The UK's first National Gaming Disorder Center has recorded an unexpected number of referrals in its first three years of operation, writes Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones. 'The clinic, which was expected to receive fewer than 50 referrals a year, has received about 800.'

To be clear, referrals do not always lead to treatment. As another report in The Guardian detailed, "Of the 855 people referred [to the clinic], 408 were gamers, 227 of whom were under the age of 18. Of course, that's still a big number.

"Back when gaming was not a disorder treated by the NHS, as director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, I was frequently contacted by relatives of young gamers who were desperate for help. I increasingly felt that young people who were spending their money on gaming products in a compulsive and destructive way also needed our help."

The theme of "game addiction" has always been a thorny one. We have come a long way from the lack of nuance seen in the late 90s, when the moral panic over Mortal Kombat's gross finishers caused (among other things) the establishment of today's rating codes. While the notion that games cause violence has been completely debunked, the impact of these panics has left many people with difficulty responding intuitively to headlines such as those above.

However, the clinic seems more concerned that people develop unhealthy relationships with games during their difficult childhoods.

"Most of our patients are young, male, about 16 or 17 years old. They may have been high achievers in academics or sports. But one thing leads to another and this smooth path is interrupted."

"We have seen a lot of patients who have been in the same situation for years.

"Patterns of harm often begin with a change in circumstances," Bowden-Jones explained, citing upheavals such as changing schools, relocating, loss of friends, bullying, and family breakup as examples that lead her patients to seek online support structures.

"Gradually, the child's online life becomes a support structure to make real life more bearable ...... I have met parents whose young children run out of the house in the middle of the night to find wifi on the steps of a strange house when their own internet connection was turned off by their parents."

"Doors, objects, belongings, things are broken in anger. Sometimes people get hurt."

"Sometimes people get hurt.

Blame is not always directed at the game itself. Daily quests, grind treadmills, loot boxes, etc.: "When there is no money [for a loot box], the most impulsive patients steal it by spending it on their parents' bank cards.

However, her study does not apply only to children in difficult situations. Adults are equally self-referential, as many older gamers in their 20s and 30s have come to know about our treatment center and refer themselves: ...... Our oldest patient is a woman in her 70s"

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A news posting by NHS England in March of this year touched on what treatment typically involves: "The length of treatment depends on the needs of the patient, ranging from one-off sessions to family therapy lasting over a year, with the average length of treatment being about three months."

One clear point here is that whatever medical professionals mean by "game disorder," it is not just a problem of the games themselves. There are many reasons why children isolate themselves from their parents and retreat to their rooms.

While I wouldn't describe my teenage self and my relationship with gaming as "healthy," gaming gave me an escape and a community to help me get through the tough times. And we have helped these same children find jobs and communities where they can be themselves.

Nevertheless, I feel that we have moved away from the devil-worshiping style of fussing that the game is "training people to be killers". And if such a service helps someone who needs it, whether because of a loot box or something else, then it has to be a good thing.