Clinical notes on treatment and intervention for Video-game addiction seen in my youth in modern day. Clinical review on research and clinical application of Narrative Therapy for treatment of VGA. (Stotler, 2020).

1. Running head: VIDEO GAME ADDICTION
Review: Video Game Addiction
Jacob Ryan Stotler
CO 506-93
July 31, 2020
Dr. Hollingsworth
The University of West Alabama

2. VIDEO GAME ADDICTION 2
Video Game Addiction
Graham, J. (2014). Narrative therapy for treating video game addiction. International journal of
mental health and addiction, 12, 701-707. DOI 10.1007/s11469-014-9491-4.
The article reviews the counseling modality Narrative therapy as a treatment for video game
addiction, and especially by tailoring the therapeutic modality to the culture relevant to the client.
The article focuses on using the skills needed to be a successful video-game player in the
therapeutic modality of narrative therapy, to make needed changes to their lives.
Description
Video game addiction (VGA) is defined in the article, as a recognized clinical addiction,
in which the addiction of video games becomes clinically significant to the individual’s normal
functioning. VGA may instigate or produce side effects or deleterious effects from the
individual’s involvement and overly-devoted behaviors of playing video games. VGA has been
defined as an addiction but not a disorder in individuals that play video games for many hours or
many days, and it is relevant in such cases that people (gamers) suffer effects such as seizures,
poor school performance, other side effects and even death (Graham, 2014).
Theory about the Specific Addiction per the Article
There are many theories involved in the diagnosis and treatment of VGA. These theories
mostly hypothesize how VGA is enacted, how and why people become addicted and what kind
of underlying factors predispose an individual to become addicted to video-games, while
pinpointing factors involved in effective treatment. In this article the theory of understanding
VGA is described as a social-cultural and psychological approach to dissecting the “negative
approaches of the individual.” The treatment theory involves deriving the benefits and positive
rewards that the person sees in the gaming, and working with the client so that they acknowledge

3. VIDEO GAME ADDICTION 2
that these skills are real, and can be applied outside of the gaming world [client skills focused
therapy] (Graham, 2014).
Etiology of the Specific Addiction per the Article
Right now, the etiology of VGA is becoming quite important and more so as the eras
evolve and technology is more readily available and pressured upon our society and youth.
Currently, video games are readily recognized to have “potential addictive properties” and to
recognized to have “positive” and “deleterious effects” on the user. Such addictions may ensue
when the frequency of use or playing interferes with other activities in the individual’s life, or
when behind the negative repercussions the individuals do not inhibit their video game playing.
There is not currently an American recognized diagnosable disorder, although in future editions
we may see this disorder listed in the DSM-V, in the section “Non-substance related disorders,”
with “Gambling disorder” (Graham, 2014).
Strategies for Prevention, Intervention, Treatment
In this article the treatment applied was “Narrative therapy” in 4-stages: 1. Deconstruct
problem-saturated-stories. 2. Author new-story. 3. Make new-story real (Graham, 2014). This
approach focused on making the video game addiction an identified problem and separate the
client from seeing themselves as an “addict.” This therapy worked for clients to “narrate” their
life as a person that has an addiction. The treatment was found to be successful for some gamers
and assisted the client to acknowledge skills that they had, and separate their strategies from
gaming, allowing the client to attain control, increase self-efficacy while externalizing the
problem.

4. VIDEO GAME ADDICTION 2
References
Graham, J. (2014). Narrative therapy for treating video game addiction. International journal of
mental health and addiction, 12, 701-707. DOI 10.1007/s11469-014-9491-4.