Understanding Disclosure Confidence
In therapeutic disclosure work, the central reporting issue is often not whether a person is generally truthful, but whether the disclosure provided appears substantially complete within the agreed scope of examination. For this reason, reports may refer to Disclosure Confidence rather than simplistic terms such as “passed”, “failed”, “truthful”, or “deceptive”.
Disclosure Confidence reflects the extent to which the examination findings support confidence in the completeness of the disclosure provided. It is not a measure of honesty as a personality trait, a diagnosis, a guarantee of truthfulness, or proof that every relevant detail has been disclosed.
Instead, it provides a structured framework that may help partners, therapists, and supporting professionals discuss whether the current disclosure appears sufficient to support accountability, recovery, informed decision-making, and therapeutic progress.
For disclosure-focused examinations, Disclosure Confidence provides the principal framework through which findings are interpreted and communicated.
Disclosure Polygraph Examination
The following bands describe the degree to which the examination findings support confidence in the completeness of the disclosure within the agreed scope. They must not be presented as proof of truth.
High Disclosure Confidence — Examination findings were broadly consistent with the disclosure provided. No significant indicators emerged suggesting material omissions within the agreed scope. This may support increased confidence that the disclosure is substantially complete, although it should not be interpreted as proof that every relevant detail has been disclosed.
Moderate Disclosure Confidence — Some aspects of the findings may warrant further clarification or discussion. The examination neither strongly supports nor strongly challenges confidence in the completeness of the disclosure.
Low Disclosure Confidence — The findings provide limited support for confidence in the completeness of the disclosure within the agreed scope. Further discussion, clarification, therapeutic exploration, or additional disclosure work may be appropriate.
Specific-Issue Polygraph Examination
Unlike disclosure examinations, which focus on the apparent completeness of a disclosure, specific-issue examinations focus on a clearly defined allegation, behaviour, event, or contact. For this reason, findings are described in terms of concern regarding the issue examined rather than disclosure completeness.
The bands used are:
- Low Concern Regarding the Specific Issue
- Unresolved Concern Regarding the Specific Issue
- Elevated Concern Regarding the Specific Issue
Maintenance or Monitoring Polygraph Examination
Where the examination supports ongoing recovery, accountability, relapse prevention, or agreed relationship boundaries, findings may be described using Recovery Confidence bands. A polygraph examination does not directly measure future risk; Recovery Confidence describes the degree to which the findings support confidence in recovery-related disclosures and boundary adherence.
- High Recovery Confidence
- Moderate Recovery Confidence
- Low Recovery Confidence
Reporting Language
Traditional Wording to Avoid
- Passed
- Failed
- Truthful
- Deceptive
- Lied
- Cleared
Preferred Reporting Language
- Findings consistent with the account
- Findings inconsistent with the account
- High disclosure confidence
- Reduced disclosure confidence
- Elevated concern indicator
- Recovery confidence requiring review
How Therapists May Use Disclosure Confidence
Disclosure Confidence is intended to provide therapists, counsellors, and supporting professionals with a structured reference point that may inform their existing clinical work. It may support disclosure review, therapeutic planning, accountability work, relationship recovery discussions, and the identification of areas requiring further exploration.
Disclosure Confidence should not be interpreted as a clinical diagnosis, risk assessment, legal finding, or determination of truth. It is simply one source of information that may assist therapeutic decision-making.
Many therapists find that confidence-based reporting supports more productive therapeutic conversations than traditional pass/fail language because it encourages exploration, clarification, accountability, and recovery planning rather than debate about labels.
Example Reporting Framework
Disclosure Confidence: High
Recovery Confidence: Moderate
Commentary:
“The examination findings were broadly consistent with the disclosure provided. No significant indicators emerged suggesting material omissions within the agreed scope of examination. Some areas of ongoing recovery and accountability may benefit from further therapeutic exploration.”
This example is illustrative only and should not be interpreted as a standard reporting format. The wording and conclusions used in any report depend on the defined issue, scope of the examination, relevant questions used, and wider context.
Why Use Disclosure Confidence?
Traditional pass/fail language can create defensiveness, conflict, and misunderstanding. Disclosure Confidence is intended to provide a more constructive framework for discussing examination findings within a therapeutic, recovery, or relationship context.
The goal is not to label people as truthful or deceptive, but to support meaningful conversations about disclosure completeness, accountability, and the next steps in the recovery process.
Important safeguards: All confidence and concern bands must be interpreted cautiously and in context. They apply only within the defined issue and examination scope, as operationalised through the relevant questions used. They are not a diagnosis, verdict, or guarantee of truthfulness. They should support therapeutic discussion, not punishment, coercion, or control. Where safeguarding, legal, or mental health concerns exist, appropriate professional advice should be sought.
What a Polygraph Examination Cannot Do
It is important to understand the limitations of any polygraph examination before proceeding.
A polygraph examination cannot diagnose sex addiction or Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder.
It cannot replace therapy, counselling, or medical assessment.
It cannot guarantee truthfulness.
It cannot prove guilt or innocence in criminal proceedings.
It cannot replace safeguarding procedures.
It cannot resolve relationship conflict on its own.
It cannot validly examine vague, excessively broad, or emotionally loaded issues merely by converting them into yes/no questions.
Trust and Professional Standards
Our work is guided by professional ethics, careful definition of the examination issue and scope, structured examination procedures, technically appropriate question formulation, and respect for the sensitivity of the issues being discussed.
- Qualified Polygraph Examiner
- Member of the American Polygraph Association (APA)
- Advanced, Computerised Polygraph Technology
- Professional Written Report
- Supportive, Respectful, Trauma-Informed Approach
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a therapy session?
Can a partner or therapist identify issues they want the examination to address?
Can medication or anxiety affect the examination?
Will the report be sent to my partner or therapist?
Can this prove someone is telling the truth?
Is this suitable if someone is being pressured to attend?
How are results reported to partners or therapists?
Professional Boundaries and Suitability
Not every enquiry is suitable for a polygraph examination. Dr Keith Ashcroft may decline or postpone an examination where there are concerns about coercion, informed consent, mental health, safeguarding, an insufficiently defined issue or examination scope, or potential legal prejudice.
Suitability screening is a safeguarding measure rather than an administrative process. It is designed to identify circumstances where proceeding could be counterproductive or where the individual's clinical presentation indicates that further therapeutic preparation would be beneficial before an examination takes place.
A polygraph examination is one component of a broader therapeutic or recovery process and is never presented as a stand-alone treatment. The welfare of both the client and the partner remains central to every decision about whether, and when, an examination should proceed.
Request a Confidential Consultation
If you are considering a polygraph examination for disclosure, accountability, or recovery support, contact Dr Keith Ashcroft to discuss whether the process is appropriate for your situation.
This page is provided for general information only. A polygraph examination is not therapy, counselling, medical diagnosis, legal advice, or a guarantee of truthfulness. Results should be interpreted cautiously and in context. Where there are safeguarding, legal, or mental health concerns, appropriate professional advice should be sought.