Helpful Links for Treatment
As mentioned, internet addiction is becoming more and more prevalent as society’s use of the internet increases. While there is little research on internet addiction and effective treatment approaches, there are still various forms of treatment that may be successful. Most of the successful treatments that have been found are of a cognitive-behavioral therapy basis. This means that the focus of a therapy session is to modify thoughts so as to change a behavior.
Reality therapy is a kind of cognitive-behavioral therapy that has worked for many other types of addiction (such as drugs, sex, food, work, etc.). The main focus for this therapy is to put an emphasis on the fact that the client must make a choice about their future rather than dwell on what has happened in the past. Perhaps the client has been struggling with addiction for years and has made many faulty decisions because of this. Reality therapy allows for the client to “forget” about all that has happened and make a choice to change now and live for the future and not the past. Reality therapy is based on the choice theory, “which assumes that people are responsible for their lives and for what they do, feel, and think” (Kim, 2007).
Group therapy seems to be an effective means of beating addiction. This can be true for all sorts of addictions, not only that of the internet. Being in a group setting allows for accountability among group members. It can also bring a sense of belonging to a group and insight into how other members of that group are dealing with similar problems. It would be helpful to find a group that is aimed at having members that are all struggling with internet addiction; much like individuals struggling with alcoholism have Alcoholics Anonymous to turn to (Kim, 2007).
Another method that can be used to overcome internet addiction would be using different methods of time management. By doing this, the individual is forced to think about how much time is being spent on the internet and how they are using that time. There are many programs that can be downloaded to an individual’s computer to keep track of time online. One site in particular offers a download that starts to block certain sites after a prolong time online. This could be effective if an individual is struggling with cybersex. The site could track how long the person was online and begin to block these specific websites (Do Not Disturb site).
Other internet sites offer information on internet addiction and treatment approaches that might be effective for the individual. Some of these sites offer an opportunity to be a part of therapy online. This can be in the form of group support and accountability. Also, internet addiction sites can put the individual into contact with a real psychiatrist for help. This could be through e-mail or over the phone. In this case, it is more likely that the individual would be seeking help for an addiction on the internet (pornography, gambling, etc.) rather than an actual addiction to the internet. Obviously if an individual is addicted to the actual internet, therapy online would not be a sufficient way of combating addiction.