Madrid launches therapy centre for teen mobile 'addicts'

Internet and mobile phone 'addiction' is currently not formally recognised as such – the official diagnostic manual, the DSM-5, only includes criteria for one behavioural addiction, which is gambling – but the increasing incidence of disordered use of new technologies is sparking ongoing research and it is likely to become a 'diagnosable' addiction at some point in the next few years.

And parents in Spain concerned about their children's dependence upon their phones report behaviour such as lying to get money out of them for credit top-ups, using their mobiles in secret, a decline in their performance at school and constant tiredness through using it until the early hours of the morning.

Madrid's new day centre, catering to children aged 12 to 17 inclusive, has three full-time mental health workers specialising in addiction and four part-time.

These professionals say parents should look out for increased frequency of mobile use, an abnormal amount of time and money spent on their phones, and loss of interest in other activities, all of which could indicate a loss of self-control.

As well as treating the teens themselves, the Assistance Centre for New Technologies provides training activities for parents and other relatives and also for professionals working with children and adolescents.

Group and one-to-one therapy, family therapy and advice for parents are offered, and the centre runs prevention and awareness campaigns to nip the disorder in the bud where this is still possible.

New 'patients' will be assessed upon arrival to ascertain their behaviour in general and in relation to their phones, as well as their interaction with other adults, and the extent to which they are able to control their mobile use.

How far their mobile dependence affects their schoolwork, social and family relationships and their personal care will also be investigated.

Where it is found that the child's phone use 'generates a significant alteration' in the way they lead their lives, says psychologist José Moreno Ortiz who runs the centre, a tailored treatment plan will be worked out.

Children need both parents' or guardians' signatures before being admitted to the programme, which is on an outpatient basis only rather than residential.