Treatment for tech-addict children

Children who are hooked on computer games, the internet or their mobile phone can now seek help from what is thought to be the first dedicated technology addiction service for young people in Britain. Capio Nightingale Hospital, in central London, launched the service following calls from parents concerned about their children's behaviour. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Richard Graham said parents told him their children flew "into a rage" when they were told to turn off their computer and police had even been called to sort out the rows. Dr Graham, who is leading the new addiction treatment, said services need to "adapt quickly" to help young people affected by technology addiction - who he dubbed "screenagers" - rather than sticking with the same treatment models used for substance abuse. "Mental health services need to adapt quickly to the changing worlds that young people inhabit, and understand just how seriously their lives can be impaired by unregulated time online, on-screen or in-game," he said. "We have found that many of the existing services fail to recognise the complexity of these situations, borrowing from older models of addiction and substance misuse to very limited effect. "This is why Capio Nightingale Hospital has launched the first Young Person Technology Addiction Service, which we hope will address the underlying causes of this addiction to transform screenagers back into teenagers." The treatment aims to increase off-screen social activities and improve the person's confidence in face-to-face situations, the lack of which may have made them more susceptible to technology addiction. It also encourages them to think about their relationship with their phone, computer games or social networking websites like Facebook and teaches them skills to help them to switch off. Dr Graham told the London Evening Standard the technology addicts - who he compared to gambling addicts - were hyper-stimulated so they were "always on the alert" and could suffer withdrawal symptoms like agitation. I've been contacted by parents who see their children going into a rage when they're told to turn off their computer. Some end up having to call the police," he said. Other clinics, including The Priory, offer treatment for internet addiction but have no dedicated service for young people.(my view)-This is just another con for MORE money raped from our hands,plus this will not cure addicts as tech is thrusted in peoples faces day in day out.....the governments to blame and then they blame us for addiction when their the suppliers