Addicted to computer games? Finally, there's a clinic to help

(The Herald Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)WHO would have thought it? Once innocent paragons of childhood play, computer games are now deemed to be harmfully habit-forming.Next month will herald the beginning of an inaugural programme designed to tackle a particularly 21st century affliction - video game addiction.Aswith many maladies of the modern age, its origins lie in the US, home to millions of gamers. But it has since slithered down the transatlantic ether to Europe.The continent's first such clinic will open in Holland next month. Keith Bakker, director of Amsterdam-based Smith & Jones Addiction Consultants, said he has already treated 20 computer game addicts between the ages of 13 and 30 since January. Some clients, he revealed, exhibited withdrawal symptoms such as shaking and sweating upon looking at a computer.

The detox programme begins in July, running for four to eight weeks, including discussions with therapists and efforts to build patients' interests in alternative activities."We have kids who don't know how to communicate with people face-to-face because they've spent the past three years talking to somebody in Korea through a computer, " Mr Bakker said. "Their social network has completely disappeared."In Scotland, some computer game lovers admit to being addicted, but not all have to suffer the consequences. Keir McCann, a 23-year-old from Gorbals in Glasgow, works for Four Kings, a gaming company - also known as a clan - which involves players taking part in professional tournaments around the world.Though he has not made a fortune, his lifestyle is sustained by gaming. It began after he finished university, finding himself with more spare time. He did, he admits, "become increasingly addicted" to games, but has managed to harness his passion to make a living out of it, for the moment at least.Mr Bakker explained that addiction can start with a Game Boy, perhaps given by parents. From there, it can progress to multilevel games that aren't made to be won. Mr Bakker said he has seen signs of addiction in children as young as eight.Elizabeth Woolley, who founded the Safe Haven halfway house for addicted gamers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, welcomed the idea that treating addicts is spreading to the Netherlands. "Thank God that somebody has finally recognised this is an issue, " she said.Hyke van der Heijden, 28, a graduate of the Amsterdam programme, started playing video games 20 years ago. By the time he was in college he was gaming about 14 hours a day and using drugs to play longer.Van der Heijden first went to Smith & Jones for drug addiction in October last year, but realised the gaming was the real problem. Since undergoing treatment, he has distanced himself from his smoking and gaming friends. He says he has been drug and game free for eight months.
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