Question 1

Is this really an addiction?

Accepted Answer

Yes and no. Problematic screen and gaming use shares core features with substance addictions: tolerance, withdrawal-like distress when prevented, loss of control, and continued use despite consequences. Gaming Disorder is formally recognised by the WHO. Most clients I see have not crossed into formal disorder territory but are losing meaningful time, sleep, relationships, or function to screens. Whether or not the addiction label fits, the patterns are real and respond well to treatment.

Question 2

When should I get professional help?

Accepted Answer

The signal is not the number of hours. It is functional impairment: sleep degrading, schoolwork or job performance slipping, social withdrawal, irritability when offline, escalating conflict at home, or repeated failed attempts to cut back. If any of these have been present for more than a month and self-management is not working, professional help shortens recovery considerably and avoids the cycle of failed willpower attempts that erodes confidence.

Question 3

What happens in a session?

Accepted Answer

The first sessions map the actual pattern: what you (or your teenager) use, when, what need it meets, and what it costs. From there, sessions combine motivational work (clarifying what life looks like with less screen use), cognitive work (the thinking patterns that justify continued use), and concrete environmental design (device placement, friction, replacement behaviours). I do not use shame, and I do not start with abstinence unless that is clinically warranted.

Question 4

Do you just tell people to stop gaming or scrolling?

Accepted Answer

No, and that approach almost never works. Telling someone to stop a behaviour that is regulating real underlying distress (boredom, anxiety, social anxiety, loneliness, ADHD-driven dopamine seeking) just makes the urge stronger. The work is in understanding what the screen use is actually doing for the person, building alternative ways to meet that need, and then reducing screen use as the alternatives come online. Cutting off without replacing rarely lasts.

Question 5

How long does it take to see change?

Accepted Answer

Initial change is usually visible within four to eight weeks, particularly around sleep, conflict at home, and time use. Deeper change (different relationship with boredom, different default response to stress) typically takes three to six months of consistent work. Teenagers often respond faster than adults once the household environment is set up to support change. Adults with longstanding patterns sometimes need longer because the screen use has become woven into how they regulate stress.

Question 6

Do you work with parents too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For child and adolescent cases, parent involvement is often the primary intervention. Devices and screens sit inside a family system, and most household phone and gaming dynamics cannot change without parents making structural changes that the child cannot make alone. I work with parents on rules that hold, conversations that do not escalate, and the difficult middle period when a teenager is angry about new limits and needs the parent to remain calm and consistent.

Screen Time & Digital Overuse