Pure Desire Podcast

Women who struggle with pornography tend to be overlooked. Culturally, far too many in the church believe this is just a man's struggle. On today's episode, Ashley Jameson helps us identify what addiction looks like for women, how to help them, and what it looks like to create a culture where women can ask for help in this arena. RESOURCES SEXUAL ADDICTION SCREENING TEST LOVE ADDICTION EVALUATION...

As we move forward in our recovery, we can run into gray areas when it comes to our patterns and habits. Our clinical director, Tyler Chinchen helps us venture into one of those gray areas:  lapse vs. relapse . What is the difference? Who should know? What should we do if a lapse happens? This and more on today's episode. RESOURCES RECOVERY ACTION PLAN (ADDICT) RECOVERY ACTION PLAN (BETRAYED SPOUS...

Rich was on the verge of spending 49 years in prison–the first person in Oregon State history to be charged under Measure 11. Many decisions and experiences led him to this point, but Rich didn't spend a single day in prison. Now, 23 years later, he's been leading and running Pure Desire groups for two decades. How is this possible? Rich joins us on the podcast to share his story.   GET STARTED Su...

Many of us were taught that time heals all wounds. But, as we discuss in today's episode, that is not reality. Time doesn't heal wounds. We talk about why that is and what does actually heal our wounds. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom From Porn Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Counseling Consultation Join A Pure...

Something that we often hear about in the area of sexual brokenness is sexual trauma. Sadly, it’s such a common experience for so many. Today, we wanted to talk about sexual trauma, how it affects our lives, and how to find healing from it. RESOURCES PURE DESIRE COUNSELING PURE DESIRE GROUPS BETHESDA WORKSHOPS 3 CIRCLES TOOL (RELAPSE PREVENTION) GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7...

What does it look like to create churches/communities that are safe? Keith Jenkins–a pastor, black man, and a military veteran–joins us today and helps us think through how to best process through the challenging political, racial, and divisive times we live in. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom From Porn Sched...

One of the best ways to create a healthier sex life with your spouse is communication. Today, we sit down Dan and Jenn Howie to discuss why it can be so difficult to talk to your spouse about sex. We also discuss how to talk to each other and what it looks like to improve that communication. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 St...

How do we discuss our struggles with our spouse? How do moms help their young sons? Is masturbation a sin? These questions and more on today's Frequently Asked Questions episode. Submit your questions for future FAQ episodes: Email your question to:  podcast@puredesire.org Message/DM us with your questions RESOURCES HOW TO TALK WITH YOUR KIDS ABOUT SEX PURE DESIRE COUNSELING TECH ACTION PLAN WHAT...

Each recovery and support group is going to end someday. But that doesn’t mean that the healing will end. How our groups come to a close can set a trajectory for forward motion in our recovery and healing. Ending the group is not only important and it is very possible. RESOURCES CHALLENGE COINS GENESIS PROCESS SUPPLEMENTAL COUNSELING (RECOVERY FOR STRUGGLING) SUPPLEMENTAL COUNSELING (SUPPORT FOR B...

Shame is a powerful force in the world, one that drives many of our unwanted behaviors. Today, we are joined by Dr. Curt Thompson, a psychiatrist, speaker, and author, who walks us through what shame is, how we often misunderstand it, and how it can be used to lead us to a better relationship with God and others. RESOURCES CURTTHOMPSONMD.COM CURT'S WRITING: ANATOMY OF THE SOUL THE SOUL OF SHAME A...

If we want to see future generations live in sexual health, we have to equip them with the tools they need. Today's episode is focused on recovery groups for students. Who should lead them, how to get students interested, and the impact these groups can have in our world. RESOURCES TOP GUN BEHIND THE MASK LIVING FREE GROUP GUIDELINES (PODCAST) GROUP GUIDELINES (TOOL) MEMO OF UNDERSTANDING (TOOL) G...

Today we talk with Dan and Jenn Howie about sharing their story of sexual brokenness with their adult kids. We talk about what to share, when to share, and why it's important to share with our kids, regardless of their age. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom From Porn Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Counseling Cons...

Have you ever echoed the musing of the Apostle Paul, "For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do"? You're not alone! Many of us have this experience–feeling like there are different parts of us that want different things. Those feelings are not abnormal. On today's episode, we talked with Jenna Riemersma about Internal Family Systems–a revolutionar...

So many men, women, and churches struggle with knowing where to start in the area of unwanted sexual behavior. How do we find freedom from the struggle? How do we experience healing from betrayal? How do we help our people navigate sexual brokenness? We have the answer: our new 8-week video course, Sexual Integrity 101! RESOURCES SEXUAL INTEGRITY 101 VIDEO COURSE GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register...

Another relapse happens...what do you do? The Recovery Action Plan is a prepared course of action so you know exactly what to do, who to talk to, and what re-establishing trust will look like. Today we talk about how this tool not only gives us a post-relapse plan of action but also is an amazing deterrent for future relapse. RESOURCES RECOVERY ACTION PLAN (ADDICT) RECOVERY ACTION PLAN (BETRAYED)...

Have you ever heard the phrase, "An oldie but a goodie?" Though we live in a world of messaging and social media communication, there is tons of value in making a simple phone call. Today we talk about the importance of phone calls on the road to recovery. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom From Porn Schedule Yo...

Many of us keep returning to those old unwanted behaviors. Why is that? Far too many of us just focus on what not to do instead of creating a plan toward what we want to do. The 3 Circles tool helps us identify what we want to stop, guardrails to keep us from it, and the healthy habits we need for change.  RESOURCES 3 CIRCLES TOOL GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Unders...

Have you ever had a behavior you wanted to stop but couldn't? What if there was a tool to help you put practical steps in place to make the changes you want to see? Enter: the Commitment to Change tool. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom From Porn Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Counseling Consultation Join A Pure...

We all find ourselves in rock-and-a-hard-place situations. No one lives without them. That's even more true when battling unwanted sexual behavior. Today we talk through a tool that helps flesh out these situations and how we can use it to bring about the change we're looking for. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Free...

Healing and recovery happen only through self-awareness. Today we revisit an old friend on the recovery journey: the FASTER Scale. This self-awareness tool is essential on the road to healing from unwanted sexual behavior. We talk what it is, best practices, mistakes commonly made, and more. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 St...

Leading addiction recovery groups can be challenging. Especially when leading women through them. Women struggle with unique levels of shame and hopelessness when it comes to love, sex, and relationships. That's why we talk through how to best lead women through Unraveled Groups.  RESOURCES EPISODE 095 – UNRAVELED: MANAGING LOVE, SEX, AND RELATIONSHIPS EPISODE 120 – ONLINE GROUPS UNRAVELED KIT JOI...

We sat down for a mash-up episode with Matt Dobschuetz of Porn-Free Radio on today's episode. We talked about freedom, integrity, church culture, and a bunch of other random topics.  RESOURCES PORN-FREE RADIO PODCAST RECOVEREDMAN.COM 7 PILLARS OF FREEDOM ONLINE RECOVERY GROUPS GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom...

Sexual addiction affects more than the person struggling. Especially when there are legal ramifications. Today we ask Jenn Howie how she maneuvered through the legal issues caused by sexual addiction in her previous marriage. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understanding Betrayal Trauma Free eBook: 5 Steps to Freedom From Porn Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Counseling Co...

Sexual abuse of women is sadly not only something that is present today, we see that it goes back even into biblical times. Our guest, Julianna Smith, a Ph. D. student researching the abuse of women in the Bible, gives us her findings while also helping us identify ways the church can push back against sexual abuse of women. GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eBook: 7 Keys To Understandin...

Where can pastors go if they struggle with sexually compulsive behaviors? What options do they have to get healthy? We talk to a denomination president and a local pastor about the Pure Desire Leaders (PD-L) program and how it's helped their denomination create a safe place for their pastors to get healthy. RESOURCES PURE DESIRE LEADERS (PD-L) PROGRAM GET STARTED Summit 2026!: Register Now Free eB...