Patrick J. Carnes, Ph.D., is the founder of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and Gentle Path Press. His extensive background in the field of addiction therapy led him to develop multiple cutting-edge recovery programs. Dr. Carnes' most recent endeavor is the Founder of Gentle Path and Senior Fellow at The Meadows, in Wickenburg, Arizona.

With more than 30 years in the field of sexual addiction treatment, Dr. Carnes is an internationally recognized expert, presenter, and interview subject. His assessment tools and 30-task model treatment methodology deliver an unprecedented approach to addiction recovery for practitioners of trauma, sexual addiction, and co-occurring addictions.

In 1966, Dr. Carnes graduated from St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned his Master's in 1969 from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and a Ph.D. in counselor education and organizational development from the University of Minnesota in 1980.

His achievements include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH), where they now award an annual "Carnes Award" to researchers and clinicians who have made exceptional contributions to the field of sexual health. He has published numerous articles and books on the subject of sexual addiction and trauma as well as contributed to Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry.