Family Therapy

Lastly, family therapy may be necessary among addicts whose marriages and family relationships have been disrupted and negatively influenced by Internet addiction. Intervention with the family should focus on several main areas: (a) educate the family on how addictive the Internet can be, (b) reduce blame on the addict for behaviors, (c) improve open communication about the pre-morbid problems in the family which drove the addict to seek out psychological fulfillment of emotional needs on-line, and (d) encourage the family to assist with the addict’s recovery such as finding new hobbies, taking a long over-do vacation, or listening to the addict’s feelings. A strong sense of family support may enable the patient to recover from Internet addiction.

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS OF PATHOLOGICAL INTERNET USE

Over the past few years, study of the psychological ramifications of the Internet has grown. At the 1997 American Psychological Association convention, two symposia presented research and theories examining the effects of on-line behavior patterns compared to only one poster presentation in the prior year. The emergence of a new psychological journal is being developed that will focus upon aspects of Internet use and addiction. It is difficult to predict the results of these early endeavors. However, it is feasible that with years of collective effort, Internet addiction may be recognized as a legitimate impulse control disorder worthy of its own classification in future revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Until then, there is a need for the professional community to recognize and respond to the reality of Internet addiction and the threat of its rapid expansion.

Surveys have found that about 47 million have ventured on-line and analysts estimate that another 11.7 million are planning to go on-line in the next year (Snider, 1997). With the growing popularity of the Internet, mental health practitioners should respond to the potential for an increased demand in treatment specifically designed to care for the Internet addicted patient.

Since this is a new and often laughed about addiction, individuals are reluctant to seek out treatment fearing that clinicians may not take their complaints seriously. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, community mental health clinics, and clinicians in private practice should avoid minimizing the impact to patients whose complaint involves Internet addiction and offer effective recovery programs. Advertisement of such programs both on-line and within the local community may encourage those timid individuals to come forward to seek the help they need.

Among university settings and corporations, it would be prudent to recognize that students and employees, respectively, can become addicted to a tool provided directly by the institution. Thus, college counseling centers should invest energy in the development of seminars designed to increase awareness among faculty, staff, administrators, and students on the ramifications of Internet abuse on campus. Lastly, Employee Assistance Programs should educate human resource managers on the dangers of Internet misuse in the work place and offer recovery services for those found to be addicted as an alternative to suspension or termination from employment.

To pursue such effective recovery programs, continued research is essential to better understand the underlying motivations of Internet addiction. Future research should focus on how psychiatric illness such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder may play a role in the development of pathological Internet use. Longitudinal studies of Internet addicts may reveal how personality traits, family dynamics, or communication skills influence the way people utilize the Internet. Lastly, outcome studies are needed to determine the efficacy of various therapy modalities and compare these outcomes against traditional recovery modalities.

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