Case Study Assessment of Addiction : Computer Videogames

Client’s Identity

The client is a 16-year old Korean adolescent, who lives with his mother and his brother. The client moved to the U.S. four years ago and had problems with adaption in the new surrounding.

  • Identify the addiction that this client presents with.

The client has a video game addiction. He spends about 3-5 hours per day playing computer games. During the weekends overall time of playing computer games makes up to 13 hours.

  • Does he have a substance addiction, like alcohol, prescription drugs, or illicit drugs?

The client does not have any substance addiction. He is not addicted to alcohol or drugs.

  • Does he have a process addiction, like gambling, video gaming, or shopping?

The client has a process addiction. He is addicted to playing video games. He spends about three – five hours playing video games during work days and about 13 hours on the weekends.

 Assessment

  • Identify the physiological procedure the client uses for administration of his addiction (oral, injection, watching videos, phone calls). o Describe the type of environment in which the client spends his time.

The client plays a computer video games. He plays them online. He video games from home. He needs a computer and access to the Internet in order to be able to play. The client spends most of his time at home, where he plays video games. He also attends school and sometimes meets his friends.

  • Is there support within the family?

The family is disturbed by his addiction and with the behavior change. His mother and his brother make effort to provide him with necessary help in order to be able to deal with his addition.

  • Does the client hang around with friends who are using addictive substances?

The client does not communicate with friends a lot. He spends most of the time at home. Moreover, originally, addiction was developed because he felt lonely and did not have enough communication with his friends.  At the same time, boys of his age often play video games. At this point, it is possible to state that his friends may also have video game addiction.

  • Is the client working for a company where his addiction is encouraged?

The client attendees school.  The school does not encourage his addiction by any means.

  • What is the client’s philosophical stand about his addiction?

The client does not recognize the problem. He believes he is able to quit playing video games any time.  In the process of treatment, he came to the realization he was not able to quit playing Video games.

  • What is his motivation level for getting help?

The client recognizes he needs the help of the specialist. Despite the fact that it was his mom, who brought him to the counselor, he is ready to cooperate.

  • Is there a sense of hope or hopelessness?

The client wants to have improvements in his life. He is ready to put effort to reach desired results. He is also ready to discuss his problems and is ready to perform different actions, aiming to overcome the addiction.

Addiction information

  • Provide the history of the addiction. (Is it a substance or process addiction?)

The client has a process addiction. He plays video games too much time.

  • What is the history of the addiction?  

The client has a video game addiction. Video game addiction was recognized as an addiction only in 1995. Rapid technological development and digital development made computer games accessible from private households and different gaming communicates. This let children and adults get easy access to different video games. With the flow of the time, it became evident that people, who spend much time playing computer games, present all sings of addition. They cannot control the process, they spend too much time on their addiction. They have health disorders, such as eating and sleeping disorder, insomnia, and other physical signs of addiction. They lose interest in things, which surround them in real life. Their relationship with the surrounding deteriorate.

 Differentiate between the physiological and psychological effects of the addiction.

  • Does the addiction physiologically affect the client’s behaviors and mental processes? If so, how?

Video games addition affects the client both, psychologically and physically. The client spends 3-5 hours playing on the computer, and this naturally has a negative effect on his health state.

  • Does the addiction psychologically affect the client’s behaviors and mental processes? If so, how?

Psychological addiction is expressed in mood changes, depression, losing interest to the environment, except for the video games. The client’s relations with his family members also became worse. He lost interest in other occupations and activities, except for gaming.

Results

  • Did the client respond positively to the treatment?

In general, the client showed good treatment results. Despite the fact that he attended only 5 sessions out of 8, that were planned in the beginning, he managed to reduce to time spent on video games. He also started spending more time with his friends.

First of all, he recognized he had an addiction problem. The counselor had to use a special program to help the client calculate the time he spent playing video games. The client also recognized he had video game addiction. He also realized he could not stop playing games according to his desire. The plan was developed to deal with the problem. The client signed up the contract, where he took obligations, aiming to help him take control over his gaming habits. He followed the contract and got promised stickers. The client took conscious effort to deal with the problem and follow the recommendations. He showed positive results during several first sessions. He managed to reduce the time, spent playing video games. He also found time to learn how to play golf and started attending golf club.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, which was used for this case, proved to be effective for the client. He recognized the problem and got effective instruments to deal with it. He got instruments for self-control and self-monitoring. He also distinguished factors, which contributed to his video game dependence, and those factors, which helped to overcome it.

  • Did the client relapse?

The client did no finish the course of treatment. He attended 5 sessions instead of 8 that were planned. In addition, he had a relapse after the 4th session. He turned back to uncontrolled playing video games. He also did not come to the counselor for two weeks, explaining his absence by lack of time and a long way to the office. The client did not follow the conditions of the contract, he signed during his second visit. Positive dynamics, which was traced in the first part of the treatment process illustrated the effectiveness of the method. At the same time, the client decided not to continues his sessions.

References

Samet, Sharon, Hasin,  Deborah, (Dec. 2007). Assessing Addiction: Concepts and Instruments, Addict Sci Clin Pract.,  4(1): 19–31.

Xu,  C. S., Chen, J., Adelman,  R. A. (2015 Sep).  Video Game Use in the Treatment of Amblyopia: Weighing the Risks of Addiction Yale J Biol Med. 88(3): 309–317.  

Individual differences in motives, preferences, and pathology in video games: the gaming attitudes, motives, and experiences scales (GAMES)

Hilgard, Joseph,  Engelhardt, Christopher, Bartholow. Bruce, (2013). Front Psychol; 4: 608.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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