Parent Guide for Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction

Parent Guide for Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction

Discover compassionate, practical strategies to support your teen in overcoming pornography addiction in this series of ’A Parent’s Guide for Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction’. Hosted by Matt Bulkley, this podcast tackles the sensitive topic with empathy and actionable advice. Learn to recognize warning signs like secretive behavior, withdrawal, or declining grades, and explore how to approach your teen with non-judgmental conversations that build trust. Dive into valuable resources like the Recovery Toolbox for Teens and 101 Tips for Quitting Porn, designed to guide parents and teens through recovery together. Hear real-life stories, discover positive outlets like sports or creative hobbies, and understand when to seek professional support, including outpatient therapy, recovery groups, or intensive programs like Star Guides. Perfect for parents seeking hope and practical steps to help their teen navigate this challenge and build a healthier, more fulfilling life. Available at www.therapyassociates.net and www.starguides.net. Subscribe for more insights on raising teens in today’s digital world!

Episodes

December 18, 2025 15 mins

In this hopeful and practical episode of the Parent Guide podcast, psychotherapist Matt Bulkley shares a transformative strategy to help your teen overcome pornography addiction—without shame or guilt. Discover how guiding your teen to vividly visualize their future spouse and children can ignite powerful intrinsic motivation, build self-discipline, and inspire lasting purity. Backed by psychology, Matt explains why this future-ori...

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In this powerful episode of the Parent Guide Podcast, host and psychotherapist Matt Bulkley exposes the #1 hidden obstacle keeping teens trapped in pornography use: self-deception. Discover how your teen’s brain creates a “reality filter” — just like an Instagram filter — that twists truth, minimizes harm, and convinces them “it’s not that bad” or “I can stop anytime.” Matt breaks down exactly how innocent curiosity turns into a on...

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If you’ve ever asked, “Why can’t my teen just stop watching porn?” — this episode reveals the shocking brain science behind it. In Episode 21, licensed psychotherapist Matt Bulkley exposes how pornography hijacks norepinephrine — the brain’s “memory glue” chemical — creating hyper-vivid, nearly unforgettable sexual memories in developing teen brains. These norepinephrine surges don’t just make porn addictive; they literally rewire ...

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In this powerful episode, licensed therapist Matt Bulkley (25 years helping teens and families heal from pornography addiction) reveals the five most common parenting mistakes he sees every single week that unintentionally fuel compulsive porn use — even in good, loving homes. You’ll discover:

Why “no phones in the bedroom” only works when it’s actually written down and co-created with your teen 

The exact 22-second weekly question...

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Is your teen’s smartphone secretly fueling a pornography addiction? You see the late-night glow under the door, the lies, the relapses—and you’re asking yourself: “Should they even have this thing?” In this powerful episode of the Parent Guide Podcast, licensed psychotherapist Matt Bulkley (specialist in teen porn addiction and family systems) gives parents the courage, science, and exact game plan they need to answer that question...

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It’s 2 AM. A faint glow under your teen’s door. You knock—silence. You open it… and there they are: phone in hand, eyes red, ashamed. You’re not failing as a parent—you’re in the fight. Join licensed psychotherapist Matt Bulkley, LCSW, as he shares the exact tech playbook he uses with hundreds of families. Using the proven Stages of Change model, this episode delivers practical, stage-specific strategies to create a safer digital h...
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    In this 20-minute episode, psychotherapist Matt Bulkley shares a faith-based approach to help your teen overcome pornography addiction. Learn how prayer, Scripture, and biblical values can guide your teen toward healing, backed by research on addiction recovery. Matt offers practical steps—like grace-filled conversations, internet filters, and faith-based community—to support your teen’s journey to freedom. Rooted in verses like Ma...

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    In this eye-opening episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, host Matt Bulkley, a seasoned psychotherapist specializing in teen and family issues, explores the critical role of serotonin—the brain's natural mood stabilizer and "chill pill"—in your teenager's emotional world. Discover how pornography delivers artificial serotonin spikes that mimic quick relief from stress, anxiety, or loneliness, bu...

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    In this powerful episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, host Matt Bulkley dives deep into "The Oxytocin Trap" and how pornography hijacks your teen’s brain. Learn how oxytocin, the "bonding hormone," is critical for building trust and connection during adolescence, and how porn disrupts this process, creating a cycle of isolation and emotional disconnection. Backed by cutting-edge research, inclu...
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    In this eye-opening episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, host Matt Bulkley, a psychotherapist specializing in family challenges, breaks down the neuroscience of how pornography addicts the teen brain through massive dopamine surges. Drawing on studies from Archives of Sexual Behavior (2022) and Addiction Biology (2020), Matt explains the "reward juice" overload that desensitizes pleasure center...
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    In this episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, psychotherapist Matt Bulkley dives deep into the five-stage cycle of pornography addiction—emotional triggers, cravings, acting out, temporary relief, and regret. Through real-life stories like Michael’s and Ian’s, Matt breaks down how this cycle grips teens and shares practical, research-backed steps to help parents guide their teens toward recovery...

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    In this episode of the Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction podcast, psychotherapist and co-founder of Therapy Associates and Star Guides, Matt Bulkley, dives into the transformative power of recovery groups for teens struggling with pornography addiction. Discover why group therapy is a game-changer, offering community, accountability, and practical skills to help teens break free from addiction. Matt sha...

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    In this compelling episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, psychotherapist Matt Bulkley, with over 25 years of experience, dives into the science behind pornography addiction and its profound impact on the teen brain. Learn how pornography hijacks reward pathways, impairs impulse control, and alters brain chemistry through dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Matt breaks down why tee...

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    In Episode 10, psychotherapist Matt Bulkley guides parents and professionals on how to effectively use the Recovery Toolbox to help teens overcome pornography addiction. Learn how to leverage the three workbooks—Breaking Free for Teens, Breaking Free Parent Guide, and 101 Tips for Quitting Porn—to disrupt addictive cycles, foster accountability, and build lasting coping skills. From pre-treatment questionnaires to relapse trackers,...

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    In this heartfelt episode of The Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, psychotherapist Matt Bulkley offers parents practical tools to support teens struggling with pornography addiction. If you’re wondering whether your teen’s porn use is a phase, a habit, or something more serious, this episode is for you. Matt introduces the Youth Pornography Addiction Screening Tool (YPAST), a teen-friendly, 25-question...
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    Join host Matt Bulkley in this insightful episode of the Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction podcast. Discover why self-reflection is a game-changer for parents supporting their teen’s recovery from pornography addiction. We explore how your experiences, biases, and emotions shape your response to your teen’s struggle and offer practical steps to create a safe, empathetic environment for healing. From und...

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    In this episode of the Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction podcast, host Matt Bulkley addresses a vital topic for parents: how to support your teen in overcoming pornography addiction without carrying the full weight of their recovery. Using the Stages of Change model, Matt provides a roadmap to understand your teen’s readiness to change and offers practical strategies to guide them effectively. ...
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    In this empowering episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, host Matt Bulkley dives into a game-changing strategy: tracking progress to help teens break free from pornography addiction. Discover how tools like streaks (consecutive porn-free days) and total scores (wins vs. losses over time) can shift your teen’s focus from perfection to progress, fostering motivation and resilience. Matt explores w...

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    In this episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, licensed therapist Matt Bulkley, co-founder of Therapy Associates and Star Guides in St. George, Utah, dives into the critical role of open communication in helping teens recover from pornography addiction. Discover why secrecy fuels addiction and how non-judgmental conversations can build trust, reduce shame, and foster accountability. Matt introduc...

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    In this episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, host Matt Bulkley, a psychotherapist with 25 years of experience, tackles a critical question: when does your teen’s struggle with pornography addiction require intensive intervention, like a residential program? Drawing from his 12 years working with Star Guides, a premier wilderness therapy program, Matt outlines key signs that outpatient efforts m...
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