Laurel Centre
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Hi,
Has anyone's partner / family member accessed support from the Laurel Centre? Wondered if anyone could share their experiences of either the counselling or their intensive porn addiction courses. Not entirely sure if those that have gone into illegal behaviour are accepted into group sessions, need to speak to them to find out more. Just wondered if anyone could share views as the reviews online seem to be mixed. However, Paula Hall herself seems to talk a lot of sense in this area and her books have helped me a lot.
Thanks :)
Has anyone's partner / family member accessed support from the Laurel Centre? Wondered if anyone could share their experiences of either the counselling or their intensive porn addiction courses. Not entirely sure if those that have gone into illegal behaviour are accepted into group sessions, need to speak to them to find out more. Just wondered if anyone could share views as the reviews online seem to be mixed. However, Paula Hall herself seems to talk a lot of sense in this area and her books have helped me a lot.
Thanks :)
My person worked one on one with a therapist from here and found it very helpful. They had a few very general sessions and then began working through a program, spending as long on each section as needed.
Although he's now in prison he refers back to the work they did and is keen to continue when he's released. Through the therapy he started to understand more about himself, why he behaved in the ways he has and how damaging it was to him and other peoples lives and how he could live a more fulfilling and authentic life. What he found helpful was that sex and related activities should and can be enjoyable and the difference between healthy and unhealthy patterns and feelings - Very much about being present and engaging in emotion rather than escaping from emotion.
He looked at the group sessions but there wasn't one starting soon enough for him.
He did tell them about his charge, I don't know if he was fortunate that his therapist was happy to work with him or if she was selected because she'd had previous experience. If you do go down this route, it would be worth being open up front. Whilst they knew about the charge, they spoke little about it in terms of specifically what led him to do commit the offence - My person was very confident where his problem was and wasn't, he has one conversation about a child but 100s of conversations and meets for sex with women about other sexual activity.
Although he's now in prison he refers back to the work they did and is keen to continue when he's released. Through the therapy he started to understand more about himself, why he behaved in the ways he has and how damaging it was to him and other peoples lives and how he could live a more fulfilling and authentic life. What he found helpful was that sex and related activities should and can be enjoyable and the difference between healthy and unhealthy patterns and feelings - Very much about being present and engaging in emotion rather than escaping from emotion.
He looked at the group sessions but there wasn't one starting soon enough for him.
He did tell them about his charge, I don't know if he was fortunate that his therapist was happy to work with him or if she was selected because she'd had previous experience. If you do go down this route, it would be worth being open up front. Whilst they knew about the charge, they spoke little about it in terms of specifically what led him to do commit the offence - My person was very confident where his problem was and wasn't, he has one conversation about a child but 100s of conversations and meets for sex with women about other sexual activity.
Yep, I agree if you want to be sure they'll work with you StopSo is your best place to start. But I also think based on my person's experience the Laurel Centre does have something to offer, but you may wany to disclose upfront and specifically ask if there are therapist that are trained in this area.
The therapist my person had was able to work with him and he doesn't feel their aproach or perhaps lack of experience with these cases (I don't know if this was the case though ) was a detriment to his progress. He was confident where his issues were and weren't and felt that the therapy and the structure provided worked for him and his needs. I trust his judgement on this and can understand the reason why he felt this was the best option for him. They spoke very little about the offence it's self as this was the symptom not the cause. He didn't start it until late so really was 100% doing the thing that he felt would be the most benefit for him long term. Despite the horrendous impact this has had on his life and the risk he could have put a child in, it was a single conversation but his general relationship with sex and porn was something imbedded and intrenched in the way he lived his life and he felt this was the element in his life he felt that needed to be addressed.
The therapist my person had was able to work with him and he doesn't feel their aproach or perhaps lack of experience with these cases (I don't know if this was the case though ) was a detriment to his progress. He was confident where his issues were and weren't and felt that the therapy and the structure provided worked for him and his needs. I trust his judgement on this and can understand the reason why he felt this was the best option for him. They spoke very little about the offence it's self as this was the symptom not the cause. He didn't start it until late so really was 100% doing the thing that he felt would be the most benefit for him long term. Despite the horrendous impact this has had on his life and the risk he could have put a child in, it was a single conversation but his general relationship with sex and porn was something imbedded and intrenched in the way he lived his life and he felt this was the element in his life he felt that needed to be addressed.