Are Video Games Taking Over Your Child's Life?
Help your child regain balance with Harvard-trained psychiatrist, Dr. Alok Kanojia.
Hi! I'm Dr. Alok Kanojia.
Most Gamers Call Me Dr. K.
I've worked with thousands of gamers to find balance with gaming and real life.
I'm also a gamer myself. In fact, my gaming almost caused me to fail out of college. Now, I'm faculty at Harvard Medical School, and I specialize in addiction psychiatry. I've also worked with gamers of all kinds over the past 5 years: children/adolescents (with their families), streamers, and pros. I founded Healthy Gamer as the best evidence-based psychiatric approach to balance gaming and real life.
I'll tell you right now: Taking away video games is NOT the answer. Instead, we will take a gamer-centric approach to put you and your child on the same team to figure out what real-life goals make sense.
The Healthy Gamer Community Is Saying
"Throughout the Healthy Gamer course, I began to realize how deeply video games affect children. I learned that there were things my son was secretly craving and wanting to fulfill in life. The resource showing the correlation between video game genres with specific personality traits and personal needs was so valuable." - Fiona B., Parent
“Dr. Kanojia recognizes the different appeals of video games and focuses on the individual. A personalized approach has given me hope and motivation for a career in medicine. If you are a parent, Dr. Kanojia is the most qualified person to deal with excessive gaming. His Harvard education is one thing, but because he overcame video game addiction himself is why he can see potential in gamers. This is why his treatment is so good. He goes beyond treating video game addiction and helps your child reach full potential in whatever they want to do. If you do work with Dr. K, the biggest thing I would say is be open for change. Be curious about the progress, but also be non-judgmental" -Zach F., Gamer
"It’s not a stretch to say Healthy Gamer has completely turned my life around. Dr. Kanojia really gets what’s it like to be us, the gamers, and he’s made himself an absolute expert in this understudied field. I’m honestly so thankful that I had the opportunity to be part of this program." - Richard W., Gamer
How much is too much?
A weekend spent gaming or a few all-nighters don’t set off alarm bells. In fact, focusing just on time misses the heart of the issue. Video games can have impact on five key dimensions:
✔ Physical health: disrupted sleep, significant weight gain/loss
✔ Mental health: lack of control over his/her mood
✔ Social health: inability to create or maintain relationships
✔ Emotional health: inability to regulate or express emotions
✔ Real world success: decline in academic and/or extracurricular performance, loss of motivation to do well, or disinterest in the real world
Help Your Child Regain Balance
Video games have significant effects on our sense of identity, accomplishment and community. And, we are just now as a medical community starting to understand them. Many of these effects are positive, and, in fact, studies show gamers have higher IQ's than non-gamers. However, video games can get in the way of real life. Whether you are trying to set good habits early, re-establish boundaries, or actively intervene in problematic video game binges, Healthy Gamer Family Programs can help your family right now.
You don't have to be the bad guy anymore. Our Understand - Talk - Act approach puts your relationship at the forefront. Dr. Kanojia takes you step-by-step through what is going on in your gamer’s brain and body, so you will be able to successfully engage your gamer in conversations about games before setting clear boundaries that work for both of you. The best part? We are using direct experience working with thousands of gamers into actionable programs real families can use.
The Healthy Gamer Guarantee
This approach has helped thousands of gamers reclaim their lives and reshape their relationship with video games within about 8 weeks. You each need space to process, breathe and help each other understand where you are coming from.
At the end of 8 weeks, after you have completed each of the videos and exercises, you should see your child start to re-engage with the real world. Remember, we are trying to avoid daily conflict, so progress can sometimes seem slow.
If this program really has not been helpful, you can message us within Teachable for your money back. I will be happy to learn from your experience and strengthen the materials for you and everyone else.
Our Understand - Talk - Act Approach Puts Your Relationship Front & Center
Your relationship is the single most important piece to this. These programs take you step-by-step to rebuild your relationship while understanding what is going on in your gamer’s brain and body. The type of game he/she plays, the types of stressors and support he/she has, and even your communication styles are all crucial things to figure out to best support your gamer. This helps engage your gamer in conversations about games before setting clear boundaries that work for both of you.