foundational paper<\/a> explaining its inclusion in ICD-11, psychiatrist Shane W. Kraus and colleagues note that available population studies suggest CSBD affects a minority of adults, with prevalence estimates generally ranging from about 3% to 6%, though rates vary widely depending on definitions, measurement tools, and cultural context.<\/p>\nThe authors stress that while CSBD is clinically significant for those affected, it should not be conflated with high sexual desire or normative variations in sexual behavior.<\/p>\n
Hughes\u2019 path into sex addiction therapy began unexpectedly while she was working in mental health and addiction treatment in Tennessee.<\/p>\n
Much of her caseload involved clients with significant trauma, and leadership at the organization noticed a recurring pattern: many patients struggling with substance use were also dealing with compulsive sexual behaviors, including problematic pornography use, infidelity, and job loss tied to sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n
The clinic approached Hughes about stepping into a newly created role to lead a specialized program focused on sexual addiction \u2014 a field she admits she knew little about at the time. Despite her initial hesitation, she accepted and was sent for advanced training and certification\u00a0through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, where she studied directly under pioneers in the field, including Patrick Carnes and Stephanie Carnes.<\/p>\n
The experience reshaped her clinical focus. Hughes began working with high-functioning professionals \u2014 doctors, surgeons, executives, and tech workers \u2014 whose outward success masked lives in crisis, often driven by untreated compulsive sexual behavior.<\/p>\n
She also saw how sexual addiction frequently underpinned other addictions, with clients using substances to numb shame or distress rooted in unresolved sexual compulsivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won’t say all, but usually there is a high percentage of trauma, and it’s not always sexual trauma,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cReally, those most affected with such addiction are individuals who have had emotional trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she had no idea where this would all lead, Hughes had an epiphany at an early age. She says she knew by the sixth grade that she wanted to do mental health as a profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a crazy story, really,\u201d says Hughes, who was born at the former Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth to her Air Force mother. It was after watching the movie \u201cThe Sixth Sense,\u201d written by M. Night Shyamaian and starring Bruce Willis as a child psychologist. Its iconic line, repeated ad infinitum from here to eternity, is I see dead people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember I saw that movie, I looked at my mom, and I said, \u2018I’m going to be a psychologist.\u2019 She said, \u2018OK.\u2019 And we laughed, but that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was called to help people.<\/p>\n
In addition to a psychology degree from Texas, Hughes earned another bachelor’s in sociology from University of North Texas and a master’s in forensic psychology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trinity Integrative Holistic Medicine & Counseling Services isn\u2019t only CSBD therapy. The practice also offers marriage and family counseling.<\/p>\n
Hughes’\u00a0practice is virtual only, but it\u2019s growing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are starting to have a huge waiting list,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
That increased demand is reflected in additions to the staff, including three new clinicians and a supervisor. She attributes the growth to growing her relationship with insurance providers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expanded from it just being sex addiction to also, now we’re doing marriage and family,\u201d she says. \u201cThat way the practice is not just known as the sex addiction, but we are heavily focused on that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first time many of us met Vannah Hughes, she was a standout women\u2019s basketball player at North…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6874,116,118,117,2244,2862,2125,55619,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-159000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-entrepreneurs","9":"tag-fort-worth","10":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","11":"tag-fort-worth-news","12":"tag-healthcare","13":"tag-john-henry","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-psychology","16":"tag-top-story"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}