Understanding Codependency: What It Is and How to Heal

The Signs, Impact, and How Therapy Can Help Emotional abuse can be subtle yet deeply damaging, and recognizing its signs is crucial for your well-being and personal growth. What is Emotional Abuse? Emotional abuse involves the systematic manipulation and undermining of an individual’s self-worth and emotional stability. Unlike physical abuse, it leaves no visible scars, […]

Women’s Relapse Prevention

Empowering Recovery: A Non-12-Step Approach to Women’s Relapse Prevention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0vEzUy-tnw Relapse prevention is a cornerstone of long-term recovery for women navigating the complexities of substance use and alcohol use disorders. While every individual’s recovery journey is unique, women often face distinct challenges shaped by societal pressures, caregiving roles, and experiences of trauma. A women-focused relapse […]

Dopamine and the Abuse Cycle

A couple stuck in a cycle of fighting

The Dopamine Reward System and the Romantic Abuse Cycle: Why Leaving Can Feel So Hard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-ApDPUaZV8 The cycle of abuse in romantic relationships can be incredibly complex and painful to break, even when a person knows logically that the relationship is harmful. A big reason for this difficulty lies in the brain’s dopamine reward system. […]

Understanding the Journey of Being the Partner of an Addict

A wooden couple where one is struggling with the chains of addiction

Being in a relationship with someone struggling with addiction can feel like a rollercoaster of emotions, with highs that bring moments of hope and connection and lows that carry intense pain, frustration, and confusion. Many partners of addicts feel torn between wanting to support their loved one and needing to protect their own well-being, a […]

Understanding Sex and Porn Addiction in Men: A Clinical Perspective

A man dealing with sex or porn addition feeling chained to the behavior while hoping for a way to fix it with therapy.

Sex and pornography addiction are often misunderstood, minimized, or stigmatized, which can prevent individuals from seeking help. As a licensed therapist specializing in addiction and co-occurring disorders, I want to provide clarity about these conditions and their impact on men’s mental health and relationships. What is Sex and Porn Addiction? Sex and pornography addiction refer […]

Emotional Abuse

Managing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The Signs, Impact, and How Therapy Can Help Emotional abuse can be subtle yet deeply damaging, and recognizing its signs is crucial for your well-being and personal growth. What is Emotional Abuse? Emotional abuse involves the systematic manipulation and undermining of an individual’s self-worth and emotional stability. Unlike physical abuse, it leaves no visible scars, […]

Briana Lefman Trauma / Addiction Therapist & Support Group Facilitator

Briana Lefman Trauma therapist and Addiction Recovery Specialist In California & Florida

I specialize in addiction, trauma, sexual abuse, affairs and infidelity, grief, Men’s anger, and Bipolar disorder. I provide individual and Couples therapy. I work with issues that I have lived experience with. I didn’t just read and learn about cheating, drugs, sexual trauma, and the fallout that follows these experiences; I have walked your path […]

Dealing With Love Addiction.

A Heart Surrounded By Chain As Though Bound By Love Addiction

Love addiction, though not recognized as a formal diagnosis, is a physiological condition that can have profound consequences on an individual’s well-being and relationships.