Treatment with the Self-Discovery Camp (SDiC) Improves Internet Gaming Disorder
This 2017 Addictive Behaviors paper, with Susumu Higuchi as senior author, reports on a residential program called the Self-Discovery Camp, adapted from a South Korean model and run for ten adolescent boys already diagnosed with internet gaming disorder under DSM-5 criteria. Over an eight-night stay combining psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and group activity, staff tracked participants' gaming hours and their own sense of readiness to change. Three months after the camp, the study found participants were spending less time gaming and reported greater confidence in their ability to change their gaming habits, with earlier onset of heavy gaming associated with stronger gains in problem recognition. The authors call for larger studies with comparison groups and longer follow-up before drawing firm conclusions. TechKids Foundation includes this entry as an example of a structured, short-term intervention associated with reduced gaming time in a small group of adolescent boys.
Sakuma, Hiroshi, Satoko Mihara, Hideki Nakayama, Kumiko Miura, Takashi Kitayuguchi, Masaki Maezono, Takuma Hashimoto, and Susumu Higuchi. "Treatment with the Self-Discovery Camp (SDiC) Improves Internet Gaming Disorder." Addictive Behaviors 64 (2017): 357–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.06.013