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Our History, Vision, and Commitment:
The Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS) was founded in 2012 in response to a growing recognition that partners impacted by sexual betrayal were not receiving adequate, compassionate, or trauma-informed care. From its earliest days, APSATS has been shaped by a collaborative group of clinicians, coaches, advocates, and educators who shared a commitment to honoring the lived experiences of betrayed partners and improving professional standards of care.
Early APSATS leadership and board members brought forward a range of clinical perspectives grounded in trauma-informed principles. A central influence in APSATS’s early development was the application of Judith Herman’s three-stage model of trauma and recovery—safety and stabilization, remembrance and mourning, and reconnection—adapted thoughtfully to the context of sexual addiction and partner betrayal within intimate relationships. Through board dialogue, professional discernment, and formal votes, APSATS developed and refined the Multidimensional Partner Trauma Model (MPTM), that reflected both clinical rigor and ethical responsibility.
Over the years, APSATS has continued to evolve as the field itself has grown. Guided by board governance, peer collaboration, and ongoing professional input, APSATS has remained committed to ethical practice, transparency in decision-making, and responsiveness to emerging research and clinical insight.
APSATS Today
Today, APSATS has grown into a global organization, taking on new projects, new practitioners and new opportunities. Throughout this expansion, APSATS has thoughtfully honored our roots, reinforcing the passion and principles of our foundation.
APSATS envisions a world where those impacted by betrayal receive compassionate, ethical, trauma-informed care.
The Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing professional training, certification, advocacy, public education, research, and standards of care for relational trauma associated with sexual addiction.
Advance and Expand Trauma-Informed Professional Excellence
Establish, refine, and promote a global standard of trauma-informed excellence through rigorous professional training, certification, and continuing education for clinicians and coaches.
Advocate for Partner-Centered Practices
Promote ethical evidence-based standards of care that honor the lived experience and agency of betrayed partners.
Educate and Empower the Public
Promote public awareness of betrayal trauma and trauma-informed models to improve access to compassionate, ethical care.
Cultivate Global Community and Collaboration
Nurture a culturally rich and diverse global community of trauma-informed professionals for shared learning, advocacy, and mutual support.
Foster Research and Thought Leadership
Position APSATS as a leading voice in research and knowledge for relational and betrayal trauma.
Strengthen Organizational Capacity and Sustainability
Ensure APSATS’s long-term stability and growth as a nonprofit organization through strategic governance, funding, and operational efficiency.
“The partner of a sex addict has responses that serve as reactions to a stressor that is traumatic in nature, in predictable emotional, behavioral, and physiological ways. She seeks what she cannot find: safety in an unsafe situation.”
Dr. Barbara Steffens (APSATS founding President).
