Belgium to open clinic to treat internet, gaming addicts

One of Belgium's biggest teaching hospitals is opening a clinic specializing in the growing problem of internet and computer game addiction, local media reported Thursday.

The announcement by Saint-Luc university hospital in Brussels came after a 2013 study found nearly 10 percent of Belgian teenagers aged 12 to 17 suffered from "compulsive" internet use and nearly 3 percent had a "serious" addiction.

Belgian public broadcaster RTBF reports that the clinic will open in October, in collaboration with the psychology faculty at Louvain-la-Neuve Catholic University, and will work with similar clinics in London, Geneva and Nantes in France.

Prof. Philippe de Timmary, a doctor at the hospital's adult psychiatric unit, said: "Behavior becomes excessive from the moment that patients disconnect from other areas of life, feel discomfort when not engaged in such activity or become more and more socially isolated."

He said the problem could apply to online games, chat services, social networks and gambling -- and that more research was needed into the phenomenon.

The clinic will offer personalized treatments, individually and in groups, and will also examine the link with other addictions, notably alcohol, RTBF added.

A 2013 research project, called CLICK (Compulsive Computer Use and Knowledge Needs in Belgium) found compulsive internet use was not just a teenage problem, affecting 5.5 percent of Belgian adults. Enditem