Internet Gaming Disorder Treatment For Teens From South Dakota

Can a Gaming Disorder Treatment Center Really Help my South Dakota Teen?

Gaming or video game addiction is very hard to treat.  In one surprising study, In one study 84% of addicted gamers were still addicted two years later, demonstrating how difficult gaming addiction is to treat.  In the same study, 7% of online gamers were classified as psychologically or behaviorally dependent on online gaming. This is why choosing the right Gaming Disorder Treatment Center is so critical. 

This begs the question, “why is gaming so addictive?”  According to research in the Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 41% of people who play online video games do so as an, “escape from the real world.”

There is much debate currently about the effect of video game violence on the real world.  According to a study in Pediatrics, as much as 20% of real-life violence may be attributable to media violence.  Why is this? Researchers speculate that there is a two-fold issue here. First, constant exposure to video game violence decreases our sensitivity to real-world violence.  Seeing a fight at school might seem more normal to a child that has been exposed to ongoing video game violence, making them less likely to intervene or even more likely to instigate violence themselves.

Video Game Disorder: First Steps for South Dakota Families.

The first step for South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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 into where they see technology overuse is affecting their lives in a negative way, and the child, therefore, wants to limit their online recreational activity.

South Dakota Teens Can Find Success at Our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center

South Dakota 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 build 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:
– Poor Communication Skills
– Impulse Control
– Social Issues
– Anxiety
– Video game addiction
– Technology Addiction
– Family Conflict
– Depression
– Autism Spectrum
– ADHD
– Addictive Behaviors
– Social isolation
– Trauma
– School Refusal
– Low Self Esteem
– Social Anxiety Disorder

Resources

Internet Gaming Disorder Resource: Setting up Controls on Your Apple Computer and Phone

Apple brand products offer some of the best and hardest to œget around controls for parents.

You can learn how to set up parental controls for Apple products here: https://support.apple.com/kb/ph18571?locale=en_US

As a parent, you want your kids to have a safe and happy experience on the Mac. Using Parental Controls preferences, you can manage, monitor, and control the time your kids spend on the Mac, the websites they visit, and the people they chat with.  After you set restrictions for a child using a Mac, you can manage parental controls from a different Mac. Both computers must be on the same network.

At our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center, parents learn how to structure their child’s device to ensure success.  

Internet Gaming Disorder Treatment Resource: TechAddiction.com

TechAddiction is committed to providing helpful, informative, and high-quality links to services and individuals who provide help for or information on internet and video game addiction.

Reaching out to your local therapy network may also provide the solution you seek.  However, if you’ve already tried therapy and you didn’t get the results you wanted, or if your child refuses to go to therapy, our Gaming Disorder Treatment Center may be exactly what you are looking for.

You can also reach out to your insurance company and see if they cover group or individual therapy, or if they cover summer camps like Camp Pocono Trails.

Camp Pocono Trails Helps South Dakota Families From Cities Such As:

Some examples of cities from South Dakota which may have families who could use Camp Pocono Trails: Sioux Falls Rapid Hartford