Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation Center

Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation Center

November 5, 2009

Following the news of a treatment center in the UK expanding its offerings to include treating game addiction, an Australian academic has called for a similar program to be launched down under.

Sydney University Psychiatric Professor Vladan Starcevic, also billed as a game addition expert, made the call for action to the Herald Sun citing his own recent research in which he polled 2,000 gamers. The results of the survey led him to believe that up to one in ten subjects showed signs of addictive behavior. Starcevic said that his study was undertaken due to more patients exhibiting signs of being addicted to games.

Of the UK’s Broadway Lodge treatment center, Starcevic noted, “I think it's good that someone has taken this seriously. I think it should be recognised that this is a problem for some people.”

Starcevic’s full study will be released in this month’s Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

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Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

Why do they think they need this?  Seriously? The video game ratings board is doing a great job as it is in limiting video game content that is coming into the country.

Leave it to the experts.

"God, is that you?"

"No! It's a me, Mario!"

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

I'd need rehab if I was stuck playing kiddie games forever too.

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

Someone wants funding.

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

I bet that if you had observed me in the last 7 days, someone with an agenda would define me as "addicted" to Borderlands.  Of course, someone who actually understands games would know the difference between "addicted" and "enjoying a compelling game".

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...
To fully understand the motivation behind this, you just have to read the very first part of the first sentence of this article:

"Following the news of [...] in the UK"

If the UK comes up with a stupid idea, Australia's politics must follow suit!

ZAR.
Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

Quick!  To the bandwagon.

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

I'd say, Don't need a rehabilitation centre, 

instead, talk to addicted gamers though their games and help on their social skills WITHOUT taking away their gaming time.

 

 

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

/facepalm

F#ck I really hate the moral minority in this country making the rest of us look like fools...

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

MEh, it'll happen for sue in Atkinson's region.

Re: Addiction Expert: Australia Needs Game Rehabilitation ...

Anyone trying to mass diagnose addictions with surveys shouldn't pose as an expert for the media. Handing in his degree and quitting would be far more appropriate.

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 02/09/10 at 10:59am
Valdearg: Honestly, the only thing I can imagine is the plaintiffs think it's their religious right to perpetrate violent criminal acts against homosexuals. Unfortunately, knowing some folks like that, it wouldn't surprise me if they did believe that.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:59am
Valdearg: @AE: I know, right? The only thing that law does is make a violent criminal act more severe if it was motivated by a hatred of homosexuals.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:43am
Andrew Eisen: What's amazing is the folks at that Law Center can't seem to read plain English that states that nothing in the law restricts someone's right to think what they want or say what they want.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:39am
Valdearg: But, hey, people are capable of anything when they use their religion as justification for their blatantly bigoted behavior.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:35am
Valdearg: It's amazing, that anyone with any humanity, whatsoever, would challenge a law that adds protections to a group of people who are excessively targeted for violent attacks, based strictly on who they are.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:33am
Valdearg: Essentially, he claims the law infringes on a Catholic's God Given right to express their beliefs. This is only true if he believes it's his God given right to use someone's homosexuality as motivation to assault, murder, or maim them.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:32am
Valdearg: Catholic Zealot Tom Monaghan's Catholic Law Center challenging Hate Crimes legislation, a law that adds protection for homosexuals against violent, criminal attacks.
Posted 02/09/10 at 10:30am
Valdearg: Yet another example of "Catholics behaving badly".
Posted 02/09/10 at 07:00am
Austin_Lewis: That Alabama school shooting is supposedly gang related, according to the shooter's lawyer.
Posted 02/08/10 at 10:22pm
JDKJ: Landrieu. That's a good Cajun name. I ga-run-tee.
Posted 02/08/10 at 09:36pm
BearDogg-X: New Orleans elected Sen. Mary Landrieu's brother, Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu as mayor Saturday night.
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:22pm
Valdearg: J/K, btw, with that last comment. Just in case anyone was confused.
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:21pm
Valdearg: This comes on the heels of Sarah Palin telling the Teaparty Convention to pray for Divine intervention to stop the Progressive tide. It seems she succeeded in recruiting the big man to offer some help. >.<
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:20pm
Valdearg: @A_L: I'm hearing that, as well.. It seems the dems aren't just losing seats via elections... :(
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:04pm
DarkSaber: Did he design Big Murtha Truckers 1 & 2?
Posted 02/08/10 at 01:50pm
Austin_Lewis: John Murtha reportedly deceased.
Posted 02/08/10 at 01:04pm
Shadow D. Darkman: DarkSaber: (EDIT) IDC really, it's just good to see some new stuff here.
Posted 02/08/10 at 01:02pm
DarkSaber: @Shadow If the on-going spat in China over WoW counts as "new" at least. Does anyone here REALLY give a shit about the state of chinas game industry anyway?
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:59pm
gellymatos: Oh, we pro-life advocates have our nutjuobs to (ie, guys who shoot up abortion clincs). We can have worse ones than yours.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:58pm
Shadow D. Darkman: Finally, new articles!
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