Pathway to Recovery

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Host Jonathan L., an addict in recovery, interviews Marcus H., a recovering sexual addict, about developing a “willing heart” by overcoming pride, shame, and hiding. Marcus describes decades of secrecy, shame, and compartmentalization, believing milestones like marriage, children, or church callings would be “magic portals” that would fix him, while repeated counsel to “try harder” led to white-knuckle sobriety and relapse. He explains how hiding damaged his relationships, fueled fear and control at home, and split his sense of self, until a rock-bottom disclosure to his wife triggered a crisis that revealed the harm to his family. Marcus recounts finding SAL through his mother-in-law and therapist, meeting program founder Steven at his first meeting, and learning to “want” recovery, keep coming back, and trust the process. Fear initially brought him into SAL 12-Step, where admitting “I am an addict,” connecting with other men, therapy, sponsorship, humility, accountability, and surrender to God replaced willpower. He emphasizes that worth remains constant and divine, sobriety is important but not a ranking, and recovery is a lifelong, non-linear lifestyle that applies to all character weaknesses. 

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Host Tara McCausland interviews therapist Jed Anderson about attachment theory and how it relates to sexual addiction and betrayal trauma. Anderson explains secure attachment as meeting needs for safety, belonging, and esteem, and outlines insecure styles: avoidant (disconnection and withdrawal), anxious (reactive, controlling pursuit when something feels “off”), and disorganized (terror and conflicted approach-avoidance). He describes the common anxious-avoidant “pursue-withdraw” couple dynamic, how avoidant attachment can increase reliance on addictive “shortcut” relief that becomes a counterfeit attachment, and how discovery/disclosure can create major attachment ruptures and trauma. He emphasizes patience and empathy for betrayed partners, links recovery to developing secure attachment with God via the 12 steps, shares his own pornography exposure and recovery journey.

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00:00 Patience in Healing
00:47 Meet the Host and Guest
01:00 Why Attachment Matters
02:28 Jed Anderson Background
03:11 Attachment Theory Basics
05:07 Secure Attachment Needs
08:47 Insecure Styles Explained
15:21 Addiction and Betrayal Patterns
17:28 Addiction as Attachment Shortcut
24:20 Porn Vulnerability Trap
26:27 Healing Childhood Attachment Wounds
28:12 Early Exposure and Shame
29:52 Admitting Addiction and Getting Help
30:36 Attachment Wounds and God
32:31 Couples Recovery Timing Mismatch
36:05 Empathy and Trauma
41:22 Secure Attachment Checklist
45:00 Step Two and Conscious Prayer
48:49 Recovery Gratitude and Surrender
50:28 Advice for New and Seasoned
53:41 Closing Thanks and Farewell

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Host Tara McCausland shares a 2024 SA Lifeline Virtual Conference presentation by Dr. Jill Manning on the impact of snooping after sexual betrayal. Manning explains she chose the topic because snooping is often quickly labeled “safety seeking” without addressing how it can keep people stuck in trauma and reveal deeper issues like attachment, self-trust, and communication problems. She outlines why she supports the SAL 12-step model, including its roadmap for healing, marriage-honoring sobriety definition, gender-segregated groups, and emphasis on detaching from negative control. She defines snooping as seeking information without direct confrontation and lists examples, noting some can be illegal, and describes drivers such as pain, distrust, anxiety, and entitlement to information. She distinguishes short-term feelings of empowerment from long-term effects like prolonged fight-or-flight, trauma symptoms, secondary trauma, exhaustion, mistrust, indirect communication, victim-offending, and enabling dishonesty. Citing a 2015 University of Houston study, she links distrust, anxious attachment, snooping, jealousy, and psychological abuse, and discusses attachment styles and resources for assessment. Manning recommends alternatives such as direct communication, firm boundaries, self-care, trusting one’s gut, therapeutic disclosure, agreed protocols for suspicions, trusted support, and optional polygraph use, and closes with quotes encouraging “going in the front door” and focusing on recovery-based self-worth and integrity.

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Host Tara McCausland interviews Josh Otani  about why people feel stuck in recovery from pornography addiction  and how rebuilding self-trust is central to lasting change. Otani explains that many clients pursue sobriety goals with performance-based, perfectionistic expectations, but recovery requires clarifying a personal “why” and addressing underlying roots like shame, insecurity, and negative sexual self-image. He contrasts an abstinence-focused recovery with a broader recovery mindset that treats healing as a lifestyle affecting relationships, work, and self-worth. Otani encourages focusing on small, present-day steps, reframing slip-ups as learning rather than “resetting the clock,” and celebrating small wins. He describes internal conflict as two parts—wanting change and wanting old coping relief—and teaches acknowledging cravings with self-compassion, somatic awareness, and values-based redirection to reduce shame. He shares that learning his worth was unconditional reshaped his approach, recommends noticing and reframing harsh self-talk to build internal safety, and advises newcomers to take one step at a time while long-term participants practice kindness and recognize progress.

Connect with Josh Otani HERE.  

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Tara McCausland shares the final Q&A from the April 2026 SAL 12 Step Conference and announces registration for the 2026 SA Lifeline Women’s Workshop (September 18–19 in Mapleton, Utah). Panelists discuss how addicts can own harm  by listening, staying regulated, and doing shame work, often with therapeutic support. They address sitting with discomfort through sponsor help, prayer, and “pendulation,” and clarify surrender as active trust in a higher power rather than apathy. Steven distinguishes lapse (timely honesty and accountability) from relapse (secrecy and misrepresentation). The panel notes limited women-specific addiction groups and recommends SA plus qualified therapy. Betrayed partners are urged to disclose to safe people (often group, sponsors, therapists), set boundaries, and focus on their own recovery when disclosure feels incomplete. They cover defensiveness, step four challenges, deepening connection with God, reframing holidays and anniversaries after discovery, and the importance of sponsorship, humility, and ongoing meetings to heal individuals and families.

Register for the S.A. Lifeline Women's Workshop HERE.

02:32 How to Own the Harm
04:22 Sitting With Discomfort
06:35 Pendulation and Regulation
08:04 Surrender Without Apathy
10:42 Lapse vs Relapse
14:27 Women and Addiction Resources
16:01 Safe Disclosure and Support
20:37 Step Four Balanced Inventory
22:22 When Disclosure Feels Incomplete
25:41 Honesty After a Lapse
27:20 Holding Space Not Fixing
27:58 Defensiveness And Regulation
30:39 Working Steps With Sponsor
34:18 Reframing Holidays After D Day
38:03 Anniversaries And Honest Disclosure
42:27 Connecting With the God of Your Understanding
46:53 Why Step Four Feels Brutal
50:47 Closing Hope And Keep Coming

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Host Tara McCausland shares presentations from the 2026 SAL 12-Step Conference starting with two personal shares from SAL 12-Steppers Brandon P. and Bing H. Brandon P., a recovering sex addict, describes decades of secrecy and shame, hitting rock bottom two years earlier, and learning that turning to God is a daily decision sustained by grace and community. Bing H. shares her experience with betrayal trauma including disorientation, triggers, and despair, and explains how SAL 12-Step, therapy, sponsors, and surrender brought hope, emotional grounding, and a desire to break generational cycles. Next,  you will hear a Healing Couples presentation from Heather and Justin B. which focuses on healing the marriage, focusing on one’s own healing, the messiness of recovery, and placing God at the center. Using the SAL Circle Models, they contrast the drama triangle with healthier patterns and explain how to  rebuild trust and connection over time. They highlight boundaries as “if/then” statements and emphasize that they are self-protective actions rather than walls, and stress ongoing step work, prayer, support, and taking action on spiritual promptings.

View the S.A. Lifeline Circle Models HERE.

Register for the 2026 Women's Workshop HERE.

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Therapist and 12-stepper Josh Walpole shares his personal history with pornography and sexual addiction, and how recovery led him to become a therapist at Circles of Grace (formerly Lifestar). He explores how stories shape recovery, contrasts lying with acceptance and radical honesty, and connects the hero’s journey and redemption arcs to change. He outlines 12-step themes, therapeutic recovery elements, nervous-system regulation and “recognize, respect, regulate, re-story,” and emphasizes sponsorship and hope that recovery is real and possible.

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00:00 Welcome and Keynote Intro
02:26 Meet Josh Walpole
04:13 Buffalo Storm Metaphor
06:09 Why Stories Matter
08:30 Josh's Recovery Story
14:34 Lies to Radical Honesty
19:24 Hero's Journey in Recovery
25:29 Villains and Redemption Arcs
30:08 Pivot Moments and Rock Bottom
33:16 Founders Stories and Pain
38:20 Twelve Steps as a Story
41:19 Therapy Roadmap to Healing
46:19 Brain and Nervous System Stories
51:12 Closing Stories and Sponsorship
55:39 Recovery Is Possible

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Tara McCausland shares an SAL 12 Step Conference keynote presentation by therapist and 12-step participant Amanda Christensen. Amanda explains how childhood power dynamics, explicit and implicit family rules, and family systems patterns can shape secrecy, emotional neglect, perfectionism, and vulnerability to sexual acting out. Amanda shares her own discovery trauma and distinguishes sexual acting-out trauma from deception trauma, emphasizing how secrets and manipulation undermine the betrayed partner’s reality, self-trust, and attachment safety. She outlines common power struggles in couples and within oneself, urging people to exit power battles and move toward surrender and “healthy powerlessness.” She recommends deeper work on underlying wounds through 12-step and therapy, therapeutic disclosure, steps one, four, and nine, transparency agreements, boundaries, and ongoing connection to support healing and choice.

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Understanding Pornography use, Problematic Sexual Behavior and Betrayal Trauma Digital Manual

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Host Jonathan L. interviews LMSW Courtney Weaver about finding quality education and qualified therapy for sex addiction and betrayal trauma recovery. Courtney explains key certifications (CSAT, APSAT, CPTT, C-BIRT), how to choose a therapist based on whether someone is an addict or betrayed partner, and what to ask therapists, including their understanding of pornography’s impact, betrayal trauma, and whether they recognize sex addiction as an addiction; she warns against codependency-based approaches that harm partners. They discuss how therapy and 12-step work can complement each other, when sponsors should defer to therapists (especially for trauma and relationship decisions), and how therapy helps identify underlying belief systems, coping patterns, and childhood roots that often stall progress in recovery work. Courtney outlines best practices for full therapeutic disclosure, recommends research-based resources, and suggests telehealth, podcasts, and community supports while seeking qualified care.

See the full list of questions to qualify a therapist HERE. 

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:28 Why Therapist Choice Matters
02:06 Decoding the Acronymns
03:24 Picking the Right Therapist For You
04:24 First Therapy Session Questions
06:29 Therapy Modalities Explained
08:53 12 Steps and Therapy Complement Each Other
10:28 Sponsor vs. Therapist Roles
11:57 Surrender and Learning What to Surrender
13:40 Uncovering Trauma 
17:17 Full Therapeutic Disclosure Explained
22:00 Finding Quality Education
23:49 SAL and Community Recovery
25:31 Telehealth and Extra Supports
27:04 Closing Encouragement

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Host Tara McCausland interviews Debbie Laaser about understanding and managing triggers after betrayal.  Laaser explains that distress from triggers is shaped by perceptions and encourages slowing down reactive fight-or-flight responses. Using her “seven desires” model (to be heard/understood, affirmed, blessed/loved unconditionally, safe, healthily touched, chosen, and included), she suggests identifying which unmet desires a trigger activates, noting that unmet needs intensify pain and that past experiences influence present reactions. She recommends journaling triggers with guided questions, offloading anger safely, and communicating practical needs rather than reacting. Laaser emphasizes wives are not responsible for husbands’ acting out behaviors, highlights post-traumatic growth, points listeners to seeking God to meet ultimate desires, and advises early professional help, community support, and a three-part recovery approach: his, hers, and eventually couples work after sobriety and truth-telling.

Connect with Debbie at faithfulandtrue.com.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
01:57 Meet Debbie Laser
02:51 Triggers and Trauma
03:42 Why Triggers Hurt
07:14 Perception vs Truth
09:43 Seven Desires Framework
14:02 Restaurant Trigger Example
17:17 How Past Wounds Amplify Triggers
21:00 Working Through Triggers Process
27:36 Safe Anger Release
32:08 Needs and Boundaries
36:13 Daily Growth and God
43:42  Final Advice
 

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