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Rise, Hope, and Healing After Sexual Betrayal: Closing Season One & Looking Toward Growth

Summary

In the final episode of Season One of Rise, Hope, and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, Dr. Kevin Skinner and licensed clinical social worker MaryAnn Michaelis reflect on the emotional journey of betrayal trauma and the foundational work required for healing. They validate the profound shock, grief, and disorientation that follow sexual betrayal, emphasizing that these reactions are normal responses to trauma—not personal failures.

Throughout the conversation, they review core concepts introduced in the season, including emotional regulation, triggers, PTSD symptoms, somatic responses, polyvagal theory, boundaries, self-care, and identity repair. Healing is framed not as a linear or finished state, but as a “both/and” process—one where growth and difficult days can coexist.

Using metaphors such as home remodeling, forest fires, peeling an onion, and run-walk marathons, they illustrate how healing unfolds slowly, layer by layer. They highlight post-traumatic growth, noting that while no one chooses betrayal, many survivors develop deeper self-awareness, stronger boundaries, renewed creativity, and a reclaimed sense of self-worth.

The episode also looks ahead to Season Two, which will focus on the second stage of healing—internal work, rebuilding trust (especially trust in self), and deeper application of tools learned in Season One. The hosts emphasize the importance of community, trauma-informed practices, and self-compassion, ending with a message of hope: healing is possible, identity can be restored, and no one has to walk this journey alone.

Resources Mentioned or Referenced

Programs & Educational Resources

• Rise, Hope, and Healing After Sexual Betrayal (Course) A structured healing course focused on assessments, internal work, parts work, boundaries, trust, and trauma recovery. Available via HumanIntimacy.com
• Rise, Hope, and Healing Podcast Focused specifically on betrayed partners and the stages of betrayal trauma recovery.
• Human Intimacy Podcast Broader conversations on intimacy, healing, and recovery.

Therapeutic Approaches & Concepts

• Betrayal Trauma & PTSD
• Post-Traumatic Growth
• Polyvagal Theory
• Somatic (Body-Based) Healing
• Emotional Regulation
• Boundary Setting
• Self-Compassion
• Trust (Self-Trust & Relational Trust)
• Group Support & Community Healing
• Trauma-Informed Yoga
• Mindfulness Practices

Professional Credentials Referenced

• CSAT – Certified Sex Addiction Therapist
• CPTT – Certified Partner Trauma Therapist

Clinicians Featured or Upcoming (Season Two)

• Dr. Kevin Skinner
• MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW
• Dr. Karen Strange
• Chris Christiano
• Jennifer Johnson

Books & Metaphors Referenced

• Beauty for Ashes (Biblical concept/book title referenced for meaning-making and growth after loss)
• Resilience research by Dr. Al Siebert (resilient mindset and “both/and” healing framework)

In this powerful episode of Rise: Hope & Healing After Sexual Betrayal, Dr. Kevin Skinner and MaryAnn Michaelis explore one of the most painful and complex layers of betrayal—self-betrayal. While a partner’s betrayal is deeply damaging, many betrayed partners describe an even more devastating wound: the moment they realize they stopped trusting themselves.

We discuss the internal collapse that occurs when you silence your instincts, override your intuition, and ignore what your body and emotions tried to tell you. This creates deep internal chaos, confusion, and shame—because when you can’t trust yourself, where do you turn?

This conversation also explores the importance of reconnecting with your values, intuition, emotional truth, and a personal Bill of Rights. We talk about why so many partners abandon themselves in the name of survival, loyalty, fear, or hope—and most importantly, how to gently rebuild self-trust, re-align with your inner wisdom, and begin living congruently again as you move into stabilization and deeper recovery.

• Book: Treating Trauma from Sexual Betrayal — Dr. Kevin Skinner

• Concept Guide: Creating a Personal Bill of Rights After Betrayal Examples may include:

  • “I have the right to trust my intuition.”

  • “I have the right to emotional and physical safety.”

  • “I have the right to ask questions and receive truthful answers.”

• Support & Education

  • Rise Podcast & Healing Resources at HumanIntimacy.com

  • Human Intimacy 100-Day Healing Programs & Courses

• Helpful Therapeutic Approaches

  • Trauma-informed therapy / CSAT or CPTT clinicians

  • Somatic and body-based healing approaches

  • Boundary and values clarification work

If you’re looking for deeper healing, education, community, and hope, we invite you to join us at the upcoming Human Intimacy Conference. This powerful event brings together leading experts in betrayal trauma, recovery, and relationship healing—offering tools, insight, and connection to support your journey.

👉 Register here: https://humanintimacy.zohobackstage.com/HumanIntimacy2ndAnnualConference#/

In this episode of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, Dr. Kevin Skinner and MaryAnn Michaelis explore what it truly means to “find your voice” after betrayal. Many betrayed partners struggle to express overwhelming emotions such as anger, grief, confusion, and fear—often because they’ve never had permission, language, or safe places to speak their truth. Others feel they do have a voice, but need support in finding the right words and safe settings to tell their story.

Dr. Skinner and MaryAnn discuss why expressing your story matters both emotionally and physically, highlighting research showing that suppressed emotions can increase depression and weaken the immune system. They talk about grief, trauma integration, and the importance of consolidating your narrative—what life felt like before betrayal, what changed after discovery, and how the experience is shaping your life now.

Listeners will learn about healthy ways to express deep emotions (journaling, burn journals, therapy, group support, safe body-release strategies), the importance of being witnessed, and how finding your internal voice strengthens boundaries, empowerment, and healing. This conversation reminds every betrayed partner that your emotions matter, your story deserves space, and giving voice to your experience is a vital step toward recovery.

• RISE: Hope & Healing After Sexual Betrayal Online Course Guided exercises, assessments, journaling prompts, education, and structured healing tools to support your journey. https://www.humanintimacy.com

• Research on Expressive Writing & Emotional Health James W. Pennebaker – Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions Demonstrates the mental and physical health benefits of expressing emotions and telling your story.

• Healing Requires Witnessing & Storytelling Desmond Tutu & Mpho Tutu – The Book of Forgiving Discusses the importance of sharing your story, being witnessed, and honoring emotional wounds.

• Trauma & Meaning-Making Framework Discussion of narrative processing and trauma consolidation – understanding life before betrayal, the traumatic event itself, and how it changes you going forward.

• Support Through Connection Research highlighted by Wendy Watson Nelson & Dr. Jill Manning emphasizing connection and safe support as a critical factor in betrayal recovery.

• Therapy & Group Support Consider working with a betrayal-informed therapist or joining a betrayal trauma support group to process your experience safely.