Letter received from a parent of a reSTART graduate
Received May 13, 2010
I am writing to give the highest recommendation of the extraordinary reSTART program for anyone who is dealing with computer, internet or video gaming addictions.
Our son went through many forms of treatment in dealing with an addiction to electronic gaming—in his case, World of Warcraft in particular. In every situation (office visits, hospital in-patient programs, wilderness therapy and residential treatment) he worked with people who were sincere, devoted, and insightful, but none of them reached him in the way that Hillarie Cash and Cosette Rae did at reSTART. He worked most closely with Cosette, who is a remarkable and empathetic therapist who also has the great advantage of truly understanding the issue of computer gaming and the nature of internet addictions. She has created an ideal environment for recovery at Heavensfield and I have no hesitation in recommending the reSTART program without any reservations at all.
In her individual work with our son, Cosette was able to identify some underlying social issues and find creative ways of helping him overcome some life-long problems. Of particular value was the way she found people who could tie into our son’s previous activities and interests and get him re-involved with his “real life.” All of the staff that worked with our son seemed to really connect with him. He really loved being at Heavensfield, and the transformation that occurred during the time he was in the reSTART program was remarkable. He came home with an understanding of his addiction, and of what he had lost over his year of playing World of Warcraft, and a real commitment to re-establishing real-life relationships.
Peter Alexander, Parent
Black Hawk, CO
Follow-up Received 10/6/2010
With the one-year anniversary of Ben’s media coverage, I have been contacting a few of the reporters who wrote about him a year ago. It occurred to me that you may still have e-mail addresses from quite a few people, both locally and around the world, who inquired about Ben. If so, I thought you might want to send out the good news that your first patient is still doing well and continues to make progress a year after he left reSTART. Ben has said he’d be happy to talk to any reporters that wanted to do a follow-up story.
Peter Alexander, Parent
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