Video Game Addiction Therapy in Denver
My Denver Therapy provides video game addiction therapy for teens and adults at four Denver-area offices and online across Colorado.
Press reset on your day-to-day life
Gaming disorder is a recognized condition in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11, and we treat it the way we treat any behavioral addiction: with therapists who work with compulsive behavior, attention to what the gaming is doing for the person, and, for teens, direct work with parents. New clients are usually seen within a week.
For a parent, it looks like this: a kid who used to have friends and grades and now has a headset, who rages when the Wi-Fi goes off, who is awake at 3 a.m. and asleep at noon, and who has stopped talking to you about anything that is not a game. Every attempt to limit it becomes a war.
For an adult, it looks like a job that is slipping, a partner who has stopped asking, and twenty hours a weekend that you cannot account for and cannot stop. You have told yourself it is a hobby. You have also uninstalled the game four times.
Gaming is not the problem for most people who play. For the people on this page, it has become the thing that organizes everything else.
When gaming becomes an addiction
The ICD-11 defines gaming disorder by three features over at least twelve months: impaired control over gaming, gaming taking priority over other interests and daily activities, and continuing despite negative consequences. In practice:
- Playing far longer than intended, nearly every time
- Lying about or hiding how much you play
- Irritability, anger, or distress when play is interrupted or unavailable
- Sleep reversal, missed school or work, dropped activities and friendships outside the game
- Playing to escape anxiety, depression, loneliness, or conflict, and feeling worse after
- Repeated failed attempts to cut back
- Spending beyond your means on in-game purchases, loot boxes, or skins
Why games are built to be hard to stop
Modern games use the same variable-reward mechanics as slot machines: loot boxes, daily login rewards, battle passes, ranked ladders that reset, and social obligations to a team that needs you online. Add a community that may be the only place a socially anxious teen feels competent, and the pull is not a failure of willpower. Treatment starts by naming that honestly.
What gaming is usually doing for the person
In our experience, compulsive gaming is almost always regulating something. For teens, that is often social anxiety, bullying, ADHD, depression, or a home that feels like a place to escape from. For adults, it is often loneliness, burnout, unprocessed trauma, or a sense of failure in the offline world that the game reverses. Treating the gaming without treating that is why “just take the console away” does not work.
How we treat video game addiction
Assessment first. We screen for ADHD, autism spectrum traits, anxiety, and depression, because they change the treatment and are often the reason the gaming took hold.
Motivational and cognitive work. Most gamers, especially teens, arrive unwilling. Motivational interviewing meets that honestly. CBT and ACT address the urges, the triggers, and the rebuilding of an offline life worth choosing.
Parts and body work. Internal Family Systems works with the part that needs the game and what it protects. Somatic therapy helps a dysregulated nervous system settle without a screen.
A realistic goal. For most adults, the goal is controlled play with boundaries, not abstinence. For some teens, a full break is necessary before anything else can happen. We decide this with you, not for you.
Medication when it helps. Our psychiatric nurse practitioner provides medication management for ADHD, depression, or anxiety when they are driving the gaming.
For parents of a teen who games too much
You cannot out-restrict a gaming addiction, and the fight over the router is making things worse. Our teen therapists work with your child individually, and our parent coaching works with you on structure, boundaries that hold, and how to stay connected to a kid who has retreated into a game. Family sessions bring both together. Many teens who refuse therapy will attend when it is clear the goal is not to take gaming away but to make the rest of life work again.
Frequently asked questions
Is video game addiction real?
Yes. Gaming disorder is recognized by the World Health Organization in the ICD-11, defined by impaired control, gaming taking priority over other activities, and continued play despite harm, over twelve months or more. It responds to treatment.
How many hours of gaming is too much?
There is no hour threshold. The question is control and consequences: whether the person can stop when they intend to, and whether school, work, sleep, or relationships are suffering. A heavy player with a full life is different from a moderate player who cannot stop.
My teen refuses therapy. Can you still help?
Yes. Parent coaching changes the home environment and the dynamic around gaming even when the teen will not attend, and many teens join once they understand the goal is not confiscation.
Do you make people quit gaming entirely?
Not usually. For most adults and many teens, the goal is controlled play with boundaries. Some situations call for a full break first. We decide that collaboratively.
Is gaming addiction related to ADHD or autism?
Frequently. Both make games unusually rewarding and the offline world unusually hard. We assess for both and treat them alongside the gaming.
Do you offer online therapy for gaming addiction?
Yes, across Colorado. Some clients prefer in-person sessions specifically to get away from the screen, and we offer both.
Other Specialties
Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are.
Rachel Naomi Remen
Meet our therapists
As a therapist-owned practice, we care about helping you heal, grow, and thrive. We take a client-focused approach to counseling and approach each session with a commitment to your progress and growth.
Availability
We’re always accepting new clients at our conveniently located offices in Denver, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, and Arvada. All of our therapists can meet with clients online.
We specialize in you
You are welcome here. Because we have a large team with a wide range of specialties and trainings, we work with clients of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages.
We can match you with a male or female therapist who matches your goals, location, and schedule. If you have a preference for gender, age, religious background, or a person with a specific type of training or life experience, we can match you with a therapist you feel comfortable with.
Trained in effective therapy modalities
To support your mental health journey, our team is trained in some of the most effective forms of therapy available today, including EMDR, Brainspotting, CBT, DBT, and IFS.
Whether you’re looking for help with anxiety, depression, trauma, or want to better understand your relationship and attachment styles, we can help.
Insurance information
We’re out of network with insurance and Tricare and are unable to take Medicaid or Medicare.
Unlike many Denver therapy practices, we don’t charge separate intake or administration fees or charge more for your first session or specialized therapy methods like EMDR.
Get matched with a therapist
Contact us today, and one of our therapists will reach out to you directly, usually the same day.