Pathway to Freedom

An Intensive Outpatient Program for Treatment of Sexual Addictions

This program is only available in our Richardson, TX clinic.

 It is no secret that our culture has become increasingly obsessed with sex.  It is inescapable.  It is plastered throughout magazines, on billboards, on the internet, in books, on TV - just about everywhere you look. While many felt that a more unrestricted approach to sexuality would liberate people, it actually has lead to bondage for many.  An alarming number of men and women have experienced painful consequences and find they are unable to stop sexual behaviors that are destroying them emotionally, vocationally, relationally, and spiritually.

 

In response to this increasing concern, Meier Clinics has developed a new program, Pathway to Freedom,to help people break free from the bondage of sexual addiction.  Keith Cobern, Ph.D., L.M.F.T., L.P.C., works closely with Meier Clinics staff to provide this unique program at the clinic in Richardson, Texas.  Participants will be using Dr. Patrick Carnes' Recovery Start Kit.  Patrick Carnes, the leading researcher and clinician on this phenomenon known as sex addiction, has been working for 30 years to learn the dynamics, underlying issues, and best practices in the treatment of this compulsion. Out of this experience, he created a treatment modality known as the Task-Centered Model, which has been proven to be highly effective in the treatment of sexual compulsivity. Recovery Start is the crown jewel in guiding the client toward successful engagement in this process.

 

Pathway to Freedom incorporates Christian beliefs and principles to address spiritual needs in addition to the emotional and physical concerns of those struggling to break free from sexual addiction.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

• The program model is an 8-week module.
• Clients meet each Saturday morning and afternoon for six hours plus a one hour lunch break) to focus on a specific task of recovery.  On Wednesdays, the program meets from 6:15 - 9:15 p.m., consisting of 1 1/2 hours of group psychotherapy and 1 1/2 hours of processing assignments from Saturday's module. The Recovery Start Kit and the workbook Facing the Shadow are required materials and are included in the program fee.
• Spouses are, when appropriate, encouraged to be involved at some point in the recovery process. From the third Saturday on, spouses are offered couples sessions by phone or in person.
• There are special psycho-educational sessions available for family members to help direct and support them during this difficult period in their lives.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

• Task-centered approach
• Didactic-recovery modules
• Group psychotherapy
• Cost effective when compared to inpatient treatment
• Provides more focus and structure than is possible in outpatient therapy
• Opportunity to continue trauma work, couples therapy, and one-on-one sessions concurrently with primary therapist
• Consultation and coordination of treatment with referring therapist
• Referrals to other professionals familiar with the treatment of sexual addiction, for medication, couples work, substance abuse, and/or ongoing individual therapy

WHAT PEOPLE WHO USE RECOVERY START ARE SAYING

"What I have seen is that people who use it [Recovery Start] as it is intended to be used are making significant changes in their recoveries. Specifically, I see it being helpful in two ways; first, for clients who have been unable to maintain sexual sobriety and are experiencing chronic relapse, it affords them an opportunity to raise their focus to a new level so they can gain a foothold and stop the bleeding. Secondly, it allows clients who are at various stages of recovery to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, especially regarding how they have been vulnerable to this particular form of acting out. The core dialogues in the 40 Day Focus are so effective in helping clients attain this insight.

 

"I have worked with at least 10 clients through the RSK and have seen people move from chronic relapse to actually gaining a foothold on sobriety. I've seen others who have years of sobriety go deeper into their recoveries than ever before. For both groups, the result is a sense of empowerment and healing.

 

~Bill B., CSAT

Recovery Start Author Details Science Behind Curriculum

{The following is an excerpt from the introduction of the Recovery Start Kit in which Dr. Carnes describes some of the neuroscience foundations of the Recovery Start process.}

The Hijacked Brain

We sometimes use the term "hijacked brain" to describe addictions. It helps to understand that the brain makes three billion decisions a second. Most of that activity we are not aware of. You do not think about your heartbeat or your breathing, let alone the complex neural circuits that manage hormone balance, waste management, or disease containment. These functions literally are on "Beginning recovery requires deep attention. The Recovery Start program is designed to help you with that. Progress starts with establishing sobriety. Like a stroke victim, an addict has to "regrow" parts of the brain. The first steps are agony. Some people can do this on an outpatient basis. Others need the structure of an inpatient setting. Recovery Start works in both. The first 130 days are critical to being able to do the deep, long-term reprogramming necessary. After completion of the 130 days, the program that follows this, The Recovery Zone, will guide you through this deeper work--which you cannot do well if you are still "in the problem."

 

The principles of Recovery Start rely on what we have learned about engaging the brain in those first agonizing steps. First, we have to fundamentally involve the "common sense" or executive function of the brain. Each exercise or process is designed to help your brain focus. Some activities, for example, require copying over work to consolidate or add to the process. This "rerecording" may seem like busy work but actually is of great importance. Research shows that the physical process of handwriting (as opposed to typing) engages the brain, creating a refining process very similar to adjusting the focus as in a microscope or camera. The actual physical act enhances change. Additionally, there is an important consolidation process which affects learning and memory. RS was carefully designed to impact your change on a daily and weekly basis over the 130 days. The recipe of focusing on various aspects of your behavior and the early "tasks" of your recovery will work, but only if you follow the steps.

Another example is that Recovery Start, as well as recovery in general, relies on sharing your work with others. Explaining what you have learned and receiving feedback stimulates the neurons. Your brain has to shift gears which deepens new learning. Equally important to significant brain change is the process of bonding to those you share with. Few things impact change in the brain more than attachment. For many addicts this is where some of their deepest wounding has occurred. So when an assignment is to share your work with others, it is very important to follow the recipe. Recovery demands living "in consultation" because living in isolation did not work. The deficits need to be made up and the brain will incorporate new learning at a profound level. Your brain will become healthier. Much of recovery is learning how to care for this important organ.

 

Therapy is a critical part of this interaction process. Your therapy relationship will be different than other relationships. Your therapist has been specially trained to work with the gear-shifting parts of the brain that maximizes the stimulation. A well-trained therapist teaches specific strategies to help your brain to manage better. Your brain will actually become more functional over time as a result. In some ways it is like having a good piano teacher. By reading a book you may learn to read the notes and play the keys but never really capture the melody. A good teacher brings out the melody and assists until it becomes effortless (unconscious competence). We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of doing this program with a trained therapist.

 

Pat Carnes, 2006