Eight years ago, when people began coming to me for help with pornography addiction, they were searching for a Catholic recovery program. I searched everywhere, but could not find one. After much prayer and discernment, I realized that God was calling me to create one. Rather than “reinvent the wheel” I decided to research several successful recovery programs, use the best components of them, and incorporate Catholic spirituality into it. Through my research I discovered seven components needed for healthy recovery. I incorporated them into my program along with Catholic spirituality. This became the Integrity Starts Here! recovery program. While I continue to modify and improve it, this program has been very effective in helping men recovery from pornography addiction. In this and the next three articles, I will discuss the components of this program, which I believe are needed in any successful comprehensive recovery program.
Once the addiction has been properly diagnosed a trained therapist can work with you to develop a customized recovery program based on the Integrity Starts Here! recovery program. The program is comprised of seven points. Each point is of equal importance, so all are worked on together. Here is a diagram of the points:
In the next three articles, I will discuss each of the seven points and how they are incorporated into a successful recovery program.
Dr. Peter Kleponis
Peter C. Kleponis, Ph.D., SATP-C is a Licensed Clinical Therapist and Assistant Director of Comprehensive Counseling Services in Conshohocken, PA. He holds an M.A. in Clinical-Counseling Psychology and a Ph.D. in General Psychology. Dr. Kleponis has over 18 years of professional experience working with individuals, couples, families and organizations. He specializes in marriage & family therapy, pastoral counseling, and pornography/sexual addiction recovery. He is Certified in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexual Addictions by The American Association of Christian Counselors’ Light University, by Dr. Mark Laaser’s Freedom Begins Here Program, and by Dr. Todd Bowman’s SATP program.
Dr. Kleponis has been a guest on several EWTN television programs including Women of Grace, Franciscan University Presents, Crossing the Goal, EWTN Bookmark, and At Home with Jim & Joy. He is also a regular guest on Relevant Radio’s On-Call program. Dr. Kleponis travels throughout the country educating people on how to win the battle against pornography through his Fighting Porn in Our Culture…and Winning! program. He is the author of two books, The Pornography Epidemic: A Catholic Approach (2012) and Integrity Restored: Helping Catholic Families Win the Battle Against Pornography (2014). Dr. Kleponis is also founder of the Integrity Starts Here Catholic recovery program for pornography and sexual addiction. He works with individuals and couples from around the United States and internationally in-person, by phone, and by Skype. For more information log onto www.PeterKleponis.com.