In total there are 13-15 sessions depending on which offering you are allocated to:
- 3 individual sessions, 1-2½ hours, including testing
- 9 group sessions with program content (2 hours), typically starting at 5pm on the designated evening, although times may be subject to change.
- 1 testing session to evaluate the retention of gains made in the program (1-1½ hours)
- Those designated to later offerings will attend 2 further testing sessions before the program starts.
Program sessions occur across 5 months, with the first 11 sessions occurring, roughly, in consecutive weeks. The final 2 sessions occur about 4 and 8 weeks after that. In addition, those in later offerings of the program will also need to do pre-program and post-program testing at the same time as the previous offering, to gather comparison data.
The program has five stages. What you can expect to happen at each stage, and in each session, are detailed below:
Stage 1 - Come in, stay in
Initial session. This is an individual session involving the teenager, a parent or parents and some RES@T team members. This will occur in the fortnight before the first program group session, at a time agreed between the parent and the RES@T team. In this session:
- The teenager and parent(s) will be introduced to the program and will discuss the teenager’s specific situation and needs;
- The teenager will be given a unique ID that will allow us to match data from different time points in the program, but in a way that makes the teenager unidentifiable in the main data set;
- The parent and teenager will each complete some online questionnaires while they are at the session;
- The teenager will undertake some cognitive function tests.
- At the completion of the session, both the teenager and the parent will receive a $20 gift card.
Stage 2 - Psychoeducation: Gain insight, get bright
Group sessions for teenagers
Program session 1: Participants get to know each other and discuss their own situations. Teams are formed and various games are played. Statistics and facts about problematic gaming are provided to help participants better understand the problem and to know that they aren’t alone in having a problem with video games. Participants reflect on when gaming wasn’t a problem for them and then set goals for the program.
Program session 2: In this session participants reflect on their own gaming behaviour, learn about what can cause problematic and disordered gaming, explore motivations to change gaming behaviour, and start to create their own explanation for why gaming has become a problem for them.
Stage 3 - Clever clogs instead of underdogs
Group sessions for teenagers
Program session 3: Eat, sleep, exercise, repeat. In this session, participants learn how gaming impacts a healthy lifestyle and how a healthy lifestyle, including sufficient sleep, can help them manage their gaming better. Participants reflect on how their gaming has impacted their sleep and daily routines.
Program session 4: Self care for confidence. In this session, participants learn about self care and regulating self-esteem. They explore their talents and strengths, and use a decision-making tool to identify offline areas of strength, and offline activities they would enjoy or like to develop.
The mid program review: This is an individual session involving the teenager, a parent or parents and some RES@T team members, that occurs in the week following program session 4. Individual feedback is given on the teenager’s progress and their training plan is evaluated. Any issues are discussed.
Stage 4 - Relation and Connection
Group sessions for teenagers
Program session 5: The circuit of emotions. The teenagers will learn about the functions their emotions have, and about functional and dysfunctional emotion regulation. Participants reflect on the roles their emotions play during gameplay and about their own style of managing emotions, and create a list of strategies to use when under stress.
Program session 6: Social relationships. Participants reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face versus online relationships, and the need for F2F relationships is discussed. Participants create their own social network as a basis for potential offline relationships and learn important communication and relationship skills.
Program session 7: Communication skills. Participants learn to differentiate between verbal and physical communication, and between communication that is validating versus invalidating. Participants learn about (cyber-)mobbing and rules of respectful interactions.
Stage 5 - Keeping the strength
Group session for teenagers
Program session 8: Relapse prevention. Participants learn about addiction memory and the concept of craving. They receive an anti-relapse plan and create a list of possibly risky situations that could lead back to problematic gaming. They add to the relapse plan problematic behaviours that could lead to a returning to old habits. Self-control strategies are also discussed. Training plans are evaluated and the winning team is announced.
Post-Program session: This is an individual session involving the teenager, a parent or parents and some RES@T team members that occurs in the fortnight following program session 8.
– Individual feedback will be given on the teenager’s progress
- The emergency plan will be revised/updated as needed
- The parent and teenager will each complete some online questionnaires;
- The teenager will undertake some cognitive function tests.
- At the completion of the session, both the teenager and the parent will receive a $20 gift card.
Group session for teenagers
Program session 9: Booster session. In this session, which is run about 4 weeks after Program session 8, there is an open group discussion, participants reflect on their progress, and the team offer assistance in maintaining healthy game use.
Retention testing: This is an individual session involving the teenager, a parent or parents and some RES@T team members that occurs about 8 weeks after the booster session. This is where we collect the final data that will help us understand whether the teenager has retained gains made during the program.
- The parent and teenager will each complete some online questionnaires;
- The teenager will undertake some cognitive function tests.
- At the completion of the session, both the teenager and the parent will receive a $20 gift card.
Those allocated to offerings three will do the same program BUT:
They will need to also attend two pre-testing sessions (see timetable). This is to collect comparison data that is crucial to understanding whether the program works.
Each teenager and each parent are given a $20 gift card at the end of each testing session. Those who are tested 5 times instead of 3, will receive $200 in gift cards across testing.
WHEN IS IT AVAILABLE?
Please check our available offerings and see if they align with your schedule. As mentioned previously, commitment to the program is a requirement, we want to make sure you get the most out of the program and being available for all sessions is a must for application.