Treating Internet Addiction: AI, Pornography, Social Media, Online Gambling, & Gaming
This training offers mental health professionals a clinical framework for identifying, assessing, and treating problematic screen use, including gaming, social media dependency, pornography, and online gambling. As screen time rises across age groups, compulsive use is increasingly linked to anxiety, depression, attention issues, and isolation. The course covers evidence-based strategies, including the process addiction model, attachment-focused approaches, and behavioral interventions. Topics include neurodevelopmental impacts, ADHD/ASD overlap, family dynamics, and the role of AI in shaping digital habits. Attendees gain practical tools to help clients build healthier relationships with technology.
Presenter:
Michael Eiden, PhD, LCSW, LCADC, CSAT, is a clinician, educator, and international trainer with expertise spanning the full continuum of addiction treatment—from acute detoxification to sustained recovery. His work focuses on the intersection of behavioral and chemical addictions, with specialized clinical depth in complex trauma, dissociation, and sexuality. Eiden has delivered training on topics including internet and screen addiction, the evolving impact of AI on psychotherapy, experiential approaches to treating trauma, shame, and the long-term effects of dysfunctional family systems. His doctoral research focused on developing effective parent education programs to prevent childhood internet addiction.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to apply the current diagnostics available for assessment of compulsive screen and internet use.
- Participants will be able to identify the physiological and neurological underpinning of screen compulsivity to inform clinical practice strategies.
- Participants will be able to utilize a conceptual framework of screen addiction treatment along with specific interventions.