Can you “cure” a pedophile? The short answer is that nobody knows how this could be achieved.
Many people wish they knew how, or believe that it’s possible – but wishes and beliefs aren’t enough to change reality.
The best scientific research on pedophilia suggests the following:
- It emerges spontaneously early in life.
- It affects a small minority of the population, more often men than women.
The best theories so far say it could be determined in the womb or emerges during puberty. Nobody has discovered yet how it occurs, or if there is a single cause or many.
Many pedophiles badly want to make their pedophilia to go away, and scientists have tried for years to find a way. There is definitely a desire for ‘conversion therapy’. In reality, there are no effective scientific treatments and not even any promising approaches so far.
Instead, we have to live good lives, here and now, with pedophilia. Living a good life is about behavior, not attractions or thoughts.
Here are some examples of behaviors that pedophiles often want help to change:
- self isolation, withdrawing from social contact because they feel like a ‘bad person’
- self harm or self sabotage from feelings of unworthiness
- too much fear of acknowledging their sexual feelings
- over-reliance on sexual fantasy
- overuse of legal material
- inappropriate interactions with children that fall short of illegal behavior
- use of illegal material online
All the above are things that many pedophiles have said they have changed successfully without becoming a different person or setting impossible goals. If you need something to change in your life, then take a look at our resources page or consider joining our forum for additional advice.
Some people say that by following some method, they lost their pedophilia. We don’t question anyone’s personal experience, and we can’t tell you not to try this if you really want to. You should know that most professionals and scientists think such a plan is unlikely to work. We agree with them.
Don’t panic. You are a pedophile, but it’s only a part of who you are. You are not alone. There are a lot of people like you who have this attraction and still go on to live satisfying lives and never try to seek sexual activity with a child.