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The Heights Treatment

Process Addiction Treatment Programs

Specialized care for behavioral and process-based addictions.

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How We Treat Behavioral & Process Addictions

Treatment for behavioral addictions focuses on understanding what the behavior is regulating and developing healthier ways to manage urges, emotions, and stress. Care often includes individual therapy, group therapy, and skills-based work tailored to each person’s patterns and triggers.

Depending on clinical need, treatment may incorporate approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), trauma-informed therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions, alongside structured accountability and relapse prevention planning.

Recovery Is Possible

Who This Program Is For

This program is for adults who are struggling with compulsive behaviors such as gambling, sexual behaviors, technology use, or other repetitive patterns that feel difficult to control. It is also for loved ones who are noticing secrecy, escalation, emotional withdrawal, financial strain, or repeated attempts to stop that have not been successful.

If a behavior is interfering with relationships, work, emotional stability, or overall functioning, and continues despite negative consequences, structured support may be appropriate.

What We Treat

We treat the underlying drivers of behavioral and process addictions, not just the behaviors themselves. These patterns are often connected to unresolved trauma, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, depression, attachment wounds, and difficulty tolerating distress.

Common concerns we treat include gambling addiction, compulsive sexual behavior, relationship-based addiction patterns, and technology or internet addiction. Treatment also addresses co-occurring mental health conditions or substance use when present, through an integrated and individualized approach.

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Gambling Addiction Treatment Options

Gambling addiction often starts as “just one more bet,” but can quickly turn into compulsive gambling that impacts finances, relationships, mood, and daily functioning. Common warning signs include chasing losses, hiding gambling activity, irritability when trying to stop, borrowing money, and feeling restless or numb without gambling. Our gambling addiction treatment in Houston helps clients stabilize behavior, address underlying anxiety, depression, trauma, or impulsivity, and rebuild accountability with evidence-based therapy and structured outpatient support.

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Sex & Love Addiction Treatment Options

Sex and love addiction (compulsive sexual behavior) can show up as escalating pornography use, compulsive hookups, secrecy, infidelity patterns, or obsessive attachment that feels impossible to control. Many people experience shame, relationship conflict, emotional withdrawal, and relapse cycles after attempts to stop. Our sex addiction rehab and treatment approach focuses on triggers, attachment wounds, emotional regulation, boundaries, and relapse prevention, with therapy that supports long-term stability and healthier intimacy.

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Internet & Technology Addiction Treatment Options

Internet and technology addiction can look like compulsive scrolling, gaming, pornography use, or constant phone checking that disrupts sleep, focus, mood, and real-life relationships. Common symptoms include irritability when offline, loss of time, neglected responsibilities, withdrawal from in-person life, and increased anxiety or depression. Our technology addiction treatment helps clients reset digital behaviors, treat underlying drivers like stress, trauma, or avoidance, and build sustainable routines using evidence-based therapy and structured outpatient programming.

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Other Behavioral & Process Addiction Conditions

Behavioral and process addictions include compulsive behaviors that continue despite negative consequences, such as shopping addiction, binge eating patterns, compulsive exercise, and other impulse-control issues. People often feel stuck in cycles of cravings, secrecy, guilt, and relapse, especially when anxiety, depression, trauma, or emotional dysregulation are present. Our process addiction treatment programs focus on the “why” behind the behavior, using evidence-based therapy, accountability planning, and individualized levels of care to support long-term recovery.

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For Partners and Loved Ones

When Behavioral Addictions Affect the Whole Family

If you are noticing secrecy, broken trust, financial strain, emotional withdrawal, or repeated promises to stop that don’t last, your concern is valid. Behavioral and process addictions often impact emotional safety, communication, and stability within families, especially when the behavior escalates or becomes hidden.

Loved ones are frequently the first to recognize when something is wrong, even when the person struggling minimizes or denies the impact.

Common Impacts on Loved Ones

Many partners and family members experience chronic stress, hypervigilance, financial anxiety, and confusion about what is actually happening. You may feel caught between wanting to help and fearing that confronting the behavior will make things worse.

Over time, loved ones often feel pressure to monitor behavior, manage crises, cover consequences, or hold everything together on their own.

Support for You Matters Too

You do not have to navigate this alone. We help families understand the dynamics of behavioral addiction, clarify healthy boundaries, and identify next steps that protect everyone involved. Seeking guidance is not a betrayal or an overreaction, it is a step toward stability, clarity, and healing.

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What Loved Ones Can Expect

Confidential admissions guidance

We can talk with you about what you are seeing, help you understand whether behaviors may indicate an addiction pattern, and discuss appropriate levels of care. We also help you think through how to approach difficult conversations in a calm, supportive, and non-confrontational way.

Family education and involvement

When appropriate, families may be included in education or therapy sessions to better understand addiction cycles, reduce enabling patterns, and support recovery without sacrificing their own emotional well-being.

Aftercare and continuity planning

Behavioral addictions often require long-term support. We help families understand what recovery looks like after treatment, including outpatient care, accountability planning, and ongoing therapy to support sustainable change.

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Our admissions team is here to help.

Every conversation is private, respectful, and focused on helping you take the next step at your own pace.

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At The Heights, we promote evidenced-backed and recovery-driven care through strategic program implementation and jugement-free support. Reach out today to start the process of recovery and healing for yourself or a loved one.

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FAQ’s About Behavioral & Process Addiction Treatment

What is a behavioral or process addiction?

Behavioral and process addictions involve compulsive behaviors that activate the brain’s reward system in ways similar to substance use disorders. These behaviors continue despite negative consequences and often escalate over time. Common examples include gambling addiction, compulsive sexual behavior, technology or internet addiction, and other impulse-driven patterns.

How do I know if a behavior is an addiction or just a bad habit?

A behavior may be considered an addiction when it becomes difficult to control, causes distress or impairment, and continues despite clear negative consequences. Warning signs often include secrecy, repeated failed attempts to stop, increased time or money spent, emotional withdrawal, and impacts on relationships, work, or mental health.

What types of behavioral addictions do you treat?

We treat a range of behavioral and process addictions, including gambling addiction, sex and love addiction, technology or internet addiction, and other compulsive behavior patterns. Treatment also addresses underlying mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, trauma, or emotional dysregulation when present.

Is behavioral addiction treatment different from substance use treatment?

While behavioral addictions do not involve substances, they affect the brain’s reward and impulse-control systems in similar ways. Treatment focuses on understanding what the behavior is regulating, developing healthier coping strategies, and addressing underlying emotional or psychological drivers through evidence-based therapy and structured support.

Do you treat co-occurring mental health or substance use issues?

Yes. Behavioral addictions frequently occur alongside anxiety, depression, trauma, or substance use. When co-occurring conditions are present, treatment is integrated so all contributing factors are addressed together rather than separately.

What level of care is appropriate for behavioral addiction treatment?

The appropriate level of care depends on symptom severity, loss of control, functional impairment, and risk factors. Treatment may include Partial Hospitalization (PHP), Intensive Outpatient Programming (IOP), or standard outpatient care. Our team helps determine the most appropriate option during an initial assessment.

Can treatment help if someone is not fully ready to stop the behavior?

Yes. Many people begin treatment feeling ambivalent or uncertain about change. Treatment helps individuals explore motivation, understand triggers, and build skills for managing urges and emotions, even when readiness is still developing.

How are loved ones involved in the treatment process?

When appropriate and with consent, loved ones may be included through education, therapy sessions, or support planning. Family involvement helps reduce enabling patterns, improve communication, and support long-term recovery while protecting loved ones’ well-being.

How long does behavioral addiction treatment typically last?

Length of treatment varies based on individual needs, severity, and progress. Some people benefit from several weeks of structured outpatient care, while others continue with longer-term therapy and support to maintain stability and prevent relapse.

How do I get started with treatment?

The first step is a confidential conversation with our admissions team. We can talk through concerns, answer questions, and help determine appropriate next steps without pressure or obligation.