NYT's resident sex addict Benoit Denizet-Lewis has a source at the Mississippi sex rehab clinic Tiger Woods is rumored to be at. And he's definitely there, says Benoit, who apparently becomes a tabloid reporter when sex addiction is at stake.

In his blog, Denizet-Lewis says he visited Hattiesburg, Mississippi's Pine Grove/Gentle Path program while researching catch-all addiction book America Anonymous, and that a "source" there confirms Tiger's presence. He also goes over the likely excruciating therapeutic process Tiger (and possibly Elin) would undergo at Gentle Path:

All of the programs rely heavily on intense group therapy sessions and on family and couple's therapy (if Tiger and his wife, Elin, are serious about repairing the marriage, she will be spending some time in treatment with Tiger). Sex rehabs also require patients (although they don't use that word, preferring "clients") to sign a "celibacy contract" that includes a pledge not to have sex with anyone, or to masturbate, while in treatment.

[M]en who had repeatedly cheated on their wives had to write "empathy letters" to them, which would never be sent but were read in group and usually criticized for not being nearly empathetic enough. The wives, meanwhile, wrote painful "cost letters"-detailing how the addiction had affected them-that were read to their husbands for the first time in group by another group member. Family therapy was also an important part of treatment for the patients, many of whom were on the brink of breakup or divorce.

Let us conclude by noting how very difficult it was to compose a post about Tiger Woods' "gentle path" without inappropriate double entendre, and that I almost succeeded. UNTIL THIS: Hopefully Benoit flies into tabloid mode every time a celebrity faces sexual addiction rumors, because we need more guys who can pump the inside for juicy tidbits with reckless abandon.

I'm sorry, Benoit. I tried. [BDL]