The Meadows, one of America’s leading centers for the treatment of addiction and trauma, presents a series of videos featuring Maureen Canning discussing sexual addiction in women.
In the fifth video of her nine-part series, Ms. Canning, a specialist in the treatment of sexual addiction and trauma, talks about what partners of sex addicts need to know in order to break the cycle of abuse and codependency.
“With all addictions, it’s important to look at family systems and how they affect the members of the family – particularly the partners of sex addicts,” she says.
She adds that The Meadows has developed workshops specifically to help partners of sex addicts understand the addiction. They learn not to blame themselves for the addict’s behaviors or to internalize shame for those behaviors. They also gain understanding of their own roles in the relationship.
“We want to empower the partners of sex addicts so they’re out of that ‘victim mode’ and not blaming themselves, but understanding their own process and moving toward health.”
Ms. Canning, MA, LMFT, is a clinical consultant and senior fellow at The Meadows of Wickenburg and a clinical consultant at Dakota, The Meadows’ extended-care facility dedicated to treating sexual addiction and trauma. She is a leading expert in the treatment of sexual disorders, and her clinical experience includes individual, couples, and family counseling; workshops; lectures; educational trainings; and interventions. Her books include Lust, Anger, Love: Understanding Sexual Addiction and The Road to Healthy Intimacy.
In other videos in the series, she discusses the nature of healthy sexuality, the relationship between shame and sex addiction, and The Meadows’ approach to sex addiction treatment.
View the entire series of The Meadows’ videos, including interviews with John Bradshaw and Dr. Jerry Boriskin, at www.youtube.com/themeadowswickenburg.
For more about The Meadows’ innovative treatment program for addictions and trauma, visit www.themeadows.org or call The Meadows at 800-244-4949.
