Washington's Video Addiction Expert Invited to Address Issues in China

Video Game Addiction has been declared the #1 public health threat in China. Dr. Hilarie Cash, Redmond, WA has been invited to share her nationally recognized expertise with doctors and counselors in China to develop diagnostic criteria to assess and respond to internet and video game addiction in children and adults.

Dr. Cash will share her insights at the review meeting on the diagnostic criteria for Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) on November 8 in Beijing. Organized by the Health Institute of the People's Liberation Army of China, this two-day conference includes four Americans who treat and study Internet Addiction Disorder.

Among information Dr. Cash will share are specific criteria for determining an Internet Addiction Disorder. These include experiencing euphoria or relief on the internet, tolerance (the need for increasing time or intensity), withdrawal (agitation, shakes, irritability, etc. when deprived of internet access), and continuance in spite of negative consequences. A similar effort is underway in the United States. As research progresses, the data are pointing toward the need to revise the manual used to diagnose disorders, to include non-substance use addictions. Such a category might include Internet Addiction Disorder and Video Game Addiction Disorder.

Hilarie Cash, Ph.D. an experienced psychotherapist, educator, speaker and author of Video Games and Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control is a pioneer in the field of internet and gaming addiction. She speaks to schools, civic groups, the military, and other education and counseling related organizations. She also brings her message to parents and educators through the media and has been interviewed on NPR, CNN, PBS Frontline series, ABC news, the BBC, Fox's Morning Show, Newsweek, USA Today, and the New York Times.

She is the co-author of the recently released book, Video Games and Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control, written for parents who are worried that their children may be spending too much time playing video games. Based upon the latest research and the authors' clinical experience, the book explains what gaming addiction is, how much gaming is too much, and the effects gaming has on the brain and body. Advice is given for each specific stage of a child's life; and where there is a problem, the author provides parents with the tools necessary to be successful.

Video Game Book Outlines Dangers of Too Much Gaming

Ninety percent of our youth are playing video games. South Korea and China have declared video game addiction their most pressing public health problem. Parents in America are starting to notice, in a big way, that video games can be a problem for their kids, and are looking for tools that will help them successfully set appropriate limits for their children.

Video Games & Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control, is for parents who are worried that their children may be spending too much time playing video games. Based on research and the authors' clinical experience, the book explains what gaming addiction is, how much gaming is too much, and the effects gaming has on the body and brain. The authors give gaming advice on elementary school children, adolescents, and adult children still living at home. Where there is a problem, the authors provide parents with tools that will help them successfully set appropriate limits.

For example, infants and toddlers (birth to 2 years) should have no screen time at all. Birth through age one is the critical period when children learn to establish trust. What infants and toddlers need most is social interaction and physical contact with their caregivers. Early childhood (ages 2-6) is also a time for concern. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports total screen time (television and computers) of only one to two hours daily. Those cute games with cute heroes aren't helping children learn. Violent games with inappropriate content are even worse.

Hilarie Cash, PhD, is co-founder of Internet/Computer Addiction Services. She works with individuals and families struggling with all aspects of video game and internet addiction. She has been featured on local and national media and writes, lectures, and provides workshops on the subject.

Kim McDaniel, MA, is a child and family therapist who has been helping families with gaming addiction and internet addiction for the last decade. She writes on the subject of video game addiction and also provides media interviews and workshops.