Process & Behavioral Addictions Support in Marietta, Roswell, and Atlanta
When a behavior you once chose starts choosing you, compassionate therapy can help you reclaim control — without shame or judgment.
Understanding Process & Behavioral Addictions
Not all addictions involve substances. Process addictions — also called behavioral addictions — form around activities that activate the brain's reward system: gambling, gaming, scrolling, sex and porn, food, exercise, shopping, and more. The behavior can temporarily soothe stress or emptiness, then demand more time, intensity, or secrecy to deliver the same relief.
These patterns are not a lack of willpower. They often grow from anxiety, trauma, loneliness, ADHD, depression, perfectionism, or unmet needs for connection and control. Many people feel embarrassed precisely because the behavior looks "normal" from the outside — until it isn't.
Our therapists provide a confidential, judgment-free space to understand what the behavior is doing for you, interrupt compulsive cycles, and build healthier ways to cope, connect, and feel alive. If you are also navigating alcohol or drug use, see our Addiction & Substance Use page — we often treat both together.
Types of Behavioral Addictions We Support
Whether you are struggling with one pattern or several, support is available. Explore the areas below to see how therapy can help.
Gambling
Whether sports betting, casino games, poker, or online platforms, gambling addiction can drain finances, damage trust, and fuel cycles of hope and despair. Therapy helps you understand triggers, interrupt compulsive patterns, and rebuild stability.
Video Gaming
When gaming stops feeling optional — when it crowds out sleep, school, work, or relationships — it may have crossed into compulsion. We help teens and adults reclaim balance without shame or all-or-nothing thinking.
Internet & Social Media
Endless scrolling, comparison, and the pull of notifications can leave you anxious, distracted, and disconnected from real life. Therapy supports healthier digital boundaries and a clearer sense of what you actually need from connection.
Sex & Porn
Compulsive sexual behavior and porn use often carry heavy secrecy and shame. We offer a confidential, non-judgmental space to explore underlying drivers — trauma, anxiety, intimacy fears — and build healthier intimacy and self-regulation.
Food
Using food for comfort, control, or escape can feel confusing when it is not a formal eating disorder. We help you understand emotional eating patterns, reduce binge–restrict cycles, and rebuild a steadier relationship with food and your body.
Exercise
Exercise that once supported health can become rigid, compulsive, or anxiety-driven. Therapy helps you recognize when movement has become a way to punish, control, or numb — and restore a more flexible, compassionate approach.
Shopping
Retail therapy that turns into debt, secrecy, or regret is more than a bad habit. We work with the emotional triggers behind compulsive spending and help you build practical tools for urge surfing, budgeting boundaries, and self-worth beyond purchases.
Signs You May Need Support
Our Treatment Approach
Understand the Function of the Behavior
We start by exploring what the behavior gives you — relief, excitement, numbness, belonging — and what it costs. Naming the function reduces shame and clarifies what healthier alternatives need to provide.
CBT, DBT Skills & Urge Management
Cognitive behavioral tools help you catch triggers and thought loops early. DBT-informed skills support distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and urge surfing so you can ride out cravings without acting on them every time.
Treat the Whole Picture
Behavioral addictions often travel with anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, relationship strain, or substance use. We address co-occurring concerns so change can last — and we involve partners or family when that supports your goals.
Therapists Who Can Help
Therapy in Roswell, Alpharetta, and North Metro Atlanta
Peachtree Psychology offers in-person therapy at our Roswell office on Sun Valley Drive, easily accessible from GA-400 and Holcomb Bridge Road, with secure teletherapy available throughout Georgia.
We serve clients throughout Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, East Cobb, Dunwoody, Milton, Woodstock, and North Metro Atlanta. Our Roswell office offers free parking, flexible scheduling including evenings and Saturdays, and the option to combine in-person sessions with secure teletherapy for added convenience.
Ready to Take the First Step?
You do not have to figure this out alone. Reach out for compassionate, confidential support — no judgment, no pressure.