CBT Treatment of Internet Gaming Disorder

For most people, gaming is perceived as a positive activity. In some cases, however, gaming may turn into an addiction with consequences for the individual health, quality of life and everyday life. Today, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions to treat this condition, called Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). This study will evaluate a new manual for treatment of IGD, divided into a number of modules and based on cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT). The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and will be conducted at a clinic specialized in the treatment of gambling and gaming addiction. Participants included in the study will be randomized to one of to groups. The intervention group will receive ten weeks of individual CBT-treatment while participants allocated to the control group will be offered a number of short weekly interactive psycho educative sessions. The hypothesis is that the manual based CBT treatment will result in a greater reduction in number of hours spent on gaming and number of criteria for IGD.