Dr. Hilarie Cash and Cosette Rae, MSW co-founded reSTA RT Life, PLLC, the first residential and transition program in the USA and Canada to treat adult Internet and video game addicts. Dr. Patrick Carnes is the founder of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and Gentle Path Press. He is regarded as the foremost expert on sexual addiction in the United States.
Cosette Rae, MSW, is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive (Excitement) Officer of reSTART Life, the first residential and outpatient treatment facility in the Western Hemisphere designed specifically for adolescents and adults struggling with an out-of-balance, out-of-control relationship with digital technology and co-occurring mental health concerns.
Cosette’s first career was in the field of computer science, specifically computer programming and web development. These experiences have given her a deep understanding of how alluring digital technology can be, and, therefore, the struggles of our clients. She was CEO of several companies that she started and owned and was able to bring her years of experience as a CEO to reSTART (which began during the Great Recession of 2009), guiding reSTART into becoming the world-renowned program that it is. Today, reSTART’s welcoming invitation assists individuals struggling with dependence back to wellness and meaningful purpose with multiple intensive residential facilities, independent living programs, and an intensive outpatient center for both adolescents and young adults in Washington state.
Cosette leads both her company and the field of behavioral addictions through a profound desire to help the community around her, leading to consistent innovation and reinvention. She weaves clinical knowledge, research, and business acumen into innovative solutions applied to today’s fast-paced and growing digital problems. Cosette’s philosophy of community and connection, as the antidote to addiction shines through as the heart and core of reSTART and her beliefs surrounding health and healing.
During ReSTART's eleven-year history, she has discovered the effectiveness of experiential learning, not only with the clients at reSTART, but with individuals, youth and families, while getting to know their hearts, thinking outside the box to challenge them personally and professionally, and allowing them to grow and thrive in their pursuit of meaningful life connections.
Recalling the lessons learned by being on her own at 15 and navigating the perils of life, “adversity is the birthplace of resilience and creativity,” she shares. And she would know. It is not too many that survive being a crew member on a 143-foot crab boat that loses its steering cable in the middle of a storm in the Bering Sea. “I promised if I survived, I would live a life of meaning. I intend to honor that commitment.”
Her interest in research has led to her co-authoring several published studies related to Internet addiction and Gaming disorder. She presents at conferences, speaks to the media, and seizes opportunities to educate parents and young people, alike, about healthy digital technology use. She regularly questions the role augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of things will play in human connectedness and looks for partnerships with those seeking connection to what matters most – life.
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.
