Ready to Heal: Breaking Free of Addictive Relationships

No woman dreams of becoming a nymphomaniac. Many women are puzzled why they continually struggle with unmanageable behavior when it comes to sex and love. Shame settles in and refuses to leave. But there is hope and a way out of this shame. As you begin to understand the nature of love and sex addiction -how it forms in infancy and how culturally you've been set up for it - shame diminishes, and your spirit is freed up for healing. Are you ready to heal?

Ready to Heal can help you if you're struggling in a relationship with a sex addict, facing your own sex addiction, obsessing about someone who doesn't want you, or if you're looking for deeper understanding of your romantic patterns. At its core, love and sex addiction is a longing for intimacy. Since love, connection, and sexual intimacy are basic human needs, healing addictive relationships prepares you to give and receive love in healthy ways. Part of being ready to heal is having faith that although you don't know what will happen, you are prepared to move forward on the journey. By following the stories of four brave women, you will discover how to break free from painful addictive relationships.

A chapter on mother hunger explores the role of your mother in your infancy. Think about it. Your relationship with your mother was the earliest foundation for how you formulated a sense of yourself and how you understand relationships. Your mother's love or lack of it became imprinted on your developing brain. It even continues to direct your relational choices today. Your first experience with love and trust was with your mother's touch, voice, and body. In her arms, early on you formed a belief about whether or not you were loveable. Early experiences with your mother are stored in your body. In turn, they lay the groundwork for addictive relationship patterns. Author Kelly McDaniel shows why exploring mother hunger is necessary to heal from addictive relationships and what it takes to form healthy intimate relationships. Are you ready to heal?

Kelly McDaniel, MA, LPC, NCC, CSAT, is a licensed professional counselor and a sex addiction therapist in private practice in San Antonio, Texas.

Publisher: Gentle Path Press
Published: 09/04/2012
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.74lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780983271390

About the Author
In her private practice as a therapist, she assist adults and couples. Incorporating a background from the Jean Baker Miller Institute of Relational/Cultural therapy, and the latest training in addiction research, she works closely and confidentially with individuals seeking support with relationship difficulty, general life dissatisfaction, family of origin issues, and attachment fear.
In addition to individual sessions, she conducts retreats in the Texas Hill Country for couples and for women. The "Ready to Heal" retreats for women focus on healing damaging cultural beliefs that affect sexuality and self-development and can lead to addictive relationships. Issues of childhood upbringing, culture, and biology affect the development of the sexual arousal template. Couples retreats explore these dynamics with partners seeking a more fulfilling, healthy and loving life. Retreats can be customized to address: codependency, sex and love addiction and recovering couples issues.
Additionally, she offers sensitive, specialized support to mothers and parents committed to attachment parenting. Since important neurological patterns are set in the first 18 months of life, she sees parents as architects of their child's brain development. They often need education and support with this critical task.
Professional affiliations include certification as a sex addiction therapist (CSAT) from the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP), membership in the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Healthy (SASH), membership in the Texas Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, Licensure as a Professional Counselor in Texas (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Post Induction Trained therapist in the developmental model designed by Pia Mellody.
Education includes an MA from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and an MA from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.