Why We Do What We Do
At Novus, we believe that everyone deserves to live a healthy and fulfilling life. We are dedicated to helping one person, one couple, one family at a time heal from the impact of addiction.
Today we understand so much more about how the brain works, and its part in the addictive process. Recovering from sex addiction is not a matter of willpower, nor is it about being an immoral person. Addiction is a problem in the brain and the body. We understand how the brain can adapt and how a once pleasurable experience now becomes compulsive and destructive. To free yourself from addictive behavior you need to understand how your brain and body are working together so you can change the addictive process. Your willpower may get you out of a fix once in a while, but in the long run it will fail you. You have to understand how it all works together. At Novus Mindful Life Institute we understand this process and can help you understand it too.
At Novus Mindful Life Institute we understand that entering into treatment is a difficult step to take. If you are like most individuals who come to our offices, you may feel scared, embarrassed, ashamed, or even angry that you are here. When you walk through the doors at Novus, you are in a safe place where you are cared for and worthy of loving kindness. The compassionate counselors here at Novus will teach you that no one has the right to judge you. You are worthy of support exactly the way you are. We want you to know that we are not here to criticize you, but to help you change your life. We work hard to create a place where you feel comfortable enough to get the help you need. For most, this addiction has been a hidden part of life and the idea of breaking the silence seems just plain unrealistic and crazy. You may feel the same way, but if you don’t get help, this addiction will take everything that is important away from you. Remember, we are not here to judge. We are here to help.
So often we have seen people try to fix this problem by attending a short workshop or intensive. They end up coming to Novus because a few months after the workshop or intensive they are back in the same pattern and don’t understand why. “How could this happen? I just spent two grueling weeks going through inner turmoil and here I am back in the same place. What the hell is wrong with me?” Look, we don’t want you to fall for the quick fix trap. This may be hard news to hear, but there is no quick fix for addiction. A quick two-week intensive may give you some good information, but lasting change takes more time. This is the honest truth. We spread our services out over time so you can learn a new way of living sober while you are living your life. You can’t learn that in a week or two. You have to practice your new skills over time and in your everyday life. It may take more time, but you have a better chance of creating lasting change. Don’t fall for the quick fix desire.
We understand that everyone is different. We don’t have a cookie cutter program that combines everyone into the same plan. Your case manager will design your program specifically around your life and your goals. Addiction is unique to each individual. No one gets to the same place on the same road with this issue. What helps one person may not help another, so we customize our treatment to fit your needs and will adapt as your needs change. This is your life. You possess the skills necessary to change. We just help you find them.
Because we customize your treatment, we have a significant number of services available to each individual and couple. This means that you can find what is right for you and you can get the level of support that you need. We offer different services for both the addict and partner. Here is a list:
We continue to learn about and incorporate new and innovate treatment models and apply them to our services. We update our treatment based on the latest research, and we don’t stay stuck in past treatment models that don’t work.
Our team has a passion for this work. Some have struggled with the very same things you are struggling with now. They understand addiction on both a personal and professional level. They will make you feel comfortable enough to begin to start the work you need to do. You will be in good hands at Novus. Our staff is also highly trained and supervised. Both of the founders at Novus have been trained by leading experts in the field and are Certified Sexual Addiction Therapists (CSAT). Our staff is also trained in the latest therapeutic techniques that lead to the best possible outcomes. It’s important to pick a treatment facility with the staff that can work with you.
The science of sex addiction is changing daily. We are continuing to deepen our understanding of how the brain, genetics, and life events can cause someone to become addicted to sex or pornography. With this new information comes a lot of hope for the future. We work with the latest science to do what works. We don’t want to incorporate treatment techniques or practices that don’t help your recovery or are a waste of time. We are active in the addiction treatment community and stay on top of the latest research so we can bring that information to you.
We understand that life does not stop for your problems. Work keeps going, family keeps going, life keeps going. That’s why we created Comprehensive Treatment that you design to work with your schedule. We will work with you so you can continue to work and deal with life and family matters. We know that everyone comes to health in a different way, and that is why we created a recovery program built for you. We don’t pack you into a program with a bunch of other people that fits into our schedule. That’s not helpful and minimizes your chance at changing your life for good. Comprehensive treatment incorporates many of our services wrapped in a focused client-centered package.
If you are in a relationship and it is falling apart because of sex or porn addiction, then the best thing you can do is to get both of you into treatment. This can be a hard step, especially if your partner does not know all the facts yet. We have extensive experience in guiding you both through the process of addressing your relationship. You don’t want to just tell your partner everything; this can cause irreparable harm. It needs to be done at the right time and in the right way. This process is one of the hardest parts of recovery, but we can help you through it. We have extensive experience in helping couples address the pain, confusion, and trauma that result from sex and porn addiction in the relationship.
The shame of addiction keeps you in isolation. It keeps you trapped in a prison where you don’t reach out, and this keeps from getting the help you need. Recovery from sex addiction is a journey of making connections. Often, people will come to me and ask if they can just get the information they need to fix themselves and be on their way. The truth is that will just not work. Addiction is, at the root, an intimacy problem. This may be hard to understand as you read this but being able to connect intimately with others is a big part of how people get better.
Novus has several therapeutic groups that can offer you the support you need. In our groups we don’t make you share anything you don’t want to. This is the place you begin to trust others with what you think no one could know about you. You may feel like you are all alone in this, but the irony is that this problem is more common than you think. Remember we live in a culture that does not want to talk about sex, unless it is used to advertise the next big thing. So it can really feel like you are the only one. You are not.
