Qualified Therapy

What is Qualified Therapy?

Finding a Qualified Therapist Download

For Members

S.A. Lifeline sees qualified therapy as a crucial component to recovery from sexual addiction and betrayal trauma.

Therapy is not a lifelong commitment, but we have found it imperative for the first 12-24 months of recovery.

Some people may spend less time in therapy, some may spend more.

Everyone’s needs and experiences will be unique.

It is important to find a therapist who specializes in the treatment of sexual addiction and betrayal trauma.

For Therapists

S.A. Lifeline seeks to support and complement the work that individuals do with their therapist by providing quality, trusted, trauma-sensitive 12- step.

In our view, working the 12 Steps is a lifelong support to an individual’s ability to live with increasing mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Our 12-step program emphasizes the recovery tools of sponsorship, surrender, and actively working the steps to create lives built upon these 3 traits: Being Humble. Honest. Accountable.

S.A. Lifeline values qualified therapy.

We recommend that all of our members seek qualified therapy for at least the first 12-24 months of their recovery process.

Why SAL 12-Step is the Right Program for You

It's Free

All of our in-person meetings are free of charge. For our online community, we ask for a voluntary monthly donation to cover the cost of administering this program. This online membership also includes a wealth of resources to assist our members in working the steps, including a curriculum, help in finding a sponsor, step work worksheets and mindfulness practice.

Gender Specific

Due to the sensitive nature of sexual addiction and betrayal trauma, we are committed to keeping our meetings gender-specific. Men and women will never be meeting together. Safety for the addict and the betrayed spouse is of optimal importance to us.

Long-term Focused

Many 12-Step programs focus on finding sobriety, with a primary aim to get people out of there as fast as possible. When members come to an SAL 12 -Step meeting, they will find members who have been working recovery for years. They will be able to see the difference between individuals who are fighting to find sobriety and individuals who are truly living a lifestyle of deeper recovery, experiencing the gifts of the program in every aspect of their lives.

Importance of Reaching Out

At every SAL 12-Step meeting, members report on the number of contacts they have made each week. We encourage our members not only to work with a sponsor, but to create a network of contacts within the recovery community. Sponsorship and continual reaching out is paramount to our approach to recovery.

Non-Denominational

SAL 12-Step meetings are non-denominational. We use SA and S-Anon materials and accept all and any references to an individual’s Higher Power: from God, to Higher Power, to Heavenly Father, to the Universe. While we begin and end our meetings with a prayer from the heart, we respect and acknowledge each person’s spiritual journey as their own.

Value Qualified Therapy

At SAL 12-Step meetings, members will often hear about what others are doing in therapy. Therapy is openly acknowledged as a necessary part of the recovery process. Because most of our members have had their own qualified therapy, sponsors and other community members can share their insight from a healthy, therapy-centered perspective.

More About Therapy

What is Full Disclosure?

We strongly suggest that any couple undergo a Full Disclosure with therapeutic support as part of their healing process.

Even if you think you have already disclosed everything you need to, therapeutic Full Disclosure creates a trusted foundation from which to rebuild the relationship, and can bring unrecognized patterns and issues into the awareness of both individuals, deepening the quality of their individual and couple’s recovery moving forward.

It is important to work with a therapist who has received specialized training for sexual addiction.

Ask others who are working SAL 12 Step and finding good recovery to refer you to therapists who have been helpful.

Look for CSAT or APSAT licensed therapists, or at the very least, look to qualify your therapist as suggested in the link below.

Ask your therapist about details

Finding qualified therapy is essential to the recovery process.

Most individuals and couples struggling with the impact of pornography

will benefit from a combination of individual, couple, and group treatment.

Questions to Qualify a Therapist

Support groups or 12-Step programs are not substitutes for therapeutic treatment.

In selecting a therapist, the following considerations may be helpful:

Ask the therapist if he or she is a member of a national organization for treatment of sexual addiction and if he or she has received specific certification or training.

Good therapists specializing in other psychological problems may not necessarily be the best for treating sexual behavior.

Are counseling services provided for the non-addicted spouse?

Involvement of the non-addicted spouse in therapy is paramount for the spouse’s personal wellbeing and also for the health of the marriage.

How does the therapist define recovery and measure success in treating those who view pornography?

Discovering how a therapist defines recovery can also help gauge the effectiveness of treatment.

Download the Complete Guide

Feedback from a Therapist

I learned about SA Lifeline Foundation five years ago. I heard from other therapists that their 12 step groups were far superior to what was being offered in other, similar groups in the area. After sending a few clients to the groups and getting great feedback, I made a decision to send all of my clients to these groups.

Now, my team of seven therapists and I almost exclusively use SA Lifeline as our go-to source for 12-step recovery work to complement our therapy. We have sent hundreds of people to these groups over the past four years and without exception, our clients are being helped.

In fact, I feel that SA Lifeline groups have made a huge difference in our therapy outcomes. Our clients who attend group fare far better than those who don’t. I’m very grateful for the Foundation for offering these groups for our clients to use.

We’re also grateful to the Foundation for the great publications it produces. We often send our clients to their site to purchase materials to support their recovery. I hope to have many years of collaboration with SA Lifeline Foundation in supporting recovery for the overwhelming numbers of people who are in need.