Seminar Program

Trauma and Partners of Sex Addicts: Validating Partner Experiences in Treatment

Barbara Steffens, PhD, LPCC, Safe Passages Counseling, (co-author of Your Sexually Addicted Spouse)

This workshop will highlight the history of the trauma-based model for partners of sex addicts as described in the book Your Sexually Addicted Spouse: How Partners Can Cope and Heal (Steffens & Means, 2009) and will discuss future directions for partner treatment.

The Five-Component Partner Trauma Model for Partners and Spouses of Sex Addicts: 

Silvia Jason, LMFT, CSAT, Healing & Hope Psychotherapy Services

Partners and Spouses of sex addicts are a diverse population and present a variety of clinical issues relevant to their recovery and treatment. Among them, the traumatic effects of sex addiction in Partners' lives - "Partner Trauma" - stand at the core of their experience and healing process. Grounded on the Partner Trauma perspective, this presentation will explore a five-component model that includes:

• the shattering of partners and spouses' inner world

• the life crisis of discovery/disclosure

• emotional trauma

• relational trauma

• sexual trauma

This model for understanding and treating Partners and Spouses has proven meaningful and effective in helping this often-neglected population down the path toward healing and hope. Join Silvia Jason as she explores this perspective and furthers our understanding of Partners and Spouses of sex addicts.

Understanding Sex Addiction from a Traumatized Coupleship Perspective: "A very different approach"

Dorit Reichental, CPCC, PCC, Serenity Works Life-Coaching

Participants will understand the history of couples therapy for couples struggling with sex addiction and the current lack of understanding by sex addiction therapists regarding the clinical needs of recovering couples and what coupleship healing entails. A theoretical perspective and contemporary approach to treating the sex addiction traumatized couple will be presented. Topics will include discussion of understanding coupleship trauma, narcissism and breaking the narcissistic cycle, understanding attachment theory and identifying each partner attachment style. Furthermore, this presentation will touch on learning how couples can develop secure attachments to one another using Imago Therapy as a communication tool to the ability to dialogue, validate and empathize within the relationship.

Open Forum: Voices of Partners of Sex Addicts: A Dialogue on The Treatment Needs of Partners of Sex Addicts 

facilitated by Omar Minwalla, PsyD, Clinical Director of The Institute for Sexual Health

This will be an informal, safe forum for partners to share their stories and be heard by professionals and to engage in dialogue regarding the treatment needs of partners of sex addicts. The Partners Treatment Needs Survey will inform some of the forum and dialogue.

Questionnaire

 Treatment Needs of Partners of Sex Addicts:
Partners’ Experiences in Treatment/Therapy

Questionnaire

As part of our Treatment Needs of Partners of Sex Addicts Seminar, we are interested in hearing your voice and want to give you the opportunity to be heard. This is a chance to have professionals hear about your experiences in treatment ‐ good or bad ‐ so that we can all learn from them and improve treatment for Partners and Spouses.

You can participate by answering the following questions:

1. Describe your experiences in therapy / treatment that have been helpful, positive, and supportive to you. Please specify whether or not the treatment provider was a sex addiction / compulsivity specialist. Describe your experience in as much detail as possible, including details on the tools or treatment that were most helpful and your feelings about it. Use as much space as necessary.

2. Describe experiences in therapy / treatment that have been unhelpful, negative, or even harmful to you. Please specify whether or not the treatment provider was a sex addiction / compulsivity specialist. Describe in as much detail as possible, including details on what happened, what was the most problematic issue for you and your feelings about it. Use as much space as necessary.

3. What is the most important message that you would like treatment professionals to know about your needs as  a  Partner of a sex addict? Use as much space as necessary.

During the Seminar we will have an Open Forum session. The purpose of the session is to provide a safe place for you to share your answers to these questions, speak freely about your experiences and ask questions of professionals. We invite you to bring this questionnaire to the session and read your answers directly, ask someone else to read them for you (anonymously), or just share them with the professionals privately.

 

This seminar is sponsored by:

Safe Passages Counseling ‐ Barbara Steffens PhD, LPCC (co‐author of Your Sexually Addicted Spouse)

Healing & Hope Psychotherapy Services ‐ Silvia Jason, LMFT, CSAT

The Institute of Sexual Health ‐ Omar Minwalla, PsyD, Clinical Director

SerenityWorks Life‐Coaching ‐ Dorit Reichental, CPCC, PCC

Treatment Needs of Partners of Sex Addicts:

Partners’ Experiences in Treatment/Therapy

Additional questions:

1. What is your sex?

______ Male

______ Female

2. What is your race / ethnicity?

______ White/Caucasian

______ Black/African‐American

______ Hispanic/Latino

______ Asian‐American

______ Other _______________________

3. How old are you?______ Years

4. What is your marital status?

______ Single

______ Married if yes ______ Years

______ Living together if yes ______ Years

______ Separated

______ Divorced

______ Widowed

5. Do you have children?

______ Yes

______ No

If YES:How Many?: ______ 

What are their ages?: ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ___

6. What is your annual household income?

______ < $20,000

______ $20,001‐40,000

______ $40,001‐60,000

______ $60,001‐80,000

______ $80,001‐100,000

______ $100,001+

7. What is the highest level of education you completed?

______ Less than High School

______ High School Diploma or GED

______ Some College

______ College Degree

______ Graduate Degree Specify _______________

8. How long have you known about your partner’s sex addiction / compulsion?

____ Months / years

9. Is your partner currently in any kind of treatment / therapy for sexual addiction / compulsivity?

______ Yes

______ No

If YES:

For how long? ____ Months / years

Please briefly describe the treatment.

10. Are you currently in any kind of treatment / therapy?

______ Yes

______ No

If YES:

For how long? ____ Months / years

Please briefly describe the treatment.

Partners Seminar in Houston April 30

Treatment Needs of Partners of Sex Addicts:

A Seminar for Partners and Treatment Professionals

Partners of sex addicts live with extreme pain, confusion and trauma, as a result of loving someone whose behaviors are out of control.

In an effort to address the significant yet sorely unaddressed clinical needs of partners, an experienced group of sex addiction and compulsivity therapists and counseling professionals will offer a seminar focused solely on the treatment needs of partners of sex addicts. Too often, partners' needs in the treatment process are overlooked, minimized or profoundly misunderstood.

This seminar is the first of its kind - a series of presentations and group dialogue focused specifically on the treatment needs of partners and spouses impacted by sexual addiction.

Seminar topics will include partner trauma, models of recovery for the partner, the trauma model and effective treatment for couples.

If you are the partner of a sex addict:

We invite you to attend - to receive not only powerful information, but also validation and hope to help you cope with the pain of being a partner.

We also invite you to share your experience with us, in a very confidential and informal forum, so we can learn how to better serve and treat the needs of partners of sex addicts.

Event Information

Date: April 30th, 2011

Hours: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Location: The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston
303 Jackson Hill Street
Houston, Texas 77007

Cost: $35 - before April 20th
$40 - after April 20th

For more information please call or email:
Jan Brown
(713) 364-9620
partnersofsexaddicts@gmail.com


This seminar is sponsored by:

Safe Passages Counseling - Barbara Steffens PhD, LPCC
(co-author of Your Sexually Addicted Spouse)

Healing & Hope Psychotherapy Services - Silvia Jason, LMFT, CSAT

The Institute of Sexual Health - Omar Minwalla, PsyD, Clinical Director

SerenityWorks Life-Coaching - Dorit Reichental, CPCC, PCC

Register for April 30 seminar

To register for the seminar to be held April 30, please send your check to

Silvia Jason

2990 Richmond Avenue, Suite 401

Houston TX 77098

 

If we receive your check for your registration prior to April 11, you  qualify for the early registration amount of $35. [If you choose to pay later or at the door, send or bring a check (or cash) for $40.] Also, include your name, address, phone number and email address with your check.. 

 

We will be sending additional information regarding the seminar to you soon.