Healing the Heart Beneath the Habit
Andrea Hainsworth, Betsy Hughes Barrow, & Martin Palmer
Pornography use is rarely about pleasure—it’s about unresolved pain. Beneath the struggle often lie stories of trauma, rejection, and unmet attachment needs. When individuals experience emotional neglect or rejection early in life, they may develop deep core beliefs such as I’m unwanted, unlovable, or not enough. Pornography can then become a way to numb distress, escape shame, or find a fleeting sense of comfort and control.
In this presentation, Andrea Hainsworth, LMHC, Betsy Barrow Hughes, LAMFT & PhD Candidate, BYU, and Martin Palmer, LAMFT, explore how unresolved trauma and attachment wounds create the emotional roots of pornography use and why treating only the behavior often fails to bring lasting change. Through an attachment-based and trauma-informed lens, this team offers practical tools for identifying emotional triggers, regulating distress, and fostering real healing through secure connection and self-compassion.
By exploring the roots of pornography use, this session offers hope and understanding. True recovery comes not from fighting the habit but from healing the heart beneath it—restoring connection, safety, and belonging.