WHAT WE DO
Sex addiction treatment for men
Private-pay sex addiction IOP for men. CSAT-trained clinical director. In-person in Austin, virtual across Texas. Multidimensional Partner Trauma support included.
How It Presents
If you found this page by searching for sex addiction treatment, you found the right program. “Sex addiction” is the everyday term for the condition clinical literature documents as compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). Iron Ridge's program is led by Ian Birdwell, LPC, CSAT, a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, and is built specifically for this pattern — in person in north Austin and by secure telehealth across Texas.
In Austin? Sex addiction therapy in Austin happens in person at our North Austin clinic.
- Repetitive sexual behavior that has become the central focus of daily life
- Repeated, unsuccessful efforts to stop or scale back
- Continuation despite serious relationship, career, or financial consequences
- Escalation in frequency, intensity, or risk
- Concealment and a growing double life
- Using sex to regulate stress, boredom, or low mood
- Shame and secrecy that deepen over time
- Disruption to sleep, focus at work, or presence at home
- A discovery event that has put a relationship at risk
- Co-occurring anxiety, depression, or substance use
A Clinical Problem, Not a Moral One
Sex addiction is a clinical condition, not a moral failing. The lay language and the clinical language describe the same pattern; the diagnostic distinction matters mainly for documentation and treatment planning, not for how seriously the pattern should be taken.
How Iron Ridge Treats It
Iron Ridge treats sex addiction inside a structured, CSAT-led intensive outpatient program built around the ICD-11 clinical framework.
Iron Ridge is Texas’ dedicated intensive program for men with compulsive sexual behavior and porn addiction: all men, groups for this pattern only, no detox or substance-use clients, and a curriculum written for sexual behavior rather than adapted from a substance program. It is not a rehab and not a general IOP.
- Process group three times a week with other men in treatment
- Individual therapy at least weekly, twice weekly where the case calls for it, under CSAT guidance
- Structured psychoeducation on the CSAT clinical model
- Multidimensional Partner Trauma Model programming for partners
- Accountability structure and a step-down continuing-care plan
Who It's For
Iron Ridge's program is built for high-functioning professional men whose sexual behavior has continued despite consequences and who need more structure than weekly individual therapy alone provides.
When to Seek Help
When the pattern has continued for six months or more, despite sincere efforts to stop, and has produced real consequences, the clinical threshold for intensive outpatient care has typically been reached.
Therapy, counseling, or an intensive program: which one
Most men searching for a sex addiction therapist in Austin have already tried something. Weekly counseling with a generalist is where most start, and for a pattern that has not yet organized itself around secrecy it can be enough. Where it tends to fail is the pattern that has continued for years despite sincere effort, that has escalated, and that now sits inside a double life. One hour a week is not enough contact to interrupt that.
That is the gap an intensive outpatient program fills. At Iron Ridge, treatment is 9 to 12 clinical hours a week for eight weeks: process group three times a week with other men doing the same work, individual therapy at least weekly under CSAT guidance, structured psychoeducation, and a step-down plan at the end. It is more than therapy and less than residential, and for high-functioning men who need to keep working, it is usually the right level.
The credential matters. CSAT, issued by IITAP, is the specific training in this pattern (what a CSAT is, and how to find one, is on its own page); a therapist without it can be excellent and still be working from a model that was built for something else. Clinical direction at Iron Ridge is held by a CSAT, and every client's individual work is with one.
Where pornography fits
For many men the behavior is pornography rather than partners, and the search is for porn addiction treatment rather than sex addiction treatment. Clinically they are the same pattern with a different object, and the program treats them the same way. The pornography addiction page describes what is specific to it: escalation in content, the role of the device, and why deleting the apps has never once been the answer.
Do you need residential treatment?
“Rehab” usually means residential: you move in for thirty to ninety days. If you have been searching for a sex addiction treatment center in Texas, know that there are a small number of residential programs in the country that take sexual behavior seriously, and for some men, usually where there is also an active substance problem or where the behavior has become dangerous, that is the right first step.
Most men do not need it, and for most it is not available anyway: the job, the family, and the confidentiality that residential treatment cannot protect. An intensive outpatient program delivers the clinical intensity without removing you from the life you are working to repair. If you have been searching for rehab and are not sure which level you need, that is exactly what the first consultation call is for, and we will tell you honestly if we are not the right level of care.
Searching for “high end” sex addiction treatment?
The phrase usually points to one of two things. Sometimes it means a residential program with a private room and a small campus — the [residential comparison](/compare/residential-sex-addiction-programs/) lays out what actually exists and where CSBD-specific care fits inside it. More often it means something plainer: treatment that will not put you in a room with strangers in crisis, that is run by clinicians who understand your position, and that respects your privacy and your schedule. That is not luxury — it is what a serious outpatient program should already look like, and it is closest to what the [Professional Track](/programs/treatment/for-executives/) describes for men who need this to stay discreet from a demanding job.
Not Sure If This Is You?
A short, confidential self-assessment can help clarify whether this pattern meets the clinical threshold for treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sex addiction a recognized diagnosis?
The clinical literature increasingly uses compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) to describe this pattern. “Sex addiction” is the widely used lay term for the same presentation.
Who leads the clinical program?
Ian Birdwell, LPC, CSAT, serves as Clinical Director and leads the clinical model. CSAT is a credential issued by IITAP.
Is treatment confidential?
Yes. Nothing goes to your insurer unless you choose to use your out-of-network benefits. If you pay privately, no claim is filed.
Is this in-person or virtual?
Both. In-person in Austin, Texas, and virtual across the state.
Do you work with partners too?
Yes, through a dedicated Partner & Family Program using the Multidimensional Partner Trauma Model, run in tandem with the man's treatment plan.
How long is the program?
Iron Ridge's standard clinical arc is eight weeks, 9–12 clinical hours per week, 72–96 total clinical hours.
Do you take insurance?
Iron Ridge is out-of-network. You can pay privately, or use your PPO's out-of-network benefits: we can bill your plan out of network, or give you a superbill to submit yourself.
You do not have to be ready to change to reach out.
Every inquiry is read by a member of our clinical team. Calls answered live by our team, Mon–Fri 8am–9pm CT. Nothing is charged for reaching out, and contacting us commits you to nothing.
Call (512) 877-8616 Request a Confidential Consult
Reading this late? The form is open any time, and calls are answered live Mon–Fri 8am–9pm CT.