Internet Gaming Disorder Treatment For Teens From Louisiana

Gaming Disorder Treatment Center / Gaming Rehab for Louisiana Teens

While based in Pennsylvania, Louisiana families seek our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center because of our unique ability to adapt to the academic curriculum for Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 of.  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 Louisiana 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.

Video Game Disorder: First Steps for Louisiana Families.

The first step for Louisiana families is to sit down with your teenager and discuss your concerns. Don™t criticize or blame.  Simply express your concern and create a dialog about the topic. A teen will more likely change if the influence is positive and supportive versus critical in nature.  Treatment for video game disorder starts with building empathy with the child and expressing genuine concern. 

Agreeing on limits is a great next step to help Louisiana families that have a teen experiencing video game disorder.  It™s important for the teen to understand the reason for the limits, however. Have the teen write up a contract with your input that outlines when they can have screen time, and begin the contract with a statement of purpose.

It™s very easy for parents of teens to fall into the habit of nagging.  Nagging is the knee-jerk response to seeing a behavior you don™t like. But teens, in general, don™t respond well to nagging.  Also, as we all know, as soon as the nagging stops, the teen™s behavior resumes.

A better approach is to acknowledge the issue and let the teen know you are there to talk about it when they are ready.  Remember: the goal of changing technology overuse behaviors is not to police the teen into submission. The goal is to build intrinsic motivation- that is, to develop sufficient insight to where they see technology overuse is affecting their lives in a negative way, and the child, therefore, wants to limit their online recreational activity.

Louisiana Teens Can Find Success at Our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center

Louisiana teens often struggle with internet gaming disorder.  This can lead to depression, being bullied, and having a hard time making friends.  Part of our help process is catching campers back up on social skills they may have missed out on due to excessive gaming.

Finding success also means building motivation to pursue meaningful life pursuits.  Building motivation is fun! We use systematic self-monitoring techniques to guide campers to better habits that also builds motivation.  Systematic self-monitoring is just a fancy term for carefully planning your daily behaviors, in addition to setting up support plans to ensure planned behaviors are executed.

Campers set themselves up for college success or life beyond high school by building the life skills they need to be successful on their own.

Who does Camp Pocono Trails help?

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

Resources

Internet Gaming Disorder Resource: Microsoft Family

Think about it- if you just limit your child’s use of technology at home, how likely will they be able to manage their use independently when they go off to college, or when they move out of the house and start their first job?  Below is a resource to help your child develop structure, but without the intrinsic motivation to change, setting up limits alone may only go so far.

Microsoft Family: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12413/microsoft-account-what-is-family

Microsoft family is just one of the many benefits of having a Microsoft account. It™s a free service that helps families stay connected, and keep kids safer on Windows 10 and Xbox One devices, along with Android devices running Microsoft Launcher. You™ll find settings like activity reporting, screen time limits, location sharing, and content restrictions on account.microsoft.com/family, where you can also track kids™ spending and add money to their Microsoft accounts.

At our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center parent workshop, parents can learn the best strategies to implement these safeguards.

Internet Gaming Disorder Resource: Playstation Controls

If we simply take the strategy of putting external controls on gaming or internet-connected devices, we have done nothing to develop the child’s ability to self-regulate their gaming or browsing behavior independently.  

However, if you need to put up some structure now, here is a guide for setting up Playstation spending limits and gaming times:

How to set parental controls and spending limits on PS4: https://www.playstation.com/en-au/get-help/help-library/my-account/parental-controls/ps4-parental-controls/

By creating a sub account for your child you can prevent them from accessing PlayStation Store content that is unsuitable for their age, user generated content and online gameplay. You can also stop your associated sub account from making purchases without your consent.  At our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center, parents learn how to monitor their student’s online activities.

In this article you can learn about the parental controls available on PlayStation products: https://www.playstation.com/en-au/get-help/help-library/my-account/parental-controls/age-ratings-and-parental-controls/

Camp Pocono Trails helps families from Louisiana

Camp Pocono Trails helps Louisiana families from cities and towns like Eden Isle Geismar Belle Chasse Madisonville Woodworth Mandeville River Ridge Benton Prairieville Metairie