For a pdf of this information click here.

Would you like to feel more connected to other people?
Would you like to improve your confidence in social situations?
Do you want to learn how to better handle conflict?
Do you want to gain greater insights about your behaviors in relationships?
We all spend the majority of our life in a variety of different group settings. Our family, workplace, friends and community are all groups in which we interact with others. The more successful we are in groups, the more satisfied we are in life.
Are you involved with someone with an untreated addiction or emotional disorder?

Group therapy has been shown to be a powerful tool in helping people overcome longstanding, self defeating behaviors and interpersonal difficulties. Challenges in relationships with spouses, partners, family members, or social groups can contribute to problems such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Each of these symptoms can be successfully treated in group therapy.

Group therapy allows members to understand how and why they react the way they do to different situations. It is ideal for people with interpersonal concerns such as intimacy, assertiveness, trust, isolation, anger and loss. Group is a social microcosm. The problems that individuals have in relationships are replicated in the group. Group members will learn new ways of interacting and dealing with people in their life.

Another powerful aspect of group therapy is the experience you have that you are not alone in the world. Group is a place where you feel connected and get support, empathy and validation from people who have shared experiences.

Click here to download this information in pdf.

Recovery group for partners experiencing trauma from betrayal and broken trust.

• Have you worried about your partner’s sexual behavior?
• Do you blame yourself for feeling worried?
• Do you feel sad, empty and angry toward your partner having sexual encounters outside your relationship?
• Are you feeling shameful and hurt?  Are you questioning yourself over your partner’s relationships?
• Do you feel that you will never be enough for your partner?
• Are you a survivor of childhood or adult sexual or other abuse?

Space is limited.  Contact (248)399-7447 or email officemgr@crsh.com for your appointment.  Interview is required before you begin.

Click here to download this information in pdf.

Click here to read ‘What are you searching for? An Introduction to Men’s Work’

This therapy group is designed to help men increase awareness of how their sexuality developed and how best to integrate it with a healthy, fulfilling life. It will help men resolve sexual behaviors that are interfering in their lives.

Sexual Addiction/compulsion is rarely about sex, but rather about early childhood trauma. Often it is based in childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse or neglect. The individual is usually terrified of adult intimacy and uses the sexual acting out behaviors as a way to avoid it unconsciously.

The issues we examine and help solve include:

• Examining the negative effects of unresolved family-of-origin issues in childhood, which are currently interfering in men’s adult lives.
• Pornography use and Internet cybersex
• Past and present abuse (sexual, physical, verbal, emotional) and other traumas that lead men to be ashamed of their sexuality.
• Misconceptions about sexual behavior and bad role models that can damage or even ruin men’s intimate relationships.

For more information, please email officemgr@crsh.com.

Click here to download the pdf flyer.

For gay men, self-acceptance means challenging society’s persistent stereotypes and prejudices about homosexuality. Rather than translating self-esteem guidance from a hetero-centrist view, the Gay Men’s Group allows for personal growth specifically aimed at helping gay men deal with the very particular issues they have in their lives.

The Gay Men’s group will examine:

• Contributing feelings of shame and self doubts of left over from growing up gay
• Careers
• Relationships
• Negative life choices based on internalized homophobia
• Sexual concerns
• Family of origin issues

Gay men’s group allows for these issues to be explored in safe and supportive environment. Gay Men’s Group allows the members to change what they say to themselves, and begin to recognize their strengths, and develop new directions for self-growth.   This group will guide you from distortions of old thinking, through the challenges of today, and into the peace and joy of tomorrow.

Every Tuesday 5:30pm to 7:30pm

Clients will have to complete an initial consult and a minimum 6 month commitment applies.

For straight, gay and lesbian couples

Limited to 20 people. Registration beforehand is required.

Location: The offices of the Center for Relationship and Sexual Health, 25600 Woodward Ave, Suite 215, Royal Oak, MI 48067

Click here to download the pdf flyer.

Learn more about Imago Relationship Therapy

Dates: June 8-9, 2013
Sat 9:30am to 9pm
Sun 9:30am to 6pm
Cost: $700 per couple OR $650 per couples registered by June 1, 2013

The workshop includes a manual which you will be using throughout the weekend to write down effective ways to personally communicate with your partner. You will take the manuals with you following the workshop to continue doing the work..

There is no unwanted sharing nor is there much interaction from one couple to another.. Many have concerns there will be group therapy dynamics however this is not the case.

This weekend couples workshop is based on Imago Relationship Therapy, as developed by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and explained his book, Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples.

Location: The offices of the Center for Relationship and Sexual Health, 25600 Woodward Ave, Suite 215, Royal Oak, MI 48067

Please read the following information:

If you are seeking continuing education hours, to receive full credit, you cannot be absent for more than 10 minutes per programming hour. If any participant needs to leave the program for more than 10 minutes, please check out & check back in with the registration table so that attendance can be monitored.

Presenter: Ellen Yashinsky Chute, LMSW, ACSW

Date: May 19, 2013 ~ 10-1PM
Fee: $35
3CE’s

Emotional abuse is an ongoing relational dynamic that perpetuates a “one-up” dynamic for the abuser and a “one-down” dynamic for the victim.  This dynamic perpetuates a contemptuous and toxic atmosphere that may easily escalate to other forms of abusive behaviors.  This workshop will address the complex etiology of emotional abuse, the family system dynamic it creates, and strategies for intervention that address the root causes of the behaviors.  This workshop will also address safety factors, and long term relational recovery.  

This workshop addresses social justice by helping to facilitate more just and egalitarian family systems.

This workshop will use a combination of PowerPoint, lecture, discussion, case study, video, and role play. 

Learning objectives:

Hour 1

1.      Understanding emotional abuse: 30 minutes

2.      Etiology of abuse as a behavioral strategy: 30 minutes

Hour 2

1.      Relational effects of abusive behaviors: 30 minutes

2.      The escalation sequence30 minutes

Hour 3

1.      Treatment strategies: 30 minutes

2.      Safety planning: 10 minutes

3.      Enforcing change: 20 minutes

 This workshop is for therapists of all educational background and degree.

Core Learning, Inc. is an approved provider with the 
Michigan Social Work Cotninuing Education Collaborative - Approved Provider Number: MICEC 0067, Michigan Certification Board for Addiction Professionals (MCBAP), and through the National Board for Certified Counselors – ACEP Provider #6541. 

People not familiar with sex addiction often joke about it, probably because it makes them nervous and uncomfortable.   They might even say things like, “That’s an addiction I’d like to have.”  If sex is pleasurable, then how could anyone get too much of it?

Aside from this discomfort, there is a myth underneath this attitude, the myth that sex addiction is about sex, when in fact it is about childhood trauma and abuse.  The sex addiction itself is actually an expression or symptom of underlying problems that have nothing directly to do with sex as a pleasurable and intimate activity.

So no, sex addiction is not an addiction you would like to have.

Sex Addiction Counseling Myth #2: Sex Addiction Counselors are all Experts in Sex Addiction Therapy

When does sexual behavior become a problem or an addiction?  Most of us would assume that a sex addiction counselor would know the answer to this, but not all do.  Instead, many are focused on being “sex positive”, meaning helping someone overcome shame and inhibitions around sex.  While this can be healthy, it does not go deep enough into underlying issues and will ultimately leave a patient in sex addiction counseling unsatisfied.

Sex Addiction Counseling Myth #3: You will Set The Agenda for Your Own Sex Therapy

Many people correctly assume that they themselves will come up with the issues and concerns that guide their therapy.  Unfortunately, some sex addiction counselors have an agenda.  This agenda could be driven by any number of theories or approaches to sexual health, but any agenda that does not derive directly from a healthy and open relationship between the sex addiction counselor and the patient is doomed to failure.

It’s not about the theory, it’s about finding the therapist that works for you.

A note about the author:

Dr. Joe Kort is a certified sex addiction therapist, certified Imago Relationship Therapist and a certified Sex Therapist providing mental health outpatient services for individuals and couples as well as relationship counseling and help for those struggling with depression and anxiety issues in the Rochester, Bloomfield, Birmingham and Novi areas. The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health – www.CRSH.com – provides this information written by its founder, Dr. Kort, in order to educate interested readers. (248) 399-7447

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The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health (CRSH), located in Royal Oak, has been providing counseling for sexual issues for people in Rochester, Bloomfield, Birmingham, Novi and all over Michigan’s tri-county area.

Relationship Counseling Tip #1: You don’t have to be healthy before you start to date.

Quite the opposite!  Dating is one of the best things you can do if you want to grow and explore who you are.  If done in a sensitive and healthy way, dating is a great way to work out issues and explore different areas of your personality.  You don’t have to be healthy before you date: you get healthy by dating!  If you are seeing a relationship counselor while you are dating, all the better.

Relationship Counseling Tip #2: Don’t expect it to be all fun.

The truth is: dating is brutal.  There’s really no two ways about it.  It can feel bad, it can be hurtful, it can be confusing and frustrating and not even seem like it’s worth the trouble.  That’s exactly why dating leads so people to relationship counseling.  But dating is too important to give up on.  It offers too many opportunities for growth to treat it like an annoyance.  If you put your heart into it and give it a chance, it can be one of the greatest things that ever happens to you.

Relationship Counseling Tip #3: Don’t take it personally when it doesn’t work out.

When there are bumps in the road, don’t take it personally and even when it ends, don’t take it personally.  (Of course, if it does end, relationship counseling can help soften the blow.)  Some people need to date a lot in order to figure out what works for them.  If you take the hurt and pain too personally, you’ll never stick with it long enough to get good at it.  If online dating doesn’t work, try joining volunteer groups or other social outlets which are not necessarily for dating but where you might meet someone casually.  If social networking doesn’t work, try letting your friends set you up.  Whatever works for you, just don’t give up!

What’s at stake is not only the chance to find a life partner, but also the opportunity to work out the issues that have been preventing you from living a fuller life.

A note about the author:

Dr. Joe Kort is a certified sex addiction therapist, certified Imago Relationship Therapist and a certified Sex Therapist providing mental health outpatient services for individuals and couples as well as porn addiction and those struggling with depression and anxiety issues in the Farmington Hills, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield and Troy areas. The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health – www.CRSH.com – provides this information written by its founder, Dr. Kort, in order to educate interested readers. (248) 399-7447

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The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health (CRSH), located in Royal Oak, has been providing counseling for sexual issues for people in West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills and Troy and all over Michigan’s tri-county area.

It makes sense there is high reactivity as discovering sexual material can be very upsetting and confusing.

When couples come into my office I usually do a few things immediately.

I establish right away that pornography is not generally the problem but rather it is one’s relationship to porn that is the problem. If a couple focuses on their subjective views about pornography, they will not have conflict resolution.

Yes pornography can be a problem. I help calm both partners’ initial reactivity. Usually the partner who has been discovered on the Internet is experiencing a tremendous amount of shame for having their secret sex life exposed. They are often defensive, angry and blaming of their partner. The men often say they don’t know why they are viewing the porn or became involved in Internet chatting and want to stop but have been unable to do so. My work is to help them accept responsibility that for whatever reason they chose not to share their sexual activity on the Internet and that their partner has a right to their feelings of shock and betrayal.

The discovering partner often takes what they find very personally and feels that it is because she is not attractive enough or providing an adequate sex life to her partner. Another common reaction is to be very angry and say, “I didn’t cause this, this isn’t my problem” and he better fix this and stop immediately.

Unfortunately and understandably women often feel so betrayed and angry that they don’t want to be a part of the therapy because they say it makes them feel responsible for what happened and they have been blamed enough by the men who have often accused them of being hypersensitive and wrong in their suspicions that they were even on the Internet.

When the wives and girlfriends are ready to enter therapy I try to work with them individually on whether or not they want to stay and work things out and provide them with resources and education their partners and on help them focus on themselves. Ultimately I bring the couples together to do the rest of the work and strengthen their relationship.

Here are some things for women to consider when discovering a partner’s porn usage:

Porn Addiction Helpful Tip #1: It’s Not Your Fault

His sexual outlet on the Internet most likely has nothing to do with you. Understandably this is hard to reconcile as often women compare themselves to the images the men are viewing. Also men may have often made feel that something is wrong with them by telling them to “get over it and deal with the fact that they enjoy porn” or making women feel “crazy” for being sensitive and hyper-vigilant. The work here is not to take this personally, as hard as that is for the porn addict and his partner.

Porn Addiction Helpful Tip #2: He may have been Sexually Abused

Sometimes excessive viewing of porn and sexual behaviors are the result of childhood sexual abuse. When women are sexually abused as children this often manifests in sexually shutting down as adults. There may be a period where they are hypersexual and in general when engaged in the sexual abuse recovery work they tend to be disinterested in sexual activity. Men, on the other hand, become hypersexual from childhood sexual abuse. While some men sexually shut down, the majority find themselves compulsively acting out in what I refer to as “returning to the scene of the crime” where they are re-enacting the abuse by watching it and/or acting it out.

Porn Addiction Helpful Tip #3: Many women try to be more sexual once they discover men’s secret sexual lives.

Often women think that men are not getting enough sex so they try to compensate by offering themselves up sexually at a higher frequency and/or offering to do sexual behaviors in which they are uncomfortable. I often tell women that this is not the answer and that while they may decide to do this, ultimately the decision should not come from desperation but rather a discussion with their spouse. Again it is most likely about the man’s inability, whether he is a porn addict or not, to express his sexual needs and wants.

Porn Addiction Helpful Tip #4: Many women are triggered by their own sexual histories, abuse and traumas.

Finding sexual material in a partner’s computer can bring back a variety of sexual betrayals for women from their own lives. Sometimes women have been abused or raped themselves and finding porn on the computer feels like being abused and raped all over again. Seeing men objectify women through porn and the Internet can bring up a woman’s own feelings of being objectified and sexualized against her will.

Porn Addiction Helpful Tip #5: Going forward after learning about a partner’s secret sexual desires can make one very vulnerable.

Recovering from sexual indiscretions in a relationship is possible and very fragile. I don’t recommend doing anything in terms of ending the relationship or even separating for at least three months. It demands understanding what the sexual material meant about him, about her, and about them both as a couple. Insight into the personal vulnerabilities that led to the behaviors helps distance the porn addict and his partner from the sensationalism of the sexual material and focus more on who both are individually. Getting past the trauma of the betrayal allows for safe communication about what the vision is for the relationship.

Porn Addiction Helpful Tip #6: Porn may not be a problem at all.

Males have usually been looking at pornography since age 11. Porn can be normative and natural for males to look at.

A note about the author:

Dr. Joe Kort is a certified sex addiction therapist, certified Imago Relationship Therapist and a certified Sex Therapist providing mental health outpatient services for individuals and couples, marriage counseling as well as those struggling with depression and anxiety issues in the Farmington Hills, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield and Troy areas. The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health – www.CRSH.com – provides this information written by its founder, Dr. Kort, in order to educate interested readers. (248) 399-7447

~~~

The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health (CRSH), located in Royal Oak, has been providing counseling for sexual issues for people in West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills and Troy and all over Michigan’s tri-county area.

Have Their Own Dynamics

Some relationship counselors present themselves as being equally competent in all relationship areas: male/male, female/female and male/female.  Do a little investigating before jumping to the conclusion that the marriage counselor you are considering is a heterosexual marriage specialist.  Married men and women have characteristics that can be very different from same sex relationships.  If the therapist’s practice seems to be geared toward gay couples, be especially careful that he or she is not limited to this perspective.

Marriage Counseling Key #2: Focus on what is Right for You, not the Therapist

Vastly different marriages work for different people.  For example, some couples are suited to sharing and communicating a lot together and some get along just fine with very little verbal sharing.  A marriage counselor who steers you toward their own idea of the ideal or healthy marriage is one to avoid.  During marriage counseling, you should not focus on the therapist’s idea of a good marriage; rather, they should help you focus on yours.

Marriage Counseling Key #3: Find out Where they’re Coming From

 Don’t be shy about asking about the therapist’s training and perspective.  If you have never heard of it, ask for an explanation.  Does it make sense to you?  Does it sound like a good fit?  Remember, when it comes to your marriage, you are the expert, not the therapist.  Their style of communicating and even their vocabulary should make sense and feel right to you.

Marriage Counseling Key #4: Look for Fairness and Balance

 In your first meeting, did you get the impression the marriage therapist was even tempered and not biased toward one person?  Does your partner feel the same way?  Chances are strong that the therapeutic process will not take hold if one of you feels that the therapist is taking sides.  Instead of an advocate for one side, the counselor should feel like a caring and neutral mediator.

A note about the author:

Dr. Joe Kort is a certified sex addiction therapist, certified Imago Relationship Therapist and a certified Sex Therapist providing mental health outpatient services for individuals and couples as well as couples therapy and those struggling with depression and anxiety issues in the Rochester, Bloomfield, Birmingham and Novi areas. The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health – www.CRSH.com – provides this information written by its founder, Dr. Kort, in order to educate interested readers. (248) 399-7447

 ~~~

 The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health (CRSH), located in Royal Oak, has been providing counseling for sexual issues for people in Rochester, Bloomfield, Birmingham, Novi and all over Michigan’s tri-county area.