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 explore specific, agreed questions about past behaviour, disclosure, pornography use, online activity, 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, carefully scoped process to address specific, agreed questions — 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 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 proposed topics, and whether a polygraph examination is appropriate for the situation.
Consent and Scope
The examinee must understand the process and agree to the scope of questioning. Questions are agreed in advance and must be clear, relevant, and behaviour-specific.
Pre-Examination Interview
The examiner explains the process, reviews the issue, and ensures the examinee understands each question before any data collection begins.
Polygraph Examination
Sensors record physiological responses while the examinee answers agreed yes/no questions.
Analysis and Report
Results are analysed by the examiner and summarised in a written report. The report should be interpreted cautiously and in context.
Types of Polygraph Examination
Every case is unique. The type of examination is agreed during the suitability review and tailored to the specific questions and context.
Disclosure Polygraph Examination
Used where a person has prepared a structured disclosure and the examination is designed around clearly defined areas of concern.
Specific Issue Polygraph Examination
Focused on a narrow, agreed question such as whether a particular behaviour, contact, or online activity occurred.
Maintenance or Monitoring Polygraph Examination
Used periodically during recovery or therapeutic work to support accountability around agreed boundaries.
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.
Questions should be specific, behaviour-based, and agreed before the examination. Broad questions such as "Have you told me everything?" are usually too vague without careful preparation.
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 conduct a structured examination around agreed, behaviour-specific 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 or professional context may help ensure that the examination is properly scoped, ethically appropriate, and aligned with the wider support process.
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 question 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 scope of the examination, the questions asked, and the 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 to the agreed questions and examination scope. 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 test vague, broad, or emotionally loaded questions.
Trust and Professional Standards
Our work is guided by professional ethics, structured examination procedures, careful 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 suggest questions?
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, unclear question scope, or potential legal prejudice.
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.