no apologies necessary, I am sorry if I offended you, definitely didn't mean to. I had no hava amina to argue with Rav Shmuel shlita chas veshalom, was just agreeing with pidaini (k'yehuda v'od l'kra) that if its not necessary its preferable to avoid anyway w/o a"z, and if it's necessary we have Rav Shmuel's psak.
Hashem should help us all find the way that works for us and grant us the kochos to work it.

no problem

Amen

and thank you

b'hatzlachah

There is a posek who understands addiction because he is a talmid of Rabbi Twerski, who has written an entire sefer on recovery halachik and hashkafic issues.

Anybody interested in a link or his phone number?

And Rav Twerski has already posted to one guy quite beautifully:

"All of a sudden when it comes to recovery you are concerned about what's best halachically and are ready to say things like, "Nu, let me go about it the proper way - why should I look for a heter?"! Where was your 'better judgement' and frumkeit before?"

Most of us people just try to use yiddishkeit to bash ourselves over the head and create anxiety about what they want (sex and porn) and 'struggle' in secret - and then use yiddishkeit to hold the solutions away from themselves when they start to see that the will lose the struggle!

"It's a chilul Hashem!"
"But viduy befarhesia is assur!"
"But it's serving avodah zora to walk into a meeting in a church bldg!"
"But there are goyim in that meeting!"
"But there are yidden in that meeting who are not frum and they will say..."
"But there are yidden in that meeting who are frum and they will say..."
"But my Rov said it's assur to do _____ for recovery!" (But did he really tell his Rov exactly what what he is doing, how and where he is doing it, and how often and for how long he has been doing it? Of course not - it's a chillul Hashem and viduy befarhesia! So then he didn't really ask a shailoh at all, did he...)

The only 'preferable way' is the honest and real way, period. Find a real way to be real and honest. Hashem will help you do that wherever you have to do it. He is everywhere.

I thank you for that, and that precisely was my sentiment (although without the halachic backbone, and perhaps a feeling of carelessness), as I told some chaveirim: I feel that there are many ways, or at least several ways, for us addicts to get help, and each person needs to choose his path....concrete steps must be taken, and I was resisting for some time the 12 steps approach and the sa groups. I was finding success other ways. But for whatever reason, I reached the decision that I needed a live group and that was my calling for recovery (perhaps). Now, if a church basement would be clearly, definitely, 100% forbidden, then obviously its not an option, but that is not the case. There are poskim who say it's ok (that was for me...im not relating a psak), and I concluded that for me, it must be done.

Regarding R' Twerski, although there seems to be several, I believe that I sent the question to the one you are referring to (indicating to my friends that I already had a ruling allowing me, and I didn't plan on listening if he said no), and he said pretty much unequivocally that it is forbidden to go to a Catholic church, even in basement, for there are statues there. [Once again, I am not relating this as a psak for anyone....I have the email he sent me.]

I was worried a bit that I would feel all yuchy afterwards. That was not the case. The parking lot was kinda funny. Entered thru back doors (like a school building) and immediately went downstairs to basement into a room. There was no sign whatsoever that I was in a church.

It was productive and I plan on returning.

Thank you

b'hatzlachah

Good for you, chaver. You have joined the elite group of very frum chronic masturbaters who actually have the guts to take extreme measures - not just when it comes to the enjoyment new venues of porn and creative masturbation, but even for the sake of recovery. Strange that this is a chidush, as my reference from Rav Twerski pointedly pointed out.

Good for you, man.

I plan to get my sponsor from there tomorrow as well.