Internet Gaming Disorder Treatment For Teens From Iowa

Gaming Disorder Treatment Center / Gaming Rehab for Iowa Teens

While based in Pennsylvania, Iowa families seek our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center because of our unique ability to adapt to the academic curriculum for Iowa campers.  Our video game addiction rehab helps gamers develop the internal drive and motivation to focus on academics- not the latest video game. 

Lack of self-regulation is the common denominator that affects a student’s preoccupation with video games and lack of focus on everything else: school, friends, chores, reading, and so on.  At Camp Pocono Trails, developing self-regulation skills is what we do.

Gaming Disorder Treatment Centers for Iowa teens should not be punitive.  We take a natural approach, reconnecting teens with nature, friends, and themselves over time.  We start out with a back to nature phase where campers fully unplug and are immersed in a natural environment.  Being in nature helps our campers quickly get over the withdrawal phase of video game addiction.

Video game addiction help is not a simple as taking away the student’s video game system.  Screens are everywhere, and many parents come to us with stories of how their student has been able to bypass whatever safeguards they put off.  On top of that, computers and Chromebooks are often issued at school, and socializing through an online app by a smartphone has become a normal part of identity development.

One thing we hear a lot at Camp Pocono Trails is a child’s belief that, “All my friends are online, so if you take this away from me, I would be all alone.” Video game addiction help is not an all-or-nothing issue. At Camp Pocono Trails, we take a harm reduction approach. This means educating the student on the harmful effects of certain online activities including:

  • Online pornography
  • Video game violence
  • How violence is portrayed in certain games
  • How gender roles are portrayed in certain games
  • How playing games without set boundaries can interfere with academics, social practice, or achieving your life goals

Using a harm reduction approach, Camp Pocono Trails campers become enlightened as to the habit-forming qualities of video games and social media, in addition to how exposure to different types of online media can change your perceptions of violence or gender roles.

We Help Transfer Online Success to Offline Success for Iowa Teens

It™s easy to get locked into a pattern of policing electronics. The problem with a policing strategy is that it does nothing to help the child learn how to manage electronic use independently.  If your child is headed to college or independent living soon without the ability to manage their screen activity, you should intervene as soon as possible.

Sometimes it’s just easier for a team of seasoned professionals to address an issue that has become toxic for a parent to address.  Parents and teens can become deadlocked in a disagreement about video game or internet use. This is where Camp Pocono Trails can help. We give the teen a format to reinvent themselves in a nonjudgmental, supportive atmosphere with other former gamers.  

Gaming Disorder Treatment is uncharted territory for most parents.  Parents today are tasked with raising the very first generation of teenagers immersed in a world of technology.  Screens are everywhere- teens bring internet-connected smartphones to school and often have access to games on the bus, in class, in the lunchroom, and back home again until mom or dad return from work.  For most families, gaming addiction is an issue that requires high levels of intervention.

Gaming Disorder Treatment Center: Individual Therapy for Iowa Teens

At Camp Pocono Trails, we support individual therapy.  We can work in tandem with therapists back home in Iowa to ensure a smooth continuity of care.  We also recommend our families engage in family therapy sessions while your child is in attendance.  This is done during workshop weekends. 

However, sometimes a teen just needs a higher level of help than outpatient therapy can provide.  For outpatient therapy to be effective, the student needs to engage with the therapist. For example, most behavioral therapists have the student journal or track behaviors in order to change behaviors.  

If a student is unwilling to do these most basic components of help, parents should look at going up to the next level of intervention.  This can be a help center like Camp Pocono Trails which specializes in video game addiction help.

Military boarding schools or short-term options like camps for video game addiction help should be avoided.  Change takes time, and a punitive approach can result in a child pushing back against authority.

If Your Iowa  Need Only Feels Successful Online, Now is the Time for Help

Consider the cost of doing nothing.  If you send your child off to college not prepared to deal with unstructured time, how likely will they be in the 50% that fail to graduate college?  Consider the cost of wasted tuition, wasted time, and the cost of supporting your child back at home if they fail to thrive. Investing in Camp Pocono Trails is insignificant compared to the cost of failure.  

Best of all, we teach managing screen time in an actual school atmosphere.  Your child will be engaging in nature activities, sports, arts, and so much more.  There is no better setting to prepare a child for the independence to live successfully after high school.

Now is the time for action.  If your teen is having negative interactions with others in school and missing out on social interactions, the window of opportunity is fast closing.  At Camp Pocono Trails, we can provide those corrective experiences your child needs to put them on the right path in life.

Who does Camp Pocono Trails help?

Camp Pocono Trails helps teens struggling with issues similar to those below:
– Technology Addiction
– Autism Spectrum
– Social isolation
– Addictive Behaviors
– Low Self Esteem
– Social Issues
– Social Anxiety Disorder
– Video game addiction
– ADHD
– Impulse Control
– School Refusal
– Family Conflict
– Trauma
– Poor Communication Skills
– Anxiety
– Depression

Resources

Internet Gaming Disorder Resource: ESBR Ratings

http://www.esrb.org/

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is the non-profit, self-regulatory body that assigns ratings for video games and apps so parents can make informed choices. The ESRB rating system encompasses guidance about age-appropriateness, content, and interactive elements.

As part of its self-regulatory role for the video game industry, the ESRB also enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines and helps ensure responsible web and mobile privacy practices under its Privacy Certified program. ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).  Parents who attend the workshop at our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center learn how to choose appropriate media for their campers.

Internet Gaming Disorder Resource: Steam Accounts

Many gamers that come to our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center use a Steam account to manage their game settings.  Here is a comprehensive guide for parents to manage your child’s Steam account.

Steam: Setting up Family View

We encourage you to create a Steam account with your child. If there are features of Steam that you would like to exclude from the experience, you can restrict access using Family View. You may also choose to enable Family View on your own Steam account if you would rather they share your Steam Account.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5149-EOPC-9918


To enable Family View:

  • Log into the Steam account your child will use.
  • Click the Steam menu in the top menu bar.
  • Open the Settings option.
  • Go to the “Family” tab on the left side of the window that opens.
  • Click œFamily View to start the Family View wizard.
  • Step through the wizard to select the content and features you™d like to be accessible while in PIN-protected Family View.
  • Select and confirm your new PIN.

With any gaming company, we recommend you check game ratings and actually have your child demonstrate the game before allowing any unsupervised play.  You can also go on Youtube to watch a game œwalk through to see how violence and adult themes are portrayed.

Camp Pocono Trails Helps Iowa Families From Cities Such As:

Some examples of cities from Iowa which may have families who could use Camp Pocono Trails: Des Moines Cedar Rapids Davenport Sioux Iowa City Waterloo West Des Moines Ames Council Bluffs Dubuque Ankeny