Free program tackles problematic gaming and screen usage

A new free program aimed at teenagers with problematic gaming and screen habits will get underway in February at Wyong.

Macquarie University Psychology Honours student Emily Kopp has been working with Associate Professor Wayne Warburton to develop the program.

The program is called RES@T-A and is for teens whose gaming interferes with at least one important area of their life such as schoolwork, relationships, mental health or physical health.

“In brief, the program was developed and refined over the past two years by teams from Germany and Australia and has been successfully trialled by our partners at the University of Hamburg,” Kopp said. “It is for high school aged students who struggle to manage their video game play or general screen use and is designed to be fun and engaging.

“It involves nine group sessions and three-six one on one sessions, to be held at Wyong.

“We have nearly finished with the first offering of the program, which began in mid-October last year, and from what we have seen it seems to be working as intended.

“We have 11 impressive teens who have completed the bulk of the program and have all reported benefits in at least one area of their lives, including physical health, schoolwork and sleep hygiene.

“Now we are looking for participants to undertake the second offering of our study, beginning in the first week of February.

“We believe there would be a lot of Central Coast parents struggling with their teenagers’ screen use.”

The sessions will be held at the Mind and Me psychology clinic at 33 Margaret St, Wyong.

More information on the program and registration details can be found at www. resataus.com.