I have a piece in the New York Post today about Tiger Woods. The story had to be cut for space reasons, so below is the complete version:

By Benoit Denizet-Lewis

Until Tiger Woods’ press conference on Friday, I wasn’t sure what his motivation was for seeking inpatient treatment for sex addiction. Did he really believe he was an addict, or was he hoping rehab would somehow rehab his tarnished public image?

I leaned toward the former. There is very little upside to coming out publicly as a sex addict, which probably explains why so few people have. Most celebrities who go to sex rehab do so in secret. Those who don’t tend to claim they’re being treated for alcoholism, which carries less of a stigma and likely saves them from Jay Leno’s comedic clutches and the charge that they’re just seeking an “excuse” for their irresponsible sexual behavior.

Like everybody else, I tried to channel my inner armchair psychologist and body-language expert as I watched Tiger’s mea culpa on Friday. Did he seem sincere? Was he taking responsibility? As someone who has twice been to inpatient treatment for sex addiction, I have a pretty well-oiled bullshit detector when it comes to people rationalizing their destructive behavior. In the end, though, it wasn’t what Tiger said that convinced me he’s taking his recovery seriously. (Anyone can script an apology.) It was his decision to put off a return to golf in order to return “for more treatment and more therapy.”

Tiger didn’t have to seek out more treatment. Few reasonable people would have faulted him for completing his 45 days of rehab, publicly apologizing, and then going back to his day job being the world’s best golfer. But Tiger didn’t do that. He apparently took the advice offered by therapists at most inpatient treatment centers: Don’t rush back to your job. Consider doing more treatment at another facility. (There are a handful of respected inpatient treatment centers for sex addiction in this country, and several outpatient clinics.)

I didn’t heed that advice when I was 27 and finishing my first stint in sex rehab. “You’re way too busy rationalizing and convincing yourself through all kinds of intellectual bullshit why you don’t need to do the basic things that every addict needs to do every day to stay sober,” one counselor said, urging me to stay in treatment longer. Ignoring his advice (who was he to talk to me that way, anyway?), I retuned home certain that I had my problem “under control.” (A reminder to addicts everywhere, including myself: If you think you have your addiction “under control,” you’re likely not far from a relapse.) Before long, I was lost in my addiction again.

Wherever Tiger goes for a second round of treatment, it’s likely that Elin will be joining him for more couple’s therapy. Tiger is fortunate that Elin didn’t leave him. One of the most heartbreaking times of my second stint in rehab was when the wives visited for family week. At the urging of the rehab’s counselors, who rightfully believe that recovery from sex addiction is impossible without rigorous honesty, the husbands fully disclosed to their wives the extent of their cheating and lying. Many of the women staggered out of the sessions, the color drained from their faces. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed someone had died.

After the initial shock, some women—heartened that their husbands were finally seeking help and being honest—kept open the possibility of staying in the marriage. It appears that Elin is at this place, and that Tiger’s continued willingness to work on his recovery will impact her final decision. If she’s anything like the partners of most sex addicts, she’ll want to hear more than promises. She’ll want to see a change in behavior.

If the marriage doesn’t work out, what then? That all depends on Tiger’s motivation for his recovery. Is he trying to get better for the sake of the relationship, or is he trying to get better for the sake of his own sanity and integrity? (Make no mistake about it: Untreated sex addiction, like untreated alcohol or drug addiction, is a form of insanity.)

Whatever happens with his marriage, it’s likely that Tiger’s recovery won’t be perfect. As he leaves treatment, goes to recovery meetings, and eventually tries to fashion a non-adictive sex life for himself (unlike alcoholism and drug addiction, the goal of recovery from sexual addiction is not lifelong abstinence), at some point he might relapse. Most addicts do. I certainly have.

But most addicts aren’t Tiger Woods, which means most addicts relapse in private. If Tiger Woods does relapse, and if it becomes public knowledge, the temptation will be for people to claim that sex addiction treatment doesn’t work. This temptation—much like the temptation that addicts face to go back to their drug or behavior of choice, believing that they can “control it this time”—will feel awfully appealing in the moment. But that won’t make it true.

Tiger is early in his recovery, but his decision to delay a return to golf in favor of a return to treatment suggests it’s already working.