A place to begin without shame.
When sexual behavior has begun to feel secretive, out of control, or painful, it can be hard to know who to tell or what help should look like.
Sex addiction therapy with Wendy Molinaroli, Ph.D. offers a private, nonjudgmental place to understand the pattern, its impact, and what meaningful change could involve. You do not have to have a perfect explanation, a complete history, or a plan for the future before you reach out.
Whether you are concerned about your own behavior or are trying to make sense of a partner’s behavior, therapy can create room for clarity, steadier choices, and honest support. The first step can simply be a conversation about what has been happening and what you need now.
Request an appointmentThe pattern matters, and so does the person living with it.
Behavior that feels difficult to stop
You may have promised yourself or someone you love that things would change, only to find yourself repeating behavior that brings regret, fear, or consequences. Therapy can help you understand the cycle and build practical support around change.
Secrecy and shame
Keeping part of your life hidden can become exhausting. Shame often makes it harder to ask for help, even when the cost of the pattern is growing. A confidential therapeutic relationship can make it safer to speak honestly.
Relationship rupture
Discovery of pornography, sexual behavior, or an affair can leave partners with very different questions, emotions, and needs. Therapy can make room for the hurt, the uncertainty, and the decisions that cannot be rushed.
Recovery that needs more than willpower
Stopping a behavior is an important part of recovery, but it may not address loneliness, anxiety, trauma, stress, grief, or relationship patterns underneath it. Therapy looks at the fuller context so change can be more sustainable.
Care informed by deep experience with sexuality, addiction, and relationships.
Wendy is a Clinical Sexologist, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist. Her work is grounded in respect for the person seeking help, the people affected by the behavior, and the complexity of the circumstances that brought you here.
She works with women and men who are struggling with sex, pornography, or love addiction, as well as partners dealing with betrayal, confusion, and loss of emotional safety. Her approach makes room for accountability without reducing a person to their worst moment or treating shame as a path to change.
For many people, compulsive sexual behavior is connected to experiences that deserve attention in their own right: trauma, attachment wounds, loneliness, anxiety, depression, grief, difficulty regulating emotion, or a painful relationship with the body. Therapy can help make those connections more understandable while building a practical path forward.
If intimacy, desire, or communication is also part of what feels difficult, Wendy’s sex therapy in Charleston offers a related area of support.
Change is more than simply trying harder.
Compulsive patterns often develop as a way of coping, even when they eventually create more pain. Recovery can involve understanding the situations, feelings, beliefs, and relationship dynamics that make the behavior more likely. It can also mean developing boundaries, support, and new responses for the moments when urges or distress feel strongest.
Wendy will work with you to identify goals that are realistic and meaningful for your situation. For some people, the focus begins with interrupting secrecy and creating steadier daily structure. For others, it begins with making sense of a long history, repairing trust, or learning how to tolerate difficult emotions without turning immediately to a familiar pattern.
The work does not follow one script. A plan may include individual therapy, partner support, couples work when appropriate, and referrals to other resources when they would serve your recovery. What matters is creating a path that is honest about the impact of the behavior and grounded in the life and relationships you want to protect.
Betrayal can change the ground beneath a relationship.
When a partner discovers hidden sexual behavior, pornography use, or an affair, the experience can bring shock, anger, grief, self-doubt, and a profound loss of safety. Partners often need their own space to understand what has happened, decide what they need, and regain a sense of footing before they can make bigger decisions about the relationship.
Wendy does not treat the partner as an afterthought or ask either person to move faster than they are ready to move. Couples may choose to work on honest disclosure, communication, boundaries, and the conditions that would be needed for trust to begin rebuilding. Individual work can also be an important part of that process.
There is no requirement to preserve a relationship, forgive quickly, or decide everything in the first few sessions. Therapy can help each person bring more clarity and care to the next step, whether that means continuing together, taking space, or focusing first on personal recovery.
You can begin with the part of the story you can say out loud.
Many people wait because they are afraid of being judged, worry about confidentiality, or feel unsure whether their concern is serious enough. Those hesitations are understandable. Reaching out does not require you to have the right words or to agree with a partner about every detail.
A first appointment is an opportunity to describe what has been difficult, ask questions about Wendy’s approach, and decide whether the work feels like a fit. You can begin with the most immediate concern and let the fuller picture take shape over time.
Wendy offers in-person sessions in Charleston and telehealth where available for clients in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Vermont. If you are looking for specialized support for compulsive sexual behavior or its relationship impact, a confidential conversation can be a thoughtful next step.
Call (843) 343-5684 →A clear first step, at your pace.
- Reach out privately.
Use the appointment request form or call Wendy to share that you would like to talk. You can keep the first message simple.
- Name what is most urgent.
Early conversations focus on what has brought you in, the impact you are carrying, and what feels most important to address now.
- Build a thoughtful plan.
Wendy will help you identify goals and a pace that fit your needs, whether the focus is recovery, relationship repair, partner support, or a combination of these.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns can sex addiction therapy address?+
People reach out about pornography, sexual behavior that feels difficult to control, affairs, paid sexual activity, secrecy, compulsive dating or hookup patterns, and behavior that has begun to affect relationships, work, finances, or self-trust. Therapy begins with the concern that feels most immediate to you.
Do I have to call myself an addict to begin therapy?+
No. You do not need to arrive with a label or be certain about how to describe what is happening. A first conversation can help you understand the pattern, its impact, and whether Wendy’s specialized approach feels like a good fit.
Can therapy help after pornography or sexual behavior has damaged trust?+
Yes. Therapy can support the person whose behavior has caused harm, the partner affected by betrayal, and couples who are considering whether and how to rebuild trust. Each person’s needs and pace matter, and no one is required to decide the future of the relationship immediately.
Is this different from sex therapy?+
Sex therapy can address desire, communication, intimacy, and sexual wellbeing. Sex addiction therapy is more focused on patterns of compulsive behavior, secrecy, shame, recovery, accountability, and the relationship impact of those patterns. Wendy can help determine which focus, or combination of support, best fits your concerns.
Are sessions private?+
Therapy is confidential, with the same professional limits of confidentiality that apply to other counseling services. Wendy will explain those limits clearly before you begin so you know what to expect.