Internet addiction help, online or in Toronto East Beaches
Ontario licence valid throughout English Canada
Beth Mares RP helps with:
Pornography addiction--see sex addiction help and fallacies about pornography
Internet preoccupations--addiction to chat rooms, games, social media etc.; inability to limit these activities
Anxiety caused or aggravated by obsessive scouring of the internet in a futile attempt to understand something one is worried about
Relationships or family life impoverished by unbounded technology use
Work emails disrupting work-life balance
Parenting children and teens who spend too much time on games and the internet
Internet-related falling performance at work or school
Insomnia, sleep deprivation, oversleeping and other sleep problems
Remedying neglect of physical health; developing a balanced life
Determining and addressing the causes of vulnerability to addiction or obsession, such as a difficult childhood, illness, misadventure, or lack of an interpersonal skill such as assertiveness
Beth explains:
The technology-related problems I help with range from those that can be quickly fixed via some simple problem-solving--to full-blown and entrenched cyber addictions--and everything in between.
In recent years I have found that whatever the problem people are coming to me with--relationships, sexual dissatisfaction, anxiety, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, poor performance--overuse of the internet is often involved. In some cases it is the spouse or child who has the internet problem, and sometimes the whole household is disrupted by habits of constant cell phone use, e-mail checking, etc. such that work or outside relationships intrude to make family relationsips less than vibrant and home less than a haven. Work can also be disrupted by constant texting, emailing or calling, or by wandering off into the internet whenever there is something difficult or boring that needs to be done. Some people I have worked with are so addicted that they seem to have left the real world behind and disappeared into the world wide web.
As an integrative therapist I tailor the treatment to the individual client's specific problems, resources and preferences using whatever tools will work best--ACT, DBT, CBT and other individual therapy methods when they are called for. I also do couple therapy and where appropriate refer clients to 12-step or therapy groups. I do not currently work with teens under 18, but I do help parents to deal with their children's overuse of technology.
For more about "virtual" therapy by video or chat, see online counselling and how to make an appointment for online therapy. I have found that for most people individual therapy works just as well online as in the office, and is better for a busy person if getting to the office would be an added stress.