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.