Freedom and Hope Biblical Counseling
The truth will set you free.
Addiction is the continued engagement in behaviors or consumption of substances despite the harmful and negative consequences. Spiritually, addiction is the agreement with and belief in the lie that this behavior or substance is what provides life and wholeness, despite what God's Word says.
Domestic Abuse is known as the hidden face of addiction and they are deeply intertwined backed by research. They both have similar cycles that play into each other and they are both about power and control. Review our Resources page for more information.
Free Resources
If you are the partner of a sex addict we recommend you read the following and look for the Domestic Abuse, Marital Rape, Human Trafficking, and Coercive Control resources on our page. We have found that many women who are the partners of sex addicts do not realize that this is what is happening to them and are not familiar with the definition of these terms and unfortunately these are very common, normalized, and pervasive because people do not know the definitions . Sex addiction normally goes hand in hand with sex offending/domestic abuse/marital rape/intimate partner violence/sex trafficking:
"Human trafficking is the exploitation of a person through labor, services, or a commercial sex act by force, fraud, or coercion...Sex trafficking victims frequently describe the beginning of a relationship with the person who would later exploit them as being comforting. The perpetrator would meet a need in their victim’s life; companionship, understanding, transportation, financial assistance or basic survival needs like food, shelter or substances. Then, when an imbalance in the relationship is achieved, the perpetrator flips the narrative on whose needs are being met. They demand to be compensated for their expenditures, in the form of exploitation...
Author Evan Stark who wrote the book Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life (Interpersonal Violence) describes coercive control as behaviors that include physical violence, sexual coercion, humiliation, intimidation, degradation, isolation, deprivation, exploitation and regulation. “Coercive control is not just a form of making victims dependent, but making them subordinate. … It’s a form of domination,” Stark said. Coercive control is an inextricable component of human trafficking. Sex trafficking is managed through coercive control. It is the invisible shackle that people who traffic in other people use to hold them hostage."
Click here to read more or find this resource on our Resources page: Human Trafficking/Coercive Control/Intimate Partner Violence
Couples Resources:
Healthy vs Unhealthy Boundaries
Sexual Coercion & Marital Rape
Bare Marriage - Marriage Resources (Sex/Marriage/Family/Faith)
Support Groups:
Sex Addicts
Sexaholics Anonymous
Spouses of Addicts
Pure Desire/Betrayal and Beyond
Partner's of Addicts Resources:
Sexual Coercion & Marital Rape
Power & Control Wheel and Forms of Abuse
Human Trafficking/Coercive Control/Intimate Partner Violence
Abusive Men Describe the Benefits of Violence
Christian Based Resources:
Spiritual Spouse/Night Emission
Male & Female Neurological Reward System
Demonic Attack After Disclosure
Biblical Counseling Questions & Articles
Sexual Coercion & Marital Rape
Workbooks & Readings for the Addict:
Workbooks & Readings for the Spouse:
Invisible Chains - Overcoming Coercive Control
The Body Keeps the Score Workbook
Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in their Personal Life
Sex Addiction Resources:
Erectile Dysfunction, Premature Ejaculation & Infertility
Abusive Men Describe the Benefits of Violence
Assessments:
Love is Respect (healthy relationship quiz)
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
Posttraumatic Checklist (PCL-5)
PATHOS Sex Addiction Assessment
SAST-R Sex Addiction Screening
*Disclaimer: We do not have any affiliation with these sites and their results are independent from us. If you are a current client we are open to reviewing the results in session to help you understand them or answer any questions.