About Us

The Steadfast Institute is a specialized research and education organization dedicated to transforming how individuals, couples, and communities understand and resolve pornography-related challenges. Rather than framing pornography strictly through an addiction lens, The Steadfast Institute introduces the concept of porn reliance—a pattern of use that is deeply intertwined with stress, attachment, neurobiology, and unaddressed emotional needs. Its flagship offering, the Men’s Porn Use Recovery Program, is a comprehensive, fully online curriculum designed to help men systematically understand their own behavioral patterns, reduce reliance on pornography, and rebuild healthier, more connected intimate lives.

Grounded in contemporary research, the Institute’s approach blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emotionally focused principles, and relationship science to move beyond simple “behavioral control” models. Program content walks participants through biological, psychological, social, and neurological drivers of porn use and teaches concrete skills to respond differently to triggers, shame, and compulsive urges. A core priority is dismantling shame and reducing the objectification of self and others, with particular attention to the impact of porn use on partners and long-term relationship quality.

The Steadfast Institute also operates an active research arm that designs and evaluates programs for distinct populations rather than assuming that all users experience sexuality and pornography in the same way. This includes a strong focus on women’s porn use, neurodiversity, and marginalized groups whose experiences are often overlooked in mainstream discourse. Co-founded and academically led by Julie Fraumeni-McBride, the Institute emphasizes rigorous, evidence-informed curriculum development and ongoing program refinement based on both qualitative and quantitative data.

Accessibility and equity are central to Steadfast’s mission. Its programs are built to be more affordable and logistically feasible than long-term traditional therapy, offering remote, self-paced learning supplemented by structured guidance and support. The majority of surplus resources are reinvested into further research, development, and dissemination of effective tools, with the long-term goal of reshaping cultural conversations around sexuality, reducing loneliness and relational breakdown, and ultimately making high-quality, science-based pornography recovery resources broadly available to those who need them.