Rethinking making resolutions when you are in sex addiction recovery   New Year’s resolutions can feel so very cliche. We all make them, but then forget them by February 1st. What’s the point? Why do we continue to carry on this silly tradition? Well, goals CAN be powerful if set in a manner that supports …read more

Holiday cheer is what most people look forward to every year.  The bright lights, smiling faces, baking holiday treats, creating new memories with family and friends are just a few of the events that bring people joy every year. In society, traditionally, women take on many tasks during this time. In an article featured in Ozymagazine, titled …read more

As a Jew living in America, it saddens and terrifies me to acknowledge that anti-semitism is still alive and well here. My family and I fled from anti-semitism when we left the Soviet Union as refugees in the late 1980’s, in the hope of reaching safety in the United States of America, the land of …read more

If someone is in or has been in a relationship with someone who is a narcissist, they may be experiencing something called Narcissistic Victim Syndrome as a result of domestic violence in their relationship.  Narcissists often look charming on the outside but commonly cause great pain and trauma for their partner. Narcissists may be emotionally …read more

As with many repeating patterns, domestic violence has a cyclical nature that follows 3 stages. Knowing these stages is helpful to identify these abusive patterns in a relationship. There are 3 stages that we will look at: tension building, explosion, and the honeymoon.   The Tension Building Stage In this phase of the domestic violence …read more

In light of October being National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I interviewed a therapist who specializes in working with victims of domestic violence as well as court mandated perpetrators of domestic violence. Her name is Brianne Baker and she is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Santa Clara County, California. She has been …read more

Myths vs. Reality When I think of domestic violence (DV), I often think of physical violence between one member of a couple to the other.  In fact, domestic violence (often referred to as Intimate Partner Violence) could involve physical violence, sexual violence, stalking or psychological aggression.  Similarly, DomesticViolence.org onsiders DV to include any behaviors that one …read more

Deny Attack Reverse Victim Offender   Most of us don’t enter relationships thinking about gaslighting or about emotional abuse strategies. Instead, we often enter relationships with hope for what a new relationship can bring. Partners of sex addicts are no exception: They frequently find a partner who is charming, loving, and maybe even doting… at …read more

Many people come to therapy for addictive behavior, but have a difficult time understanding exactly what they are addicted to. Although sex and love addiction have some similar features and can often happen simultaneously, they are different. They can be confused very easily just as love and sex are often confused or used interchangeably. Luckily, …read more

A partner’s choice to stay in a relationship with a sex addict is difficult and usually very scary. Choosing to stay in the relationship is a risk for partners. If you are an addict, doing everything you can towards recovery and struggling to understand why your partner is still afraid, it may help you build …read more