"I first discovered porn sometime in my late teens and have been plagued by it for much of my adult life.  Over the years I have sought out help from a variety of sources.   A sexual addiction help-line told me to talk to my local pastor.  The local pastors and elders I talked to gave me everything from "don't do that anymore" to "you should talk to someone else who has this problem."  For years, I hid out, feeling alone in my struggle and shameful and judged by the few I tried to confess it to.  In the past year and 1/2, I did have a pastor ask me some good questions and nudge me toward finding something better for myself.  I also have gotten connected with a friend whom I meet regularly to talk about life.  But still, I struggled.  

 

Then, through unrelated circumstances, I found myself in contact with Dr. Peter Cannizzaro.  He agreed to meet with me, recognizing the numbness of soul I had described as something he could speak into.  In meeting with Dr. Pete, I have come to understand some of the root causes of my difficulty with porn.  Over the course of our times together, he has asked me wise questions and challenged me to give up time doing other things in order to spend dedicated time drawing close to God in order to worship and adore Him.  In the process, I realized more fully the powerful effect that the rejection and mistreatment I experienced as a 'tween and teen still held on my life.  I have come to realize how these events shaped my need to feel accepted, and that pornography has been a venue for feeling intimacy and acceptance without fear of rejection.   

 

Dr. Pete has also challenged me to put in place practices that will help me to stay strong and remain healthy spiritually.  

 

I believe that Dr. Pete is blessed by God with discernment into the spiritual aspects and nature of this addiction and that he has genuinely cared for me through my process of discovery, restoration, and growth.   I know that I need to continue to be diligent and that I am not done just because I am finishing up my time with him.  This will be a continual process even after my sessions with him are done."

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- Male in his 40s