Looking for Gaming Addiction Help in Maryland?

Our program is located in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and serves teens from Maryland, in addition to teens from across the US.  While the length of help varies, we do not believe that substantial change can be achieved in a few therapy sessions.  Campers typically undergo video game disorder help for 2 weeks or longer. 

The diagnostic criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder include repetitive use of Internet-based games, often with other players, that leads to significant issues with functioning.  Video game disorder help may be needed if five of the following criteria are met within one year:

  • Preoccupation or obsession with Internet games.
  • Withdrawal symptoms when not playing Internet games.
  • A build-up of tolerance“more time needs to be spent playing the games.
  • The person has tried to stop or curb playing Internet games but has failed to do so.
  • The person has had a loss of interest in other life activities, such as hobbies.
  • A person has had continued overuse of Internet games even with the knowledge of how much they impact a person™s life.
  • The person lied to others about his or her Internet game usage.
  • The person uses Internet games to relieve anxiety or guilt, it’s a way to escape.
  • The person has lost or put at risk and opportunity or relationship because of Internet games.

Video game disorder help at our Pennsylvania summer camp on 350 private acres covers all of these issues and more.  Campers participate in both group and individual therapy to develop new habits and work on life skills. If your teen from Maryland has any of the above symptoms, please reach out to us today.

We Help Maryland Teens Needing Gaming Addiction Help

Our Pennsylvania-based video game disorder help center is highly structured. It™s much easier to develop new habits if the environment is conducive to change.  At Camp Pocono Trails, we start out by providing a technology-free environment and slowly reintroduce campers to smartphones and the internet. We work on social skills, anger management, and developing structure before the technology is reintroduced.

We also provide a family component to set the child up for success.  Parents participate in family therapy sessions with their child’s assigned counselor while at Camp Pocono Trails.  We also teach parents how to best support their children at home.

Does Your Child Have Video Game Disorder? A Place for Maryland Families to Start

Based in Pennsylvania, our program helps teens from across the country with video game disorders.  Many parents that enroll their child at Camp Pocono Trails try in-home interventions first. A behavioral contract can work, but parents need to remember that a contract is like a marriage.  Both parties need to agree. You can™t just force the rules upon your child. Ask them what they want to work for, and how much time is reasonable to play online after homework is done. 

Some clients need a higher level of care than what a therapist can provide, and this may not have been initially been clear to their therapist. For example, if your teen has co-occurring depression that is not responding to once per week outpatient psychotherapy, they might need more intensive care, including psychiatric medication, more frequent visits or inpatient care with a therapist who has greater training in treating depression, and/or a therapist who specializes in treating severe depression along with video game disorder and working as part of a help team.

If video game playing is an ongoing source of tension in your family, you may be beyond the stage of trying an in-home intervention.  If any attempt to curb your teen™s video game use or cellphone/computer use results in a heated argument, please give us a call today.

If Your Maryland Teen Only Feels Successful Online, Now is the Time for Gaming Addiction 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.  

There are several reasons why you should NOT wait:

  1. Parents know their teen best, and parents have good instincts about possible problems their teen might be having.  If you have that little nagging feeling in your gut, trust it!
  2.  Theoretically speaking, we know that we need to intervene as soon as possible since the majority of a human™s brain development occurs in the early years.  Think about the social level of a 10-year-old versus an 18-year-old. It™s only 8 years but the differences in development are vast.
  3. The effectiveness of early intervention has been demonstrated by plenty of research studies that went beyond the theoretical and actually investigated clinical cases. Teens with social, developmental, and addiction issues that get early intervention have better outcomes.
  4.  Sometimes excessive gaming and avoiding social opportunities is actually a sign that there are other problems occurring.
  5. Missing social learning opportunities results in later frustration. Teens that have difficulty communicating have difficulty connecting with others socially. This leads to frustration, tantrums, and potentially unmet needs.

Who does Camp Pocono Trails help?

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

Resources

Gaming Addiction Help: 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.

Set Up Your Playstation For a Teen with Video Game Disorder

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.

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 Maryland

Camp Pocono Trails helps Maryland families from cities and towns like Chevy Chase Village Somerset Travilah Chevy Chase Terrace Chevy Chase Brookmont Cabin John Potomac Bethesda Darnestown