Resources
There are several organizations, therapists, websites, and books related to video game and technology addiction as a whole. Many of these offer beneficial resources, counsel, and information that can help you or your loved one overcome the addiction battle. While these resources are not a replacement for a recovery group or in-person counseling meeting, we hope the information below will help serve as an additional support network. We offer these resources for your reference. As we do not have experience with every organization or resource listed here, we cannot personally endorse the resources listed here.
Organizations and Websites
B.R.A.I.N.
Brain Rehabilitation And Injury Network. 5656 Corporate Ave., Cypres, CA 90630. (714) 828-1760 We are a non-profit organization that advocates for and gives therapy to adults with brain injuries. We stand strongly against gaming that is often introduced to survivors to help them with their brain issues. www.thebrainsite.org Addiction injures. Freedom gives life!
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington, DC 2002
800-374-2721
www.apa.org
The American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. It is the largest association of psychologists worldwide with more than 154,000 members.The site provides a variety of journals, articles, books, reports, and more.
The Center for Successful Parenting
PO Box 3794
Carmel, Indiana
www.sosparents.org
This site provides parents the opportunity to understand the effects of children viewing video violence. It has links to new scientific studies on the topic, research citations, tips for parents, news updates, and more.
Celebrate Recovery
www.celebraterecovery.com
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered recovery program for people with addictive behaviors. The twelve-step program helps people with hurts, hang-ups, and habits. This recovery program has been launched in over seventeen thousand churches and has had over seven hundred thousand graduates of the program.
Center on Media and Child Health
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
www.cmch.tv
The vision of this organization is to educate and empower children and those who care for them by teaching them to create and consume media in ways that optimize children’s health and development.The website offers information on understanding the effects of media on the physical, mental, and social health of children. There are resources for parents, teachers, and a complete database where individuals can ask questions to the experts about media and health.
Common Sense Media
650 Townsend Street, Suite 375
San Francisco, CA 94103
www.commonsensemedia.org
This non-profit organization offers trustworthy advice, articles, and resources in an independent, non-partisan forum for families and kids. There are free educator resources, tips on everything digital including reviews of games and other digital sources, and age-specific content for kids.
Entertainment Software Association
575 7th Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004
www.theesa.com
The Entertainment Software Association is “exclusively dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet.”The site includes facts about the video game industry, public policy information, articles, and various news releases.
Entertainment Software Rating Board
317 Madison Avenue, 22nd floor
New York, NY
www.esrb.org
The Entertainment Software Rating Board “assigns computer and video game content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and helps ensure responsible online privacy practices for the interactive entertainment software industry.”The site helps consumers, especially parents to make informed decisions about computer and video games they’re buying by assigning appropriate age and content ratings.
My Addiction
800-401-3218 (24-hour treatment line)
www.myaddiction.com
This online recovery resource provides treatment information for a significant amount of addictions. It offers information on support groups, treatment centers, blog, addiction-related video clips, and a glossary of addiction terms
On-Line Gamers Anonymous
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 2004
www.olganon.org
The mission of this organization is create a “fellowship of people sharing their experience, strengths, and hope to help each other recover and heal from the problems caused by excessive game playing.” The site provides individuals to come together as a community to help each other and support, offers information on various 12 step programs, withdrawal symptoms, recommended reading materials, news updates, and more.
RehabInfo
RehabInfo.net is a comprehensive guide for the entire treatment process – from spotting issues to finding and enrolling into rehabilitation. Yet it’s more than that; it’s also an extensive educational resource that includes up to date statistics, policy and regulation information as well as a section on careers in the industry. If that’s not enough, this site also cover a list of hot button issues that can be found on the blog and in the infographics library.
Books
Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap by Kevin Roberts
Kevin Roberts’ sober personal account of addiction, he reveals a modern society completely inundated with electronics. We are embroiled in stimuli from texting, chatting, social networking, casual gaming, and massive multi-user role-playing games that allow us to trade real life for highly stimulating virtual realities. For majority of users, these stimuli provide a brief, entertaining diversion from the quotidian. But for some, it results in destroyed careers and relationships, and ruined lives.
Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century by Tom Chatfield
Despite the recession, video games continue to break records—and command unprecedented amounts of media coverage. The U.S. is the world’s biggest video games market and manufacturer, with a market now worth over $20 billion annually in software and hardware sales—more than quadruple its size in the mid 1990s. World of Warcraft now boasts over 11 million players worldwide, and over $1 billion per year in revenues. Gaming is flourishing as a career and a creative industry as well. 254 U.S. colleges and universities in 37 states now offer courses and degrees in computer and video game design, programming and art. Video games are increasingly for everyone: 68% of American households now play computer or video games, while the average game player is 35 years old and has been playing games for twelve years.Against the popular image, too, 43% of online U.S. game players are female. The U.S. military alone now spends around $6 billion a year on virtual and simulated training programs, based around video games and virtual worlds. The budgets for developing the biggest games can now top the $100 million mark and are snapping up some of the biggest names in film—from Stephen Spielberg to Peter Jackson.
How to Help Children Addicted to Video Games by Brent Conrad
Dr. Conrad is a clinical psychologist that specializes in treating adults, teens, and children that are addicted to video games. The book provides techniques and strategies that Dr. Conrad has used when working with parents and children struggling with the addiction.
Playstation Nation by Olivia and Kurt Bruner
This book, written by two parents that saw video game addiction tendencies developing in their son write about addiction and share personal stories of addiction, helping other parents pinpoint the warning signs of addiction in their own children.
Unplugged: My Journey into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction by Ryan G. Van Cleave
WARNING: THIS VIDEO GAME MAY IMPAIR YOUR JUDGMENT. IT MAY CAUSE SLEEP DEPRIVATION, ALIENATION OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WEIGHT LOSS OR GAIN, NEGLECT OF YOUR BASIC NEEDS AS WELL AS THE NEEDS OF LOVED ONES AND/OR DEPENDENTS, AND DECREASED PERFORMANCE ON THE JOB. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY MAY BECOME BLURRED. PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SUICIDE ATTEMPTS.No such warning was included on the latest and greatest release from the Warcraft series of massive multiplayer online role-playing games—World of Warcraft (WoW). So when Ryan Van Cleave—a college professor, husband, father, and one of the 11.5 million Warcraft subscribers worldwide—found himself teetering on the edge of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, he had no one to blame but himself. He had neglected his wife and children and had jeopardized his livelihood, all for the rush of living a life of high adventure in a virtual world.A fabulously written and gripping tale, Unplugged takes you on a journey through the author's semireclusive life with video games at the center of his experiences. Even when he was sexually molested by a young school teacher at age eleven, it was the promise of a new video game that had lured him to her house. As Ryan's life progresses, we witness the evolution of video games—from simple two-button consoles to today's multikey technology, brilliantly designed to keep the user actively participating. For Ryan, the virtual world was a siren-song he couldn't ignore, no matter the cost.As is the case with most recovering addicts, Ryan eventually hit rock bottom and shares with you his ongoing battle to control his impulses to play, providing prescriptive advice and resources for those caught in the grip of this very real addiction.
Video Game Addiction Worldwide by James Miller
This book looks at video game addiction in both adults and children. Topics include addiction to video games, social networking, pornography, and the health effects of technology addiction.
Therapy Centers
reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program
1001 290th Ave. SE
Fall City, WA 98604
(800) 682-6934
www.netaddictionrecovery.com
This is an intensive on-site treatment center for problematic computer, video game, Internet, and cell phone use. The program is individually tailored for participants to help break the cycle of behavioral addiction and dependency.
Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery
5409 N. Knoxville Ave.
Peoria, IL
1-800-522-3784