Interview with Cosette Rae of reSTART
April 07, 2010
Back in July a detox center opened its doors to adults suffering from video game addiction in order help them overcome dependence on gaming, find a healthy balance, and reconnect with the world. The reSTART: Internet Addiction Recovery Program is the first of its kind in the United States. Co-founders Cosette Dawna Rae, MSW, and Hilarie Cash, PhD, had worked with adults in the past who exhibited signs of gaming addiction that were unresponsive to outpatient treatment. With no other resources available they decided to create a 45-day residential stay program tailored toward technology addiction that could offer the services they need.
The reSTART program has received nearly 100 applicants from all over the world – mostly male – since the program’s inception, with the majority of gaming addictions cited as related to World of Warcraft and first-person shooters on Xbox Live. Services are offered just 13 miles from Microsoft’s headquarters in Washington. Patients under the age of 18 are seen on an outpatient basis, while adults 18 and older can participate in the residential program. Now that reSTART has been open for several months, we reached out to Rae to discuss the current state of the program, video game addiction, the process of gaming rehab, and more.
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