Rise: Hope and Healing Podcast
Rise is a podcast for anyone navigating the devastating impact of sexual betrayal. Season one, hosted by Dr. Kevin Skinner, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, and Certified Partner Trauma Therapist, alongside MaryAnn Michaelis, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist and Certified Partner Trauma Therapist, brings together over 50 years of combined professional and personal experience to offer hope, direction, and healing. Season two, hosted by MaryAnn Michaelis features weekly conversations with leading betrayal trauma experts exploring personal and clinical experience and observations, tools and resources for stabilizing, then thriving in post traumatic betrayal growth. Each episode blends research, clinical expertise, and real-life experience to address the most pressing questions betrayed partners face: Am I going to be okay? Why does my mind keep racing? Can I ever trust again? How do I make sense of the shattering that just happened? Listeners will gain: Validation that what they’re experiencing is real and normal. Practical tools like grounding techniques and emotional regulation exercises. Research-backed insights from studies with thousands of betrayed partners. Guidance for couples seeking to rebuild trust and safety after betrayal. Hope-filled stories that remind you healing is possible—one step, one breath at a time. Whether you’ve just discovered betrayal or are months or years into your healing journey, Rise offers a safe place to learn, reflect, and gather the tools needed to rebuild your life and reclaim your sense of self. To learn more and access additional resources, visit humanintimacy.com/reclaim.
Episodes
You Are Not Your Partner's Mother, Sponsor, or Dumping Ground: Boundaries and Trusting Your Gut with Rhyll Croshaw (Rise Season 2, Episode 17)
In this powerful episode of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, MaryAnn Michaelis LCSW, CSAT, CPTT is joined by Rhyll Croshaw, a pioneer in betrayal trauma recovery, author of "What Can I Do About Me?",and co-founder of the SA Lifeline Foundation and SAL12step.org.
Rhyll brings de...
In this episode of Rise: Hope & Healing After Sexual Betrayal, MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT is joined again by Dr. Kevin Skinner LMFT, CSAT, CPTT to continue the powerful conversation on boundaries—this time focusing on what happens after you set one.
Because the truth is… setting a boundary is only the ...
Slow Down, Don’t Torch It Down: Why Attachment Makes Boundaries Feel So Threatening
If boundaries feel overwhelming, confusing, or even dangerous to your relationships—this episode is for you.
In this conversation, MaryAnn Michaelis LCSW, CSAT, CPTT, and Dr. Karen Strange, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT, slow things down to explore why boundaries are so hard, especially in the context of attachment. This isn’t about “just set a boundary.” It’s a...
What are boundaries—really? And why do they feel so hard to get right after betrayal?
In this episode, Rise hostess MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT sits down with Kristin Kristiano, LCSW, CSAT to unpack the confusion around boundaries—what they are, what they’re not, and why so many attempts at “setting boundaries” actually create more disconnection.
We explore the critical shift from trying to control someone ...
Stepping into one of the most requested—and misunderstood—topics: Boundaries, in this episode, Jennifer Johnson CMHC, CSAT, CPTT and MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT break down what boundaries actually are, what they aren’t, and why they can feel so difficult—especially after betrayal.
What Boundaries Are (And Aren’t)
What Boundaries Are Not
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Punishment
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Control
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Ultimatums
What Boundaries Actually Are
Boundaries ...
In this solo episode, betrayal trauma expert and host MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT,
shares early findings from the Grief After Betrayal Impact Scale (GABIS)—drawing directly from the voices and lived experiences of listeners in this community.
This is the data of devastation.
Not just numbers—but real accounts of grief, identity loss, and the unraveling of reality after...
What actually happens after betrayal is discovered?
In this episode of Rise: Hope & Healing After Sexual Betrayal, MaryAnn Michaelis LCSW, CSAT, CPTT, and expert Pastor Darrell Brazell, PSAP, unpack the exposure phase (D-Day) using Dr. Omar Minwalla’s 22 Rooms of Betrayal framework.
They discuss why many partners experience increased confusion, trauma, and emotiona...
In this powerful continuation of last week’s conversation, MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT is joined again by Pastor Daryl Brazell, PSAP where they unpack the deeper dynamics of deception in sexual betrayal, based on Darrell's work with Dr. Omar Minwalla.
Together they expand on Minwalla's secret sexual basement metaphor, explore how secrecy, shame, and manipulation create an “intentionally manipulated reality”—a gaslighting ...
In this powerful conversation, MaryAnn Michaelis LCSW, CSAT, CPTT, welcomes pastor, recovery leader, and longtime colleague Darrel Brazell PSAP, to explore one of the most validating frameworks for understanding betrayal trauma: Dr. Omar Minwalla’s “Secret Sexual Basement.”
Many bet...
Host: MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT Guest: Dr. Karen Strange, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT
MaryAnn welcomes Dr. Strange back to conclude the grief and loss series, focusing on the deeply personal and complex decision many betrayed partners face: Should I stay or should I go?, offering validation, practical guidance, and reassur...
We often say “grief and loss.”
But what if it’s actually loss first — then grief?
In this episode, MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT and Dr. Kevin Skinner, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT explore the profound and often unnamed experience of loss after betrayal — and how grief emerges only after we cognitively realize what has actually been taken from us.
Because be...
Grieving through Burbles, Triggers, and Trauma-Anniversaries,
with Dr. Karen Strange
Episode Summary
Grief is something every human experiences—but grief after betrayal trauma carries a unique kind of pain. In this episode, MaryAnn Michaelis LCSW, CSAT, CPTT and Dr. Karen Strange PhD, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT continue their powerful series on grief and betrayal, exploring why ...
Episode Title: The Grief of Betrayal: Loss that No One Talks About
Healing from sexual betrayal is not something you were meant to do alone. In this episode of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, host MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT is joined again by Kris Cristiano, LCSW, CSAT, for an honest and grounding conversation about one of the most misunderstoo...
In this episode of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, MaryAnn Michaelis LCSW, CSAT, CPTT, welcomes back Dr. Kevin Skinner to continue Season Two’s series on rebuilding trust. Together they explore why rebuilding trust after betrayal is so complex, especially through the lens of attachment and trauma, based on Sue Johnson's core attachment question: “Are you there for me?”
They explain how trust begins early in l...
Host: MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT Guest: Jennifer Johnson, CMHC, CSAT, CPTT
Episode SummaryRebuilding trust after sexual betrayal begins not with your partner—but with yourself.
In this deeply meaningful episode of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, host MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT, sits down with her ...
Host: MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT Guest: Dr. Karen Strange, PhD, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT
Episode SummaryHealing from sexual betrayal is not something anyone is meant to navigate alone. In this Season 2 episode of Rise: Hope and Healing from Sexual Betrayal, host MaryAnn Michaelis, LC...
Welcome to Season Two of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal. In this opening episode, host MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, CSAT, CPTT is joined by Kris Cristiano, LCSW, CSAT, to explore one of the most painful and misunderstood aspects of betrayal trauma: trust.
After Season One’s focus on immediate survival following discovery, Season Two shifts toward rebuilding—emotionally, relationally, and internally. MaryA...
Rise, Hope, and Healing After Sexual Betrayal: Closing Season One & Looking Toward Growth
Summary
In the final episode of Season One of Rise, Hope, and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, Dr. Kevin Skinner and licensed clinical social worker MaryAnn Michaelis reflect on the emotional journey of betrayal trauma and the foundational work required for healing. They validate the profound shock, grief, an...
In this powerful episode of Rise: Hope & Healing After Sexual Betrayal, Dr. Kevin Skinner and MaryAnn Michaelis explore one of the most painful and complex layers of betrayal—self-betrayal. While a partner’s betrayal is deeply damaging, many betrayed partners describe an even more devastating wound: the moment they realize...
In this episode of Rise: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal, Dr. Kevin Skinner and MaryAnn Michaelis explore what it truly means to “find your voice” after betrayal. Many betrayed partners struggle to express overwhelming emotions such as anger, grief, confusion, and fear—often because they’ve never had permission, languag...
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