Therapist for young teen with phone addiction?
Has anyone tried therapy for their young teen with a phone addiction? Our 14 year old son displays all the signs of true addiction, and it's affecting our family life more and more. We'd like to have him talk to someone. Do any therapists specialize in this situation? Thanks in advance for recommendations.
May 28, 2017
Parent Replies
I'm so sorry to hear about your son's tech/phone addiction. I write and speak about children's technology issues, including addiction. I'm sorry I don't have a private practice, but I do work for Kaiser Permanente in the Bay Area if you happen to have that insurance. I can be reached through my website RichardFreed.com which also provides a number of resources.
If you don't have KP, I could ask colleagues if they work in your area of need.
While I can't speak professionally here, and I speak for myself and not Kaiser Permanente, general recommendations include bringing your son back into your family as much as possible, as tech addictions tend to distance kids from family. If we are going to lessen kids' use of tech, we need to help replace it with positive activities, and time with family is an important one. Also, please be mindful of your teen's safety, as unfortunately, tech addictions can be associated with kids' considering hurting themselves or others. For this reason, professional help is a good idea.
Regards,
Richard Freed, Ph.D., author of "Wired Child: Reclaiming Childhood in a Digital Age"
I'm not sure about specializing in that particular issue, but Nick Wightman is good with teen boys. Google for his website, he is East Bay.
I'm sorry to hear your family is dealing with such a problem. I don't have any therapist to recommend, but have you thought about severely restricting your son's access to a phone or taking it away altogether? My teen son is on his phone quite a bit, but I use an app called OurPact to remove all third-party apps from his iPhone (you could also remove texting/music/Safari etc.). My son has no access to his apps from 9 PM at night until 3 PM the next day (overnight and school days) and then again between 4 and 6 PM when I want him to be doing his homework. I am a little more lenient on weekends. All of this means that he does not have many opportunities to park himself in front of a screen. We also do not allow him to be on his phone during meals, car rides, and during family activities. If his grades fall below a certain benchmark, the phone is taken away altogether. Just sharing some things that have worked for our family. We remind our kids regularly that having a phone is a privilege and abuse results and it being taken away.