If you are reading this, you have probably tried to stop on your own. Landmark Christian Counseling is the practice of Spencer Posey, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #141641) and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist. He treats compulsive porn use and sex addiction in person at 1560 East Main Street in Ventura and online anywhere in California.
Who this is for
The man who has quit many times. You have deleted the apps, installed the filters, and made the promises. It holds for a while and then it does not. Each failure adds shame, and the shame makes the next time more likely.
The person whose secret came out. Someone found the history, the messages, or the charges. The hiding is over and you did not choose the timing. You need help deciding what to do first.
The couple after discovery. You do not know whether the marriage survives this. Both of you need support, in the right order.
What compulsive sexual behavior is and is not
A compulsive pattern is behavior you keep returning to after deciding to stop, that costs you something you care about, and that no longer gives much relief. It can be porn, affairs, paid sex, or chat. The behavior is the visible part. Under it sits stress, loneliness, old wounds, or a belief that nobody would want you as you are, and the behavior has become the fastest way to make those feelings go quiet. Treatment works on what is underneath.
A compulsive pattern says nothing about how bad a person you are. Feeling guilty about a behavior you disagree with is a different thing. Researchers have found that some people who call themselves addicted are in distress mainly because what they do conflicts with what they believe. Their behavior is within their control. Both deserve care, and they need different care. Only an assessment can tell which describes you.
What treatment looks like here
Assessment. The first sessions are for understanding the behavior, its history, what you have tried, and what else is going on in your life. Spencer uses screening tools built for this work and tells you what he sees.
The CSAT framework. As a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, Spencer may use the task-based recovery model developed by Patrick Carnes. It gives the work an order. Stop the behavior, understand the cycle it runs on, work through the shame and the beliefs that feed it, repair what was damaged, and plan for when the pull returns. He uses it alongside other approaches as they fit, including EMDR for trauma under the pattern.
Individual work. Weekly 50-minute sessions are where the work starts. The goal is a life in which you are not hiding.
The partner’s own support. If you are married, your spouse was hurt by this and needs her own help. Spencer may refer her to a separate therapist so that each of you has someone whose only job is you.
Formal disclosure. When a couple chooses it, formal disclosure is a structured process, prepared over weeks with a written document and the partner’s own therapist, in which the whole account is told once. It is a tool, and the couple chooses whether to use it.
The Sobriety Kickstarter Intensive. For men who want a stronger start, the Sobriety Intensive is a focused three-month program with weekly therapy and daily accountability check-ins.
For the partner
If you are the partner who found out, your reaction is not an overreaction. Intrusive thoughts, trouble sleeping, checking his phone, feeling numb one hour and furious the next. Clinicians call this betrayal trauma. It is the expected response to learning that the person you depend on has been deceiving you. You did not cause his behavior and you cannot treat it. You can get help for what it did to you. See infidelity and betrayal trauma counseling, and read what partners of sex addicts need in recovery.
How faith fits
Landmark is a Christian practice. Spencer believes Christ is the source of healing and that clinical treatment is one of the means He uses. He started Landmark for men in the church who were stuck in porn.
People ask whether this is a sin problem or a brain problem. It is both. Scripture names sexual betrayal as a violation of covenant, and brain research on compulsive patterns finds a pull that fires at a cue before you have decided anything. Shame says you are the problem and keeps you hiding. Conviction says you did something that hurt people and points you toward repair. Treatment here works to replace the first with the second.
Men who are not Christians are welcome and receive the same care. Nobody is preached at.
Who provides it
Spencer Posey, LMFT #141641, CSAT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. A Certified Sex Addiction Therapist has completed training through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals in assessing and treating compulsive sexual behavior and its effect on partners. Spencer is also trained in EMDR and started Landmark in 2024. It is a solo practice. Every session is with Spencer.
The Ventura office and online
The office is at 1560 East Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001. Hours are Monday to Wednesday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Online sessions are available anywhere in California. More on the Ventura page.
Fees
A 50-minute session is $225. Landmark is a private-pay practice and is not in network with any insurance plan, including Medicare. If your plan has out-of-network benefits, it may reimburse part of the fee. Check your benefits on the Verify Insurance page before you book.
Frequently asked questions
Is porn addiction real?
Clinicians disagree about the word. The World Health Organization recognizes Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder as a diagnosis and classifies it as a problem of impulse control. Brain imaging studies have found that people with compulsive patterns respond to sexual cues in ways that overlap with substance addiction, and that research is still developing. Spencer works from the addiction framework because it gives treatment a clear structure, and he assesses carefully so the label fits the person. Whatever word you use, if you have tried to stop and cannot, it is worth treating.
Do I have to be a Christian?
No. Spencer’s faith shapes his work, and men of any background or no faith are welcome and receive the same care.
Will my wife be part of my treatment?
Not at first. Your work and her support run on separate tracks, with separate therapists. Couple sessions, and formal disclosure if you choose it, come after both of you have some footing.
Is this confidential?
Sessions are confidential within the limits California law sets, and Spencer explains those limits at the first session. Your spouse does not receive reports on your sessions unless you authorize it in writing.
How long does treatment take?
Longer than a few weeks. Compulsive patterns took years to form, and the work of replacing them is measured in months. Spencer will give you his honest read after the assessment.
Book a session
Call or text (805) 399-0223 or book a free 15-minute consultation.
Spencer Posey, LMFT #141641 | CSAT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Landmark Christian Counseling | landmarkchristiancounseling.com
Educational content, not therapy. No therapist-client relationship is formed by reading this. In crisis, call or text 988.