Ready to Heal: Breaking Free of Addictive Relationships

Break free from the chains of addictive relationships that sabotage happiness and self-respect.

It's no surprise that our culture is addicted to "love". The sappy love songs, the enticing ads for romantic getaways and the desire to be cherished by a special someone will never lose their appeal. But for some women, this poses a significant problem. Because of their insatiable desire for love, they will do anything to find it and ultimately land in destructive addictive relationships over and over again causing incredible harm.

This newly revised and expanded edition of Ready to Heal provides an opportunity for women to break free from painful addictive relationships. Kelly McDaniel provides the reader with the tools they will need to move along the path of living a life where intimacy is possible. Readers have an opportunity to begin to "connect the dots" in their own relationship patterns by following the stories of four brave women. A newly added chapter on "Mother Hunger" explores the role of the mother in infancy and how she ultimately impacts a daughter's ability to have healthy intimate relationships later in life.

Kelly McDaniel, MA, LPC, NCC, CSAT is a licensed professional counselor and sex addiction therapist in private practice in Nashville, Tennessee.

In her private practice as a therapist, she assist adults and couples. Incorporating a background from the Jean Baker Miller Institute of Relational/Cultural therapy, and the latest training in addiction research, she works closely and confidentially with individuals seeking support with relationship difficulty, general life dissatisfaction, family of origin issues, and attachment fear.
In addition to individual sessions, she conducts retreats in the Texas Hill Country for couples and for women. The "Ready to Heal" retreats for women focus on healing damaging cultural beliefs that affect sexuality and self-development and can lead to addictive relationships. Issues of childhood upbringing, culture, and biology affect the development of the sexual arousal template. Couples retreats explore these dynamics with partners seeking a more fulfilling, healthy and loving life. Retreats can be customized to address: codependency, sex and love addiction and recovering couples issues.
Additionally, she offers sensitive, specialized support to mothers and parents committed to attachment parenting. Since important neurological patterns are set in the first 18 months of life, she sees parents as architects of their child's brain development. They often need education and support with this critical task.
Professional affiliations include certification as a sex addiction therapist (CSAT) from the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP), membership in the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH), membership in the Texas Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, Licensure as a Professional Counselor in Texas (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Post Induction Trained therapist in the developmental model designed by Pia Mellody.
Education includes an MA from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and an MA from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.