Center Opens to Treat Internet Addiction

2009-09-04 02:43:50 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Health & Fitness, Press Releases)

Wired PR News reports the first residential treatment facility for Internet addiction has opened in the U.S.

A center for helping those battling Internet addiction has opened in the U.S.

Press Release – Wired PR News – What is touted as the first residential treatment center in the U.S. for Internet addiction has recently opened. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), ReSTART, which is said to be in relatively close proximity to the Microsoft headquarters, provides a 45-day program for those struggling with the disorder, or unable to overcome obsessive behaviors when it comes to use of computer technologies.

Hilarie Cash, ReSTART therapist and executive director, is quoted by the AP as stating, “We’ve been doing this for years on an outpatient basis… Up until now, we had no place to send them.”

As noted in the report, there has been much debate over the classification of Internet addiction as a disorder and how it should be treated. Dr. Ronald Pies, professor of psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University, is quoted by the AP as stating, “From what we know, many so-called `Internet addicts’ are folks who have severe depression, anxiety disorders, or social phobic symptoms that make it hard for them to live a full, balanced life and deal face-to-face with other people… It may be that unless we treat their underlying problems, some new form of `addiction’ will pop up down the line.”

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