Valiant Living Men's Recovery Program

11/04/2026

A clean drug test is not the same thing as recovery.

Families see him looking healthy, sounding clear, passing every test, and the instinct is to bring him home. He must be better.

But not using is not the same as being honest. Relapse means returning to a previous state, and if the behavior underneath never changed, the only thing that changed is that he can now think more clearly.

Addiction is as powerful as any other fatal illness. Looking good is not the finish line. It's the starting line.

This clip is from Episode 73 of The Loving Leverage Podcast, with host Drew Powell and guest Mike Loverde, founder and Clinical Director of Family First Intervention.

Hear the whole conversation at valiantliving.com/episode73 (link in bio). If you love a man who looks fine on the outside and you're not sure, call 720-669-1285

10/26/2026

What if the food was never the real problem? On episode 72 of The Loving Leverage Podcast, Vanessa Scaringi, PhD shares the moment she realized what actually heals disordered eating: an entire group that stopped talking about food, started connecting, and stopped using their behaviors. It’s the same thing we see with men at Valiant. valiantliving.com/episode72

10/23/2026

If you have a son in the gym every day, this clip is for you. On episode 72 of The Loving Leverage Podcast, eating disorder specialist Kathryn Garland talks about the body image pressure landing on boys and men, why it’s so often praised as discipline, and why it tends to show up next to another addiction. valiantliving.com/episode72

10/21/2026

Why does the food stuff, or the phone stuff, show up right after a man gets sober? On episode 72 of The Loving Leverage Podcast, eating disorder specialist Vanessa Scaringi, PhD explains artificial attachments, the stand ins we reach for when real connection feels out of reach, and why swapping one for another never fills the gap. valiantliving.com/episode72

10/09/2026

“Now you got me. Now I feel understood.”

That is what betrayed partners said when the field finally started seeing their experience through a trauma lens.

In Episode 71 of The Loving Leverage Podcast, Jeanne Vattuone of Willow Tree Healing and Recovery tells host Drew Powell how it happened. Clinicians knew what they knew, then they learned more, gathered data, did the research, and found a better match. Jeanne says a trauma lens fits about 95% of the partners she sees.

Some feel it as a 10 out of 10. Some feel it as a 4. Everyone is different. But if you have felt it, you are not overreacting. There is a name for what you are carrying, and there is care built for it.

Listen to the full conversation: https://www.valiantliving.com/episode71/

10/06/2026

"You are not alone, and change is possible."

That is how Jeanne Vattuone closes Episode 71 of The Loving Leverage Podcast, and it is the message every betrayed partner deserves to hear first.

Jeanne is the cofounder of Willow Tree Healing and Recovery. She sat down with host Drew Powell to talk about what discovery does to a partner, why trauma care comes first, and how a structured disclosure can become the starting line for repair.

Her advice if you are in the middle of it right now: find people who specialize in betrayal trauma and s*x addiction. There are more good resources in this field today than there have ever been.

Listen to the full conversation: https://www.valiantliving.com/episode71/

09/30/2026

"Is p**n addiction the same as s*x addiction?" is a question partners bring to intake constantly, and the answer shapes their expectations of treatment. We wrote a plain-language explainer: p**nography as one presentation of CSBD, shared mechanism (intimacy disorder), where the presentations genuinely differ (risk, disclosure, partner impact, escalation), and why the core treatment is the same while the specifics are not. Useful for psychoeducation at assessment.

https://www.valiantliving.com/2026/09/28/p**n-addiction-vs-s*x-addiction/

*xualBehavior

Is p**n addiction the same as s*x addiction? Here is the difference, where they overlap, why the distinction matters less than most people think, and what it means for treatment.

09/22/2026

"Can he change?" is the question partners of men with compulsive infidelity ask most, and most resources answer with folklore. We wrote a clinical-but-plain answer: why repeated infidelity is usually compulsive escape rather than serial choice, what does not produce change (promises, remorse, consequences, general couples work), what does (treating the intimacy disorder), and observable markers partners can use to distinguish change from compliance.

https://www.valiantliving.com/2026/09/21/can-a-serial-cheater-change/

*xualBehavior

Can a man who has cheated repeatedly actually change? An honest answer from a program that treats compulsive infidelity: what changes it, what doesn't, and how to tell the difference from the outside.

09/18/2026

"Without action following remorse, it's just a feeling."

Roxcy Brown, co founder of Iron Ridge Recovery, on this week's episode of The Loving Leverage Podcast with host Drew Powell.

After discovery, he probably means every word of the apology. That isn't the question. Recovery is a series of consistent steps: going to meetings, calling a sponsor, going to therapy, understanding yourself, and breaking down the mental walls that made the behavior possible in the first place. Words don't get anyone from point A to point B.

If you're the one who loves him, look for patterns over promises. If you're the one in the cycle, get into action.

Episode 70, Love Without Rescuing, with Ian and Roxcy Brown. Full episode wherever you listen, and on YouTube. Link in bio.

If you or someone you love is struggling, call the Valiant Living men's program at (720) 669-1285. A real person picks up.

09/16/2026

Sports betting removed every barrier that used to slow gambling down: no drive, no cash, no closing time, and in-game markets that turn one decision into hundreds. We wrote a partner-facing piece on why promises fail (chasing losses, NCPG-aligned), the hobby-versus-addiction distinction, why lying persists post-discovery, and the disclosure-plus-assessment ask that replaces "I'll stop." Also flags compulsive day trading and crypto as the same mechanism.

https://www.valiantliving.com/2026/09/16/sports-betting-addiction-promises/

Your husband promised to stop betting. Here is why sports betting addiction breaks promises no matter how sincere they are, what the apps changed, and what to ask for instead of another promise.