Michele Saffier, M.A., LMFT

Author of Ambushed by Betrayal: The Survival Guide for Betrayed Partners on their Heroes’ Journey to Healthy Intimacy, third place winner of International Impact Book Awards in Marriage, and first place winner of Outstanding Creative Award for mental health and marriage & relationships.

Michele is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Sex Addiction and Betrayal Trauma. She earned licensure as a Marriage & Family in 1993. In 1996, Ms. Saffier was one of the early practitioners in the field of sex addiction working with Robert Weiss, Ph.D. She went on to train with Patrick Carnes, Ph.D., and has been a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist and Supervisor since 2000 with the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals. Ms. Saffier has presented on sex addiction and betrayal trauma at the Pennsylvania Association for Marriage and Family Therapists, the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH), the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Therapists (IITAP), Princeton Medical Center, S-ANON (12-step program for families of people with sexual addiction), Los Angeles Free Clinic, among others.

Ms. Saffier was instrumental in the paradigm shift from treating partners of sex addicts as co-addicts to survivors of betrayal trauma. She is owner of Michele Saffier & Associates and co-owner of The Center for Healing Self and Relationships, where she and her clinical team facilitate outpatient treatment and intensives for individuals, couples, and families healing from the impact of sex addiction, chronic infidelity, and betrayal trauma. A sought-after master clinician, Ms. Saffier consults with treatment centers on program development, trains clinicians on sex addiction and betrayal trauma, facilitates workshops in retreat settings, and maintains a private practice in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. She can be reached at www.TraumaHealingPa.comLinks to an external site.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Sex Addiction (compulsive sexual behavior)
• Betrayal Trauma
• Crisis treatment provider for Critical Incident services for Police Officers
• High-Conflict Couples
• Couples therapy for Chronic Infidelity
• Family & Couples Therapy

EDUCATION

• M.A., Clinical Psychology, College for Developmental Studies
• B.A., Child Development & Clinical Psychology, California State University, Northridge
• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Pennsylvania & Maine

CERTIFICATIONS & ADVANCED TRAINING

• Certified Sex Addiction Therapist – Supervisor
• Level III Attachment-Focused EMDR Practitioner
• Certified Adolescent Group Psychotherapist
• Advanced Marriage & Family Therapist Certification
• Level III Gottman Method
• Level II Internal Family Systems Practitioner
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
• Advanced training: 3rd-year
• Psychodrama/Sociometry core student

PUBLICATIONS

• Author, Ambushed By Betrayal: The Survivor’s Guide for Betrayed Partners on their Heroes’ Journey to Healthy Intimacy, 2022
• “The Cost of Chronic Infidelity on Spouses and Partners: Understanding Betrayal Trauma,” Family Therapy Magazine, June 2022
• “Journeying Through Betrayal Trauma,” Counseling Today, June 2022

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
• Pennsylvania Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
• International Institute for Training of Addiction Professionals
• Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health
• International Association of Trauma Professionals
• American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association
• Internal Family Systems Institute
• Parnell Institute