The LifeSTAR group programs are broken down into three phases of recovery and healing:

Phase I: Getting Started
Phase II: Recovery
Phase III: Advanced

Phase I: Getting Started is a six-week educational course for people struggling with sexual addiction, and for their partners. This exciting new course provides participants with a better understanding about sexual addiction and the underlying issues, and teaches both partners and addicts how to begin the journey toward peace, hope, and healing. The primary focus of the Getting Started Workshop is to educate. We have found that when clients are well-informed about the underlying issues that influence unhealthy behaviors, they become empowered to take a more proactive approach to recovery and life.

The Getting Started Workshop is intended for those starting out in recovery, and is also recommended for those who have been attending 12-step groups or for those being discharged from an inpatient setting. We strongly recommend that married couples come together so they can begin the process of education together; however, the workshop is also for single adults and for those clients whose partners are not willing to attend.

Phase II: Recovery Group is intended to help clients develop solid sobriety and employ successful strategies that will help them live healthier, more productive lives. The workbooks in Phase II focus on providing a deeper look at denial, the addiction cycle, fantasies and objectification, relapse prevention, and healthy living. Participants should stay in Phase II until they have established a solid sobriety, are implementing an effective treatment plan-including a network of support-and have a detailed understanding of their addictive system. Partners in Phase II take a deep look at their own issues, and learn to recognize co-dependent behaviors and establish healthy boundaries.

Phase III: Advanced Group is a long-term commitment to group therapy and is geared toward helping participants maintain their new-found healthy lifestyles. Phase III addresses the issues that underlined the addiction in the first place, such as faulty core beliefs, trauma, and abuse. Once the addiction has been stopped and the underlying issues have been addressed, healthy lifestyle changes are reinforced in order to keep the addiction from reappearing. For couples in the program, this is the time to practice their new lifestyle and new way of relating to each other. In Phase III, they put into practice all of the identity and boundary training they have received throughout the first two phases.

*The LifeSTAR programs-as well as any associated products or those recommended by LifeSTAR-are not intended to take the place of therapy. We strongly advise all users of our programs or products to consider counseling with a qualified licensed therapist in their local area. To find a licensed LifeSTAR Network therapist in your area, click here.