Process & Behavioral Addictions · Houston
Specialized, master’s-level treatment for the compulsive behaviors most programs miss: sex and love addiction, gambling, and technology. Led by a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, individualized, and dual diagnosis-forward. Private pay, with superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
01CSAT-Led Expertise
02Dual Diagnosis-Forward
03IIP · PHP · IOP
04Private Pay · Superbills
A Houston Differentiator
Most people searching for process addiction help are still going to work, running companies, raising families, and holding it together on the outside. Our behavioral addiction treatment is built for that reality: a calm, private setting in the Houston Heights, CSAT-led care for sex and love addiction, and programming designed for compulsive behaviors rather than borrowed from a substance use template.
Behavioral addictions run on the same reward circuitry as substances, and they respond to the same structured, evidence-based treatment. We treat the behavior and the anxiety, depression, trauma, or shame that drives it, in one coordinated plan.
What We Treat
Each addiction below has a dedicated page or clinician-written guide, and all of them are treated here by the same specialized team.
CSAT-Led
Compulsive sexual behavior, pornography, infidelity, and love addiction, with guided disclosure and support for betrayed partners.
Gambling
Casino, online, sweepstakes, and app-based gambling, plus compulsive day trading and crypto speculation.
Sports Betting
Sportsbook apps, live in-game bets, parlays, and prediction markets, with financial safeguards built into care.
Technology
Compulsive gaming, phone, social media, and screen use in adults, treated with specialized, shame-aware care.
Spending
Buying that escalates, gets hidden, and creates debt, treated alongside the anxiety or low mood beneath it.
Work
When achievement becomes compulsive and rest feels impossible, for executives and high-performing professionals.
Our Flagship Program
Most programs bolt process addiction work onto a substance use template. We built ours the other way around. Our Individualized Intensive Program was created specifically for process and behavioral addictions and the mental health concerns that drive them, so care can be fully customized around the client. It moves through three structured phases on the bones of the ASAM criteria, and as clinical intensity steps down, recovery mentoring steps up, handing structure off smoothly to everyday life. CSAT-led therapy, EMDR, trauma work, and process addiction work are woven into whichever phase you are in.
How Treatment Works
Treatment combines practical safeguards with deeper therapy, delivered at the right level of care and adjusted as you progress.
01
Assess
A confidential assessment maps the behavior, its consequences, and the anxiety, depression, trauma, or substance use underneath it.
02
Interrupt
App and site blocking, financial guardrails, self-exclusion, and accountability, paired with CBT, DBT, and ACT skills for urges.
03
Heal
Trauma, shame, and relationship repair work, with family and partner support when it helps, so change holds.
Guides and Resources
Plain-language articles from our clinical team on gambling, sports betting, sex and love addiction, technology, spending, and what families can do first.
Chemsex: When Drugs and Sex Become Fused
Compulsive Sexual Spending Online: When the Cost Is Financial Too
Dating App Addiction: When Swiping Becomes a Compulsion
Ready When You Are
Start with one confidential conversation. Then, we can explain the options, arrange an assessment when appropriate, and help you understand the next step without pressure.
Start Confidentially
Tell us a little about what is going on and the best way to reach you. A member of our admissions team will follow up personally and discreetly. Please do not include sensitive medical details in the form.
Common Questions
If you do not see your question here, call our admissions team at (877) 549-5102 and we will walk you through it.
A process addiction is a compulsive pattern of behavior, such as sex, gambling, or technology use, that a person keeps repeating despite harm. It engages the same reward pathways as substance addiction and responds to the same kind of structured, evidence-based treatment.
Yes. Process addictions respond well to specialized, evidence-based care, especially when underlying trauma, shame, anxiety, or depression are treated at the same time.
With certified, shame-aware care: CSAT-led therapy where relevant, CBT and DBT skills, trauma therapies like EMDR and Somatic Experiencing, neurofeedback, and shame-resilience and relapse-prevention work, all customized to you.
Yes. Process addictions rarely occur alone. Our care is dual diagnosis-forward, so we treat co-occurring trauma, anxiety, depression, and substance use as part of the same individualized plan.
Yes. Care is private and discreet. We are private pay and out-of-network, and we are careful with your information at every step.
We are private pay and do not bill insurance directly. We provide detailed superbills you can submit to your insurer for possible out-of-network reimbursement, and we explain costs before you commit to anything.
The behavioral addictions we treat most often include gambling and sports betting, sex and love addiction, compulsive pornography use, technology, gaming, and social media addiction, compulsive shopping and spending, and work addiction.
Written by Joni Ogle, LCSW, CSAT (Certified Sex Addiction Therapist), and clinically reviewed by Deborah Darnell-Drake, LCSW-S, ACSW, LMFT. Last updated October 2026. Heights Behavioral Health provides licensed outpatient behavioral health care for adults in Houston, Texas, delivered by master’s-level clinicians. This page is for education and is not medical advice.
Explore Heights
Every program, condition, and specialty at Heights connects to one coordinated outpatient team in the Houston Heights. Start wherever fits your situation, or call admissions and we will point you to the right place.
Verified reviews from clients and families who have been through our programs. Read them in full on Google, or add your own.
“From my very first interaction, I felt welcomed, respected, and genuinely cared for. The staff took the time to listen, answer my questions, and create a treatment plan that fit my needs.”
“Heights offered treatment three evenings a week, which made it possible for them to work during the day and still get consistent support.”
“Our family was scared and unsure where to turn. From the first conversation with Jeff and Beckie to walking through the doors, we felt genuinely cared for.”
Contact Admissions
One confidential call connects you with admissions, a clinical assessment, and a clear next step.
Crisis Notice
Heights Behavioral Health provides scheduled outpatient care and is not an emergency or crisis service. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
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