Real healing
after betrayal
When trust is broken by the person you depend on, it doesn’t just impact the relationship—it can leave you questioning yourself, your reality, and feeling completely shaken.
Whether you’re in the immediate aftermath or still feeling the impact long after,
this is where the work of rebuilding begins.
Learn more about the phases of recovery and what this process can look like.
This is where the work begins
Through our work together, we begin by making sense of what’s happened—so you’re no longer stuck in confusion or second-guessing yourself, and can begin to understand what’s happening for you.
As that understanding builds, the nervous system begins to settle. You start to feel less overwhelmed by triggers and emotional swings—more safe, more steady, and less alone in what you’re carrying.
From there, you begin to understand your reactions in a different way—and start to find more choice instead of living in constant reactivity.
We reconnect you with yourself—your needs, your voice, your boundaries—and rebuild trust in your instincts and your decisions.
And from that more grounded place, you’re able to make choices about your life and your relationship that feel true to you.
If you choose to work toward healing within the relationship, we have a path forward—one that helps bridge your healing, your partner’s recovery, and the relationship itself.
Others find their way here later, after doing much of this already—but still feeling stuck, or wanting to go deeper.
Hi, I'm Gara
I am a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) who specializes in attachment-based trauma work, with a focus on betrayal trauma.
I work primarily with women in relationships impacted by sex and porn addiction—helping you navigate the confusion, pain, and isolation that often come with this experience, while rebuilding a sense of safety, clarity, and connection to yourself.
I also have extensive experience working with individuals struggling with these behaviors, which allows me to hold a nuanced, non-shaming, and deeply informed understanding of the full relational dynamic.
My work is rooted in attachment and trauma, integrating EMDR, somatic therapy, and inner child work to support healing at the root and create meaningful, lasting change.
I am the founder of Real Healing Counseling, and I serve on the board of The Comfort Zone, a community for women whose lives have been impacted by their spouse’s addiction, as well as The Long Short Road, a nonprofit dedicated to mental health, suicide prevention, and resilience-building.
Education + Training
Licensed therapist in Florida, New Jersey, and New York
M.A. in Counseling Psychology – Columbia University
Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT)
Certified Multiple Addictions Therapist (CMAT)
EMDR Certified
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (in training)
Trained in Pia Mellody’s Model of Post-Induction Therapy
CPTT - certified partner trauma therapist candidate
For many years, at my core, I’ve been a trauma therapist—specializing in what I often call “the ways we keep ourselves safe” (i.e. addictions).
Again and again, I found myself sitting with the woman who loves someone struggling with addiction—most often sex and love addiction.
And over time, something became very clear to me:
Beneath all the models, all the CSAT frameworks, all the language of addiction
This is trauma work.
This is attachment work.
Because betrayal trauma touches something incredibly deep.
It’s primal. It’s human.
It disrupts our need for attachment—
our need to trust what we feel, what we see, and the person we depend on.
The courage I witness in these women is extraordinary.
And if I may say—
the courage I sometimes witness in the men they love, as they face themselves honestly, is too.
It is something I don’t take lightly getting to be a part of.
I’ve been a therapist for over a decade, and I still care deeply about growing—both in my work and in my own life. I’ve done a lot of training, and I genuinely love learning. Not because I think there’s some perfect method out there—but because I care about understanding people, and showing up well.
And at the end of the day, I’m not just someone with credentials sitting across from you.
I’m a human in the room with you.
I see you. I hear you.