Four decades of healing history, the top experts in an often-misunderstood field, and the most advanced approaches to address a wide range sexual addiction and behavioral disorders.
Our comprehensive program addresses sexual addictions, unresolved trauma, and co-occurring issues, going beyond symptoms to explore root issues and lay the groundwork for lasting healing.
Group and one-on-one therapy are just the beginning. We employ a wide range of methods and modalities, including valuable peer support, to address each person’s unique needs.
Let us help you determine if our program is right for your situation, discuss insurance coverage, payment options, and let you know what to expect upon arriving at treatment.
Change takes work, but it can’t be harder than living with unresolved addiction, trauma, and other disorders. If you or someone you love needs help, we’re ready and waiting.
Specialized, experienced professionals
Our team of treatment professionals are trained and supervised by Dr. Patrick Carnes, ensuring that patients receive the most advanced treatment in sex addiction. Our team of physicians, psychiatrists, and addiction specialists are all master’s or doctoral level and CSAT-trained with extensive experience in sexual addiction and sexual trauma.
Program Architect, and Meadows Senior Fellow
The leading voice in the field of sex addiction, Patrick Carnes, PhD, has 30+ years’ experience in the addiction field. A prolific author on the topic, he is always in high demand as a speaker, presenter, and interview subject. His assessment tools related to sex addiction and trauma offer therapists a proven means to begin the treatment process with clients.
Dr. Carnes is the primary architect of the Gentle Path treatment program, and he pioneered the founding of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP). From 1996 until 2004, Dr. Carnes was Clinical Director for Sexual Disorder Services at our sister facility, The Meadows.
His achievements include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH), where they present an annual “Carnes Award” to researchers and clinicians who have made exceptional contributions to the field of sexual health. Dr. Carnes is the author of Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction, Contrary to Love: Helping the Sexual Addict, The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships, Open Hearts, Facing the Shadow, In the Shadows of the Net, The Clinical Management of Sex Addiction, Recovery Zone, and A Gentle Path Through the Twelve Principles. Dr. Carnes’ article “18.4 Sexual Addiction” appears in Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry.
Executive Director
An Atlanta native, Marie Woods earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Troy University, a master’s in marriage and family therapy from University of Southern Mississippi, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in marriage and family therapy with a specialization in systemic administration and business development at San Diego’s Northcentral University.
A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Woods is also a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist & Supervisor, Certified Multiple Addictions Therapist, Certified Partner Trauma Therapist, and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner who is trained in Post Induction Therapy and Brainspotting. Her experience includes inpatient, residential, and outpatient settings treating both individuals and couples. Specific areas of specialization are sex addiction and trauma treatment, including relational and developmental trauma, betrayal trauma, and complex trauma.
Like many in this field, Woods’ own life experiences influenced her career path. She wanted to be a therapist for as long as she can remember, explaining that she always knew deep inside of her that there had to be better ways to help those struggling with addiction and mental health, and she wanted to help people experience that.
Woods first joined the MBH team in 2013 as a workshops facilitator at Rio Retreat Center then worked as a primary therapist at Gentle Path before going into private practice. In 2023 she was tapped to become director of The Meadows Outpatient Center-Atlanta, where her responsibilities include growing and developing the clinical team, providing direct support to clinicians, and tracking the program from implementation of curriculum to patient outcomes and staff engagement. Lastly, Woods’ role includes establishing and maintaining relationships with both referral sources and community partners.
Woods is married with a house full of pets including five Labrador Retrievers and one cat. In her downtime, she enjoys getting creative in her craft room, reading, playing piano, and doing hot yoga. She’s also a huge foodie and loves trying new restaurants in and outside of Atlanta.
Chief Medical Officer
Jon Caldwell, PhD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and clinical research investigator who specializes in the treatment of adults who are healing from relational trauma and addictive behaviors. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Meadows Behavioral Health and Gentle Path at The Meadows. Dr. Caldwell’s theoretical perspectives are heavily influenced by his PhD training at the University of California at Davis, where he began researching how early childhood maltreatment and insecure attachment relationships affect cognitive, emotional, and social functioning. His clinical approach has become increasingly flavored by the timeless teachings of the contemplative traditions and by the daily practice of mindfulness. Dr. Caldwell has published a number of articles on child maltreatment, attachment theory, emotion regulation, and mindfulness. He is also a noted international speaker and trainer on these and other topics.
Psychologist
Isabel Nino de Guzman, PhD, works as a licensed psychologist for the male Gentle Path program and the women’s Willow House program at The Meadows, participating in direct patient care and supervising CSAT professionals from The Meadows organization. Trained under Dr. Patrick Carnes’ direct supervision, she has worked with him conducting research in the field of sex addiction since 2006. Dr. Nino de Guzman previously held positions at two of the most reputable programs for addiction treatment in the United States. She brings a wealth of clinical experience from her career in Peru as a professor and researcher and is author and co-author of several publications.
At Gentle Path, Dr. Nino de Guzman conducts specialized psychosexual assessments for patients with sexually addictive behaviors, intimacy disorders, and complex trauma. She has brought into the programs her vast experience on dual disorders and utilizes evidence-based practices to treat patients, knowing the unique patterns of interaction between sexual addiction, mental health disorders, and maladaptive personality patterns.
Director of Nursing
Rob Wallace is the director of nursing at both Gentle Path and Willow House at The Meadows. He also serves as Meadows Behavioral Healthcare’s nursing coordinator, interfacing with nursing staff throughout the MBH system. Wallace earned his master’s degree in nursing with a focus on nurse executive and completed associate sex Addiction therapist (ASAT) certification in 2016. Wallace has worked in addiction recovery since 2003, and he remains active volunteering with the Wickenburg Lions Club, Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce (he was awarded the Tip of the Stethoscope Award for 2017 and named Volunteer of the Year in 2010), Wickenburg Unified School District, HOSA, and as an advocate for nursing issues at the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives, engaging around behavioral health and substance use disorder issues.
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