World of Warcraft Joined by new 'Therapists'
It's no secret that Blizzard's World of Warcraft is one of the most addictive games of all time. And now particularly well-liked online game World of Warcraft will soon get an unofficial new character class: The Therapist. So Therapist joins World of Warcraft to treat ‘addicted’ players.
The London psychiatrist is leading a movement that would let mental health workers join online game worlds as avatars in order to better treat players suffering from game addiction, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Dr. Graham believes the key is reaching at-risk players on their own turf. He told the Telegraph that those affected do not exhibit the same outward warning signs as most teenage anti-social behavior issues do because they are in their bedrooms most of the time, apparently out of difficulty.
Still the issue of game addiction is quite thorny itself but The American Medical Association still doesn't consider game addiction to be a rightful disorder. Warcraft is "more addictive than crack cocaine", the other reports including a Swedish study claiming this.
To possibly give therapists free right of entry to the game, Graham expects to launch the project "by the end of the year," and has called on Warcraft maker Blizzard. He also notes that since most therapists maybe are not Warcraft experts, the project could potentially recruit gamers to act as "peer mentors" and help identify troubled players.
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