Chemsex: When Drugs and Sex Become Fused
When drugs and sex become fused, people usually need help with both at once. Here is a harm-aware look at chemsex, the safety facts that matter, and integrated treatment.
Sex & Love Addiction · Houston
Sex, Love and Porn Addiction Therapy in Houston
Confidential, CSAT-led treatment for compulsive sexual behavior, pornography addiction, and love and relationship addiction. We treat the shame and the trauma underneath the behavior, in a private setting, customized around you. Private pay, with superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
01CSAT-Led Care
02Complete Discretion
03Partner & Betrayal Support
04Private Pay · Superbills
Treatable, Not a Moral Failing
You will not be judged here
Sex and love addiction, clinically described as compulsive sexual behavior, is a real, treatable pattern, not a character verdict. It usually grows out of trauma, attachment wounds, and shame, and it quietly damages relationships, careers, and self-respect while looking fine from the outside. Our care is led by Certified Sex Addiction Therapists (CSATs), the gold-standard credential for this work, inside one of the few Houston practices built for process addictions. We treat the behavior and the trauma beneath it, privately and without judgment.
What This Can Look Like
Patterns we help with
- Compulsive sexual behavior that feels out of control
- Compulsive pornography use
- Compulsive use of dating apps, sexual chat, or online sexual content
- Patterns of intensity, fantasy, or romance used to escape
- Anonymous or high-risk encounters and mounting consequences
- Betrayal and the impact on a partner or relationship
How We Treat It
Sex addiction counseling and porn addiction treatment
Lasting recovery from sexual and relational compulsivity takes more than willpower and more than talk. These are the specialized, evidence-informed therapies we combine around you, in individual therapy and across every level of care.
Certified Expertise
CSAT-Led Therapy
Care guided by Certified Sex Addiction Therapists using a structured, task-based framework built for sexual compulsivity: breaking denial, interrupting the cycle, and building healthy sexuality and real intimacy.
Roots & Boundaries
Pia Mellody Post-Induction Therapy
Developmental-trauma work that rebuilds self-worth, healthy boundaries, and the capacity for real intimacy, addressing where the patterns began.
Shame Resilience
Brené Brown Shame Resilience
Daring Way work that loosens the grip of secrecy and shame, the fuel for compulsive behavior, and replaces it with honesty and self-compassion.
Trauma Reprocessing
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing helps the brain reprocess the trauma that so often drives the compulsion, without requiring you to relive every detail aloud.
Body-Based
Somatic Experiencing
Compulsive behavior is often an attempt to regulate a dysregulated nervous system. Somatic work releases that stored survival stress so urges lose their grip on the body.
The Repair
Partner & Betrayal Support
Betrayal wounds partners deeply. We provide clinically guided disclosure when appropriate, dedicated support for betrayed partners, and couples work focused on rebuilding safety and trust.
Levels of Care · ASAM Criteria
As much structure as this work needs
Some people do this work in weekly CSAT-led therapy. Others, especially in the crisis that follows discovery, need real containment to interrupt the cycle. After a confidential, ASAM-guided assessment, a licensed clinician recommends the right starting point across our full continuum of outpatient care, then steps intensity down as recovery takes hold.
Flagship · Built for This
Individualized Intensive Program
Created specifically for process addictions and co-occurring mental health: three structured phases, fully customized, with CSAT-led work woven through and mentoring stepping up as clinical steps down.
Most Structured
Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
Full-day clinical structure while living at home, for when the compulsive cycle and the crisis around it need serious containment.
Structured Flexibility
Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
Intensive outpatient programming on five-day or three-day schedules: deep enough for this work while work and family life keep running.
After Hours
Evening IOP
Full IOP intensity scheduled after work hours, built for executives and professionals who need discretion and a protected career.
Our Approach
Privacy, dignity, and a plan that fits you
Discretion comes first: many of our clients are executives, professionals, and high-visibility Houstonians, and confidentiality is absolute. Your care is led by clinicians who specialize in this exact work, not generalists learning as they go. Co-occurring anxiety, depression, trauma, and substance use are treated in the same dual diagnosis plan, partners are supported rather than blamed, and disclosure is guided clinically instead of left to chance. We are clear about cost and out-of-network benefits up front, and your plan is customized around you, built for real, lasting change.
Guides and Resources
Guides on sex and love addiction
Articles from our Certified Sex Addiction Therapist on the many forms compulsive sexual behavior takes, and on how partners heal.
Compulsive Sexual Spending Online: When the Cost Is Financial Too Compulsive Sexual Spending Online: When the Cost Is Financial Too
Webcam sites, subscription content, and paid sexual services can quietly add up to serious debt. Here is how online sexual spending becomes compulsive and how treatment helps.
Dating App Addiction: When Swiping Becomes a Compulsion Dating App Addiction: When Swiping Becomes a Compulsion
For some people, dating and hookup apps stop being a way to meet someone and become the point. Here is when swiping becomes a compulsion and how treatment helps.
Ready When You Are
One confidential call can change this.
You have carried this alone long enough. One conversation with admissions, completely private, tells you exactly what the next step looks like. No pressure, no obligation.
Start Confidentially
Prefer to start in writing?
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 walk you through next steps. Please do not include sensitive medical details in the form.
Call (877) 549-5102
Confidential Consultation Request
Common Questions
Sex & love addiction, answered
If you do not see your question here, call our admissions team at (877) 549-5102 and we will walk you through it, privately.
Is sex or love addiction a real condition?
It is a recognized, treatable pattern of compulsive behavior that often has roots in trauma and shame. We treat it clinically and without judgment.
What is a CSAT?
A CSAT is a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, a clinician with specialized training and certification in treating sex and love addiction. Our care is CSAT-led.
Is treatment confidential?
Yes. Privacy and discretion are central to how we work, from your first call through the entire course of care.
Do I need residential rehab for sex addiction?
Usually not. Sex and love addiction is most often treated in structured outpatient care. Our Individualized Intensive Program, PHP, IOP, and evening IOP provide serious containment while you keep living at home, and we coordinate a referral if a higher level of care is ever clinically necessary.
How do I start sex addiction treatment in Houston?
Call (877) 549-5102 or send a confidential message. Admissions listens, answers your questions, and schedules a confidential assessment, often within days. From there a licensed clinician recommends the right level of care and you begin.
Do you support partners affected by betrayal?
Yes. Betrayal trauma is real, and partners deserve their own support. We help couples and partners heal alongside the person in treatment, and we host evening open family meetings where loved ones can find understanding and community.
How long does sex and love addiction treatment take?
There is no fixed timeline. Recovery is built around you and tends to deepen over months as trust, boundaries, and self-worth are rebuilt. We adjust the pace as you progress.
How much does CSAT-led treatment cost?
It depends on the services in your customized plan. We are private pay and work with out-of-network benefits, and we will explain costs and verify your benefits before you commit to anything, discreetly.
Do you take insurance?
We are private pay and also work with out-of-network benefits. We will explain costs and verify your specific benefits before you commit to anything.
Is sex and love addiction the same as a high sex drive?
No. It is defined by compulsive behavior that feels out of control and causes harm to your life, work, or relationships, regardless of frequency. We assess it clinically and without judgment.
Is porn addiction real?
Compulsive pornography use is recognized clinically as part of compulsive sexual behavior disorder in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11. When use feels out of control and continues despite harm to relationships, work, or self-respect, it is a real problem that responds to treatment.
When can I call and speak with someone?
Our admissions team answers seven days a week, from 8:00 am to 7:30 pm Central Time. Call (877) 549-5102 to talk with a real person about what is going on, your schedule, and whether our programs are the right fit. If you reach out after hours, leave a message or send the consultation form and we will return your call as soon as we open. If this is an emergency, call 911. If you or someone you love is in a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Clinical Review
Written by Joni Ogle, LCSW, CSAT, CEO of Heights Behavioral Health, and clinically reviewed by Deborah Darnell-Drake, LCSW-S, ACSW, LMFT, Chief Clinical Officer. Heights Behavioral Health provides licensed outpatient behavioral health care for adults in Houston, Texas, delivered by master’s-level clinicians and licensed professionals. This page is intended to explain HBH services and does not replace an individualized clinical assessment. Last reviewed October 2026.
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Find the right care, faster
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.
Amber A.
“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.”
Kate H.
“Heights offered treatment three evenings a week, which made it possible for them to work during the day and still get consistent support.”
Alyssa G.
“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.”
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Contact Admissions
Recovery begins with being honest, once
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.
