More couples are telling counsellors in Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay that pornography addiction has become a problem in their relationship - and the issue is thought to be widespread in New Zealand.

Leading Tauranga therapist Les Simmonds said staff at 22 Relationships Aotearoa sites in Bay of Plenty and Gisborne had reported an increase in couples mentioning porn in counselling sessions.

Mr Simmonds, who is the organisation's clinical leader, said porn addiction was controversial because some people did not consider viewing it on a regular basis to be problematic.

However, it could have a profound effect on relationships, prompting Relationships Aotearoa to run a six-week course in Tauranga from March 15 on how to combat the problem.

"It's not like what you'd get in the old Playboy magazine, which was titillating,'' said Mr Simmonds.

"This is on tap 24-7 at no cost to people. You can even Google it on the new cellphones. [But] life isn't a pornographic movie. It's not how people live on a day-to-day basis.

"What they are really looking for is love, acceptance and closeness. They really want that but just don't know how to do it.''

Mr Simmonds said wives often brought up the problem and many described porn as "disgusting''.

"We're not talking about men who have just viewed porn. We're talking about men for who it is a problem. They might be getting up in the night [to view it]. They might have lost their job because they looked at porn on their computer.''

Mr Simmonds had clients who spent up to six hours a day viewing porn, and spent hundreds of dollars a month buying adult magazines.

Anecdotally, porn addiction seemed to affect mostly men. However, some women were hooked on adult internet chatrooms.

Clients were middle-aged and came from respectable backgrounds. Some were churchgoers, he said.

Porn addiction was not dissimilar to alcohol addiction in that some people would "binge'' and then stop themselves again.

The attraction was the chemical rush and sexual satisfaction. For those who felt depressed, or were having relationship or work issues, porn was attractive and lifted them out of reality.

Many Relationships Aotearoa clients reported a lack of intimacy in their real-life relationships because they were constantly thinking about their porn "fantasies''.

"So they're not really connecting with their partner in an intimate way and problems arise.''

Mr Simmonds said the workshops aimed to teach participants how to manage their addiction and explain how porn transports users from "mundane life''.

Added to this were strategies for change, including information on developing fulfilling relationships, "thought-stopping'', and how to replace porn with other rewarding and life-enhancing activities.

- By Carly Gibbs of the Bay of Plenty Times