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Internet addict rehab center opens
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Everquest and World of Warcraft wouldn't be nicknamed "NeverRest" and "World of Warcrack" if those games didn't have some addictive qualities to them. For some gamers, those addictions can ruin their lives. However, a new rehab center specializes in treating internet addicts and online gamers. The reStart: Internet Addiction Recovery Program in Fall City, Washington, hopes to help people overcome their dependence on what it calls the "aspects of Internet Addiction." Those aspects include gaming, gambling, and texting.
The six-bed facility is located near Redmond, the home of Microsoft. It's situated on five acres of land featuring fields and forested paths. The daily schedule of the program offers an hour of physical activity, several group therapy sessions, a few individual therapy sessions, and plenty of time for meditation. There's also the usual 12-step program that's used by Alcoholics Anonymous and other rehab programs.
The 45-day program was designed by Hilarie Cash, PhD, and Cosette Rae, MSW. Cash is the co-author of Video Games and Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control, and claims to have been treating Internet and video game addiction for nearly 15 years. Rae is a psychotherapist with an Internet background.
Cash and Rae cite research that claims up to 10% of the online population is dependent on "aspects of cyber technology and the Internet." They say the signs of computer and internet addiction include craving time on the Internet at the expense of friends and family, feeling restless when not gaming or on the Internet, and a sense of euphoria when online.
Rehab doesn't come cheap. The 45-day program costs $14,500, which amounts to more than $300 a day. There's also an application fee, an interview fee, and other costs. It'd be interesting to see how much insurance providers are willing to fund.
$14,500 amounts to at least 80 years on World of Warcraft.
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