Group Therapy
Is A Sense Of Shame Preventing You From Being Honest With Yourself And Others?
Are you looking for support as you grapple with sex and porn addiction, infidelity, or betrayal?
Do you feel isolated by the obstacles you’ve faced in your marriage, convinced that no one else understands?
Is a fear of shame or stigma keeping you from sharing your experiences with others?
Couples struggling through sex and porn addiction face unique challenges in their relationship and daily life. You may have experienced an onset of anxiety and depression, made worse by a sense of loneliness and isolation.
Sex And Porn Addiction, Infidelity, And Betrayal Contribute To Relationship Issues And Emotional Distress
In addition to sadness, worry, and withdrawal, you may be feeling fatigued or drained of your energy. Since so much of your time is devoted to understanding or working through the addiction, you may feel like you lack the outlets you need to process your experiences and comprehend your emotions.
On top of the individual struggles you face, your marriage is likely suffering. Perhaps you and your partner argue constantly, unable to find common ground. Both the addiction itself and, when it comes to light, the angry response that follows are numbing behaviors—ultimately shielding you from feeling a genuine connection to your partner. Due to this and the chronic conflict and stress involved with sex addiction, it’s possible that your relationship has come to an end.
Whether you’re the partner battling addiction or you’re the partner who has been hurt by your spouse’s extramarital behaviors, you’re not alone in this process. Though these experiences often lead to feelings of shame and confusion, healing is possible with the support that group therapy offers.
Experience The Power Of Community In Healing!
Addiction And Betrayal Are Isolating Experiences
For those of us in relationships where sex addiction and betrayal are present, it’s easy to assume that no one could possibly understand—and that we have to navigate our experience alone. Convinced that our situation is unique and even shameful, we don’t seek the outside help and support that could aid in our healing. But these issues are incredibly common. And though sex and porn addiction are prevalent in our culture, the stigma keeps us silent.
If we muster the courage to explore our addiction and betrayal with our loved ones, they may meet us with judgment or ridicule. Because shame keeps these issues shrouded in secrecy, our communities might assume that sex addiction is pathological or incurable, prompting others to view our situation with a sense of self-righteousness or develop the opinion that we should leave the relationship. We don’t want others’ perceptions of our partner or ourselves to be tainted by the stigma of addiction.
The reality is that addictive behavior, infidelity, and betrayal are symptoms, not the cause. Unable to experience genuine intimacy—often due to past trauma and painful experiences—we believe that we have to persevere through adversity without outside help or perspective and that we’re doomed to a life of loneliness and isolation.
But our answers lie in fostering empathy and forming connections. By seeking healing through the community of group therapy, we can free ourselves from the shame associated with sex addiction and betrayal.
Group Therapy At Insights Counseling Center Provides A Pathway To Recovery Through Connection And Shared Experiences
Issues of sex addiction and infidelity stem from the absence of healthy, secure attachments. In other words, when our relationships are ruptured or wounded, we put up barriers or develop numbing mechanisms to mask the pain. It makes sense, then, that the only way to repair what has been broken is to create healthy, trusting bonds with others who share our experiences and can offer perspective.
By exploring sex addiction, infidelity, and betrayal in the safe, supportive environment of group therapy, you can have a space to gently process your experience, face your fears, and experience true intimacy.
As such, we believe that counseling in a group setting is an integral part of the healing and recovery process. Insights Counseling Center offers options of 12- to 16-week group therapy sessions for the partner navigating sex and porn addiction, and the spouse suffering the sting of betrayal.
Group Therapy For Addicts
Group therapy for the addicted partner incorporates Pat Carnes’ demonstrated 30-task model for sex and porn addicts, structured to help you overcome denial, establish sobriety, and repair your relationships. A counselor will guide you in understanding your addiction and facilitate a safe, therapeutic environment where you can explore your emotions. As you practice getting support in a group setting, you can allow yourself to get vulnerable and learn to communicate.
Group Therapy For Betrayed Partners
For those who have been hurt by their spouse’s sex addiction, The Betrayed Partners Group provides connection and support among individuals with shared experience. Your group counselor will help you understand the psychology behind your partner’s addiction while incorporating the Multidimensional Trauma Model, which acknowledges the importance of partners receiving support alongside sex addicts—not after their recovery. By coming together week after week with others who sympathize with your struggle, you can express yourself, gain perspective, and learn how to heal from betrayal.
Both groups are anonymous and revolve around common emotions instead of shameful experiences. Rather than unsolicited advice-giving, group therapy for sex addiction and betrayed partners is a safe, structured opportunity to heal and find community. By integrating practical exercises alongside group processing, you will consider boundaries and emotions in a neutral, non-reactive environment. And soon, you will be able to apply these same skills in your interpersonal relationships.
Lasting Recovery Is Possible
You don’t have to be alone in navigating the pain that comes with sex addiction and betrayal. Group therapy at Insights Counseling Center paves the way for healing through community. Not only do our clients experience relief in coming together with those who can relate to their experiences—they find that it’s essential to their recovery.
Come join us so you can feel less alone in the pain of addiction and betrayal.
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Maybe You’re Not Sure If You’re Ready For Group Therapy At Insights Counseling Center…
I don’t need group therapy—I need individual counseling for sex and porn addiction/betrayal.
Our clinicians understand why you might feel this way. In fact, for those of us who struggled with sex and porn addiction, infidelity, and betrayal, we felt similarly when first starting out on the path to recovery. Yet, one of the biggest lessons we have learned both personally and professionally is that true healing happens in community.
You are here because you need help and insight from counselors who understand the daily challenges of addiction and betrayal. And at Insights Counseling Center, our approach to recovery includes group therapy because we know just how effective—and beneficial—it can be.
I just can’t imagine discussing this with a group of strangers.
We get it—risking vulnerability is a frightening task. But that voice of fear wants you to stay stuck in counterproductive cycles of addiction and betrayal so that you never get better. If a doctor said you required surgery to get better, you know there would be risks. But ultimately, you would probably choose to do something risky if it could ensure your health and recovery. Similarly, there can be risks to becoming vulnerable with a group of strangers in therapy, but we believe that risk of not seeking help and finding recovery is even greater.
Group therapy at Insights Counseling Center is an entirely confidential endeavor. We do not share full names or personal details in the group. And even though the goal is to find healing through community, like other recovery groups, anonymity is an essential part of the process.
I just don’t think I am ready for the group element of sex addiction therapy/infidelity recovery.
We hear this a lot, and it’s important to understand that the fear of intimacy is what propelled your addiction in the first place. Addiction is a disease of isolation, and it creates a voice in your head that keeps you trapped in fear and self-doubt—but we won’t nudge you toward group counseling until we think you’re ready.
That said, we believe the group element of recovery is the “magic accelerator” of the healing process. You’ll go farther at a faster pace in a group, and our clients often comment that exploring their experiences in a shared community is an essential turning point in their recovery.
You Don’t Have To Navigate The Pain Alone
If you struggle with sex and porn addiction or feel betrayed by your partner’s extramarital sexual behaviors, group therapy at Insights Counseling Center fosters community and healing.
To find out more about how we can help or to join a group, please email us or reach out here on our website.