chris ziebarth counselling

 I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with a masters degree in counselling from Gonzaga University. I have been a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) since 2014. I have since 2005, been working in inpatient, outpatient and in private practice settings treating individuals with problematic sexual behaviours, substance misuse/dependance and other addictive behaviours. I have extensive experience working with multiple addictions, trauma, family of origin and related mental health issues in both individual and group psychotherapy. I am especially passionate about helping clients discover and reclaim true intimacy in their relationships and their lives.

RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU AND YOUR PARTNER.

Addiction and out of control compulsive behaviour takes on many faces. It is my philosophy that every person deserves to be the main agent in their search for the truth and recovery. Recovery from sexual addiction is a deeply personal and sometimes tender and delicate process.  I support clients in their journey of discovery, recovery and healing. I believe that through the use of modern, effective, personalized assessment and therapeutic treatment programming, clients will become able to manage and overcome their problematic sexual behaviour as we uncover the truth together.

I can offer you evidence based therapeutic techniques to deliver a proven program of addiction and sex addiction treatment developed by Dr, Patrick Carnes over the past forty years. As a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) I will provide you with a comprehensive assessment of your specific issues. Together we will develop a plan for your therapy to address your addiction(s) and underlying issues that block your recovery.

WHY CHOOSE A CSAT?

Sex addiction therapy is not merely ‘counseling’ in essence, it has several compounding factors that increase the complexity of therapy, demanding more from the therapist.

In addition to forming a safe place for therapy to take place and being competent in advanced counseling skills, sex addiction therapy also requires a therapist to understand, know how to respond to, and be adept in helping the client with:

• The interactive nature of disorder – addictions often come in packages and are linked, interacting together. For example – smoking and alcoholism are often found together.

• How to engage the partners of sex addicts – there are numerous consequences to sex addiction that affect more than the addict. Partners of sex addicts are often casualties of addiction and need help processing how they have been impacted and how to move forward.

• Addressing denial about sex addiction (both in the addict and the partner) – without a firm grasp of the dynamics of sex addiction, a therapist will not be equipped or knowledgeable in confronting denial, the first task of sex addiction treatment.

• Traumatic bonding – many addicts are bonded to their addiction because of traumatic experiences from the past. Realizing the existence of the traumatic bond, what role anger plays when the client acts out (reenacts the trauma) and understanding how to sever the traumatic bond is a challenging piece of sex addiction therapy.

• The potential complexity and nightmare of legal issues – divorce, child custody battles, being registered as a sex offender, court-mandated sex addiction therapy, being arrested for numerous kinds of acting out including (child pornography, exhibitionism, voyeurism, child abuse, rape etc.) expose any helping therapist to additional levels of ethical, professional, and legal risk. Not all therapists are willing to take on these challenges and the extra time, effort, and legal exposure that comes with them.

• Unlike other mental health professionals, CSATs have been trained by leading experts in the sex addiction treatment field on (but not limited to) the points specified above. As already stated, general counseling requires years of academic and clinical training. All the moving pieces that need to be properly addressed add to the already challenging work that comes with general counseling.

• The debate on the existence of sex addiction continues to go back and forth as it has for years. Not all mental health providers agree that sex addiction even exists, not to mention how best to treat it. So even inside the sex addiction treatment field, you won’t find consistent, research-driven approaches that are successful. Even when there was less support for the idea of sex addiction than there is today, the originator of task-oriented approach to sex addiction treatment, Dr. Patrick Carnes, formed the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP). IITAP functions as an educator and trainer for mental health providers who seek cutting-edge training and resources for treating those with addictive and compulsive sexual behaviors.

• The certification process often takes two to three years to complete after already studying and training for years to conduct general counseling. It is a rigorous, involved, and personally challenging period that often puts the CSAT candidate in the client’s shoes and enables the CSAT to be more empathetic toward the sex addict who experiences fear, shame, anger, and pain.

To schedule an appointment with an addiction and trauma specialist today, call 250-802-5738 or email cpziebarth@gmail.com