Sexual Addiction Therapy and Betrayal Trauma Treatment

• Relationship Issues: Improving communication, resolving conflict, rebuilding trust.
• Betrayal Trauma:  Help individuals heal from the emotional pain and trust issues caused by betrayal trauma, fostering recovery and renewed resilience in relationships 
• Trauma: Healing from emotional wounds, acute or complex trauma.
• Sexual Addiction: Support for individuals struggling with compulsive sexual behaviors.
• Abandonment: Processing feelings of loss and detachment.
• Infidelity: Recovery for individuals and couples affected by betrayal.
• Pornography Addiction: Counseling for compulsive pornography use.
• Love Addiction: Understanding and healing patterns of unhealthy attachment.
• PTSD: Relief from post-traumatic stress symptoms.

I am here to help you navigate through life's challenges. I offer individual counseling services that are tailored to your specific needs. Whether you're struggling with anxiety, depression, compulsive behaviors, trauma or relationship issues, I'm here to support you.

My couples counseling services are designed to help you and your partner improve communication, work through conflicts, and strengthen your relationship. I am here to guide you through the process and help you build a strong and healthy relationship. I offer different approaches based on couples' needs, such as the Gottman Method or ERCEM models. I have been trained in both of these models.

For couples hoping to heal the relationship after a discovery of betrayal, recovery is a long-term process that requires both partners to do their individual work: the addict on their sobriety, accountability, and emotional capacity, and the partner on their trauma healing and self-trust. Consistent transparency from the addict is necessary for the betrayed partner to begin the slow process of rebuilding trust.

*ERCEM stands for the Early Recovery Couples Empathy Model. It is a specialized, structured approach to couples therapy designed to guide partners through the initial stages of healing after relational trauma such as infidelity, sex addiction, or other forms of betrayal. The model was developed by therapist and coach Carol Juergensen Sheets and is a trauma-informed framework focusing on re-establishing safety, connection, and emotional repair. I am trained in the ERCEM model and use this approach with couples who require this level of care for their relationship.

Group therapy provides a supportive environment to connect with others facing similar challenges. We offer groups focused on trauma recovery, relationship support, and addiction recovery. Sessions foster shared experiences, learning, and mutual encouragement; new members are welcome.  

When you need more than just weekly sessions. My 3-Day Intensives are a personalized, focused journey built to help you break through the pain of Trauma, Betrayal, or Addiction and immediately accelerate your healing. It’s a powerful opportunity to reset your path forward.

Formal Disclosure:  

This is a structured, professionally guided process, most commonly used in recovery from betrayal trauma, such as that caused by infidelity, sex addiction, or other forms of secretive and deceptive behavior in a relationship. It is a crucial and deliberate step designed to end the cycle of lies and secrets, establish a foundation of truth, and create a starting point for healing for both partner.

Intimacy Anorexia is a term coined by psychologist Dr. Doug Weiss to describe the active withholding of emotional, spiritual, and sexual intimacy from one's partner or spouse. It is characterized as a pattern of behavior and a form of emotional withdrawal that can severely impact a relationship, often leading the partner to feel lonely, rejected, and confused.

Boundaries are the limits and rules you set for yourself within relationships, clearly communicating the behaviors you find acceptable or unacceptable. They define where you end and another person begins in terms of emotions, responsibilities, and physical space, and are essential for maintaining mutual respect, personal well-being, and healthy relationships. 

Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse where one person manipulates another to question their memory, instincts, and sanity. Common tactics include denying what happened, withholding information or attention, diverting the conversation, and countering by questioning the victim's memory. Victims of gaslighting may experience confusion, anxiety, and a loss of trust in themselves. 

Abandonment is the act of leaving someone or something permanently, resulting in a profound sense of betrayal and loss, often leading to psychological issues like fear of abandonment. It can also refer to emotional abandonment and often begins in childhood.

Attachment bonds:  are deep emotional connections between people that provide a sense of security, safety, and mutual support, forming the basis of human connection in relationships from infancy to adulthood. These bonds are a natural, innate system that motivates individuals to seek proximity to a caregiver or loved one, especially when distressed. Attachment bonds influence how people think, feel, and behave in relationships and can manifest in different attachment styles, such as secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized.  

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Evidence-based techniques to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
• Couples  Therapy: Strengthening relationships through effective communication and problem-solving.
• Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR): Proven method for processing trauma and distressing memories.
• Expressive Art Therapy: Creative techniques to support emotional expression and healing.
• Multidimensional Trauma Model: Comprehensive approach to trauma recovery.
• Carnes 30 Task Model: Structured pathway for recovery from sexual addiction.
• Gottman Couples Model:  a couples therapy approach based on research by Dr. John Gottman, focusing on building stable, happy, and successful relationships. It utilizes the Sound Relationship House theory, a seven-step metaphor for building a strong relationship foundation 
• ERCEM- Early Recovery Couples Empathy Model- a couples therapy framework created by Carol Juergensen Sheets, to help couples heal from relational trauma like sexual addiction and betrayal. The model emphasizes empathy, emotional safety, open communication, accountability, and responsibility to rebuild trust and a stronger connection by validating the hurt partner's experience and guiding the betraying partner to take responsibility.