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Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Problematic Internet Use—Experiences from Germany

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Internet Addiction

Abstract

In this chapter, the Internet usage behavior of the general population and the prevalence of problematic Internet use will be discussed and a variety of treatment options are introduced. Theoretically and practically, through use of a case study, the brief intervention, “Compass”, is described. The last section considers research on the efficacy of existing approaches to the treatment of problematic Internet use. To contextualize the prevalence of Internet use, the underlying concepts and the therapy, this chapter opens with a brief consideration of television and the debate about TV dependency, which took place during the 1990s.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Germany four kinds of secondary schooling exist: (1) Grammar school (Gymnasium) until grade 12, qualifying for university. (2) Technical school (Realschule) until grade ten. (3) The least academic Elementary school (Hauptschule) until grade nine or ten, and (4) the Comprehensive school (Gesamtschule), which is not included in the statistic.

  2. 2.

    The TOTE scheme is especially useful in the early stages of therapy due to its simplicity, although it does not do full justice to the complexity of the underlying process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Addiction and Psychotherapy, LVR-Clinic Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Wolfgang Dau, J. D. G. Hoffmann & Markus Banger

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  1. Wolfgang Dau
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  2. J. D. G. Hoffmann
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Correspondence to Wolfgang Dau .

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  1. Universität Ulm, Molekulare Psychologie, Ulm, Germany

    Christian Montag

  2. Differentielle & Biologische Psychologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Martin Reuter

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Dau, W., Hoffmann, J.D.G., Banger, M. (2015). Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Problematic Internet Use—Experiences from Germany. In: Montag, C., Reuter, M. (eds) Internet Addiction. Studies in Neuroscience, Psychology and Behavioral Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07242-5_12

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