2017 St. George UCAP Conference

This workshop will address what the field of sex addiction recovery has learned about the devastating impact of living with someone who has a pornography/sex addiction now defined as, “Partner Relational Betrayal Trauma”. We will discuss the impact of “Gas Lighting” (denying the reality of the spouse); the negative impact of “staggered” disclosures; the benefits of a Formal Disclosure along with recommendations and resources for effectively managing; and reducing triggers and post traumatic stress symptoms. Knowledge is empowering and understanding and setting healthy boundaries is often the first step into healing and repair.

Leslie Haws is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist and Clinical Director of Lifestar Sacramento a counseling agency in Sacramento, CA. She earned a B.A. degree in Sociology and Political Science in 1986 from the University of Utah, and in 1996 completed a Master’s in Education with a specialty in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of San Francisco. She has been a mental health advocate, volunteer and worked in the mental health profession for over 30 years including 5 years in Hospice as a bereavement counselor.

She has treated sexual addiction in the Sacramento region for over 23 years. She co-founded Lifestar Sacramento in 2005. Lifestar provides a clinical model for treatment and is the greater Sacramento region’s first (and only) intensive outpatient program. The Lifestar treatment program is committed to helping marriages recover and heal and provides a comprehensive road map for those suffering from compulsive sexual behaviors and betrayed spouses affected by these issues in an integrative, holistic and systematic way. Leslie has also been a pioneer in her identification of partner relational betrayal trauma as a genuine experience and mental health crisis for those in relationship with someone who struggles with hyper-sexual disorder in its many forms.