Treating Internet-addicted employees: although Internet addiction is a new area of clinical practice, EA professionals can take several steps to help individuals understand the factors underlying their online habits and reintegrate past activities into their lives.

Internet abuse is a rapidly growing problem in the workplace. According to Vault.com, an online analysis firm, 90 percent of workers surveyed admitted to surfing recreational sites during work hours and as much as 70 percent of Internet porn site traffic occurs during the regular workday hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

When confronted with cases of overt Internet abuse, many managers respond by suspending or dismissing employees from their jobs. While these actions put an end to employees' abuse of the Internet, they also generate hidden costs for the employer, such as recruitment and retraining expenses. They also create a climate of fear, distrust, and resentment in the workplace that can undermine productivity and cooperation among workers who are using their Internet accounts property.

Compounding these concerns, recent studies suggest that nearly 6 percent of online users suffer from Internet addiction, a disorder that can lead to significant psychological, occupational, and relationship impairment. Internet addiction typically is defined as an impulse-control disorder that does not involve an intoxicant. Common symptoms include a preoccupation with Internet use; lying about behavior; psychological withdrawal when offline; placing significant relationship, job, educational, and/or career opportunities in jeopardy because of the Internet; and an inability to control Internet use.

Unlike addictions to alcohol and drugs, Internet addiction is encouraged and reinforced by employers, which rely on this and other technologies to gain a competitive advantage. Given the relative newness of the disorder, it can easily be overlooked by EA professionals evaluating employees who are referred for clinical services.

EA professionals must increasingly be aware of the implications of employee Internet abuse and its potential for addiction. EA professionals can play a significant role in finding solutions to Internet addiction by learning the dynamics associated with the disorder and implementing strategies to address it. By properly assessing for Internet addiction and referring or treating employees appropriately, EA professionals can help reduce corporate concerns about Internet abuse and enable employers and employees to use this technology to build greater organizational cohesion.

SYMPTOMS OF INTERNET ADDICTION

Similar to an alcoholic who needs to consume ever-greater amounts of alcohol to achieve satisfaction, Internet addicts need to spend increasing amounts of time online. Internet addicts will go to great lengths to mask the nature of their online activities and conceal the extent and nature of their behavior. As with most impulse-control disorders, Internet addiction often is associated with increasingly painful states of tension and agitation that are relieved through the completion of the act.

For example, an alcoholic is driven to drink or an overeater is driven to binge on food during moments of excessive tension. In each case, the compulsive behavior serves to reduce the underlying emotional tension and reward future behavior. In the same manner, an Internet addict's use of the computer is less about using it as an information tool and more about finding a psychological escape to cope with life's problems.

While time is not a direct symptom of Internet addiction, addicts generally are excessive about their online usage, often spending 40 to 80 hours per week online. Addicts generally stay awake surfing the Internet past midnight and into the early hours of the morning, disrupting their sleep patterns and, subsequently, their work performance. Such sleep deprivation can also compromise the immune system, leaving the addict vulnerable to disease. Sitting at the computer for prolonged periods also means that addicts don't get proper exercise and are at greater risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Underlying Internet addiction is a desire to escape from emotional difficulties (e.g., stress, depression, anxiety) or problematic situations or personal hardships (e.g., job burnout, academic troubles, sudden unemployment, marital discord). When online addicts are forced to go without their Internet "fix," they feel a sense of withdrawal. Because addictions serve a useful purpose to the addict, the attachment or sensation may grow to such proportions that it damages a person's life.

STEPS TOWARD RECOVERY

Treatment for Internet addiction includes a variety of interventions, with a primary focus on cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal psychotherapy techniques to moderate Internet usage and address underlying psychosocial issues often coexistent with the addiction. Therapy should utilize techniques that help clients regulate Internet sessions and develop a structure involving alternative activities that take them away from the computer. Specific techniques include setting clear online time limits, identifying triggers for abuse, abstaining from problematic online applications, and reintegrating offline activities.

Setting clear time limits. Many attempts to limit Internet usage fail because the addict relies on an ambiguous plan to trim the number of online hours without determining in advance a schedule for online use. Structured sessions should be programmed for the client by setting reasonable goals--say, 20 hours per week instead of the current 40. Those 20 hours should be scheduled in specific time slots and written into a calendar or weekly planner.

The client should keep the Internet sessions brief but frequent to help avoid cravings and withdrawal. For example, under a 20-hour schedule, the client might plan to use the Internet from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. on weeknights and 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. on the weekends. Incorporating a tangible schedule of Internet usage will give the client a sense of being in control and avoid the potential risk of relapse.

Identifying triggers for abuse. It is important to determine the Internet activities, situations, and emotions that are most likely to trigger online binges. A particular chat room, a certain time of day, or a client's mood before going online may all serve to trigger inappropriate conduct and abuse. Recovery means learning to make better choices about spending time online and abstaining from problematic online applications.

To help pinpoint triggers, have clients maintain a daily activity log to track when and how they use the computer. Keeping a log serves as a baseline of present activities, identifies situations that can led to excessive online use, and serves as a guide in treatment planning. Review the client's responses and determine if any patterns emerge. Specifically, ask the following questions:

* What time of day does the client usually log on to the Internet?

* How long does the client stay online during a typical session?

* What applications (specific sites, chat rooms, games, etc.) are most problematic for the client, and why?

* What types of feelings or situations precede online use for the client?

* Does stress trigger a client's need to go online?

* How does the client feel when s/he logs off?

Abstaining from problematic online applications. Once the EA professional has identified moods or events that trigger online use and the circumstances underlying its abuse, the next step is to help clients develop more appropriate ways of coping with these issues. Underlying problems contributing to the addictive behavior, such as relationship difficulties, job stress, or untreated psychiatric conditions, must be addressed, as must helping clients achieve complete abstinence from problematic online applications.

Filtering software is an effective method to help reach this recover)" goal. Software such as NetNanny, CyberPatrol, and SurfControl, typically used by parents to block children from accessing online sexual content, can help clients self-regulate their Internet use. The software can be programmed to automatically block online applications, such as porn sites, chat rooms, or gaming sites, by shutting down a Web browser if the user attempts to access this material. Many Internet addicts describe the experience as a "cold shower" that breaks the trance associated with the addiction.

Reintegrating offline activities. Using a computer only increases a client's risk of falling back into old patterns. To help clients maintain a healthy balance of Internet use, work with them to cultivate alternative activities or rekindle former activities. It is often helpful to take a personal inventory of how a client used to spend his or her time before becoming addicted to Internet use.

Ask clients to construct a list of every activity or practice they have neglected or curtailed since their online habit emerged. Once they make an exhaustive list, have clients rank each activity as very important, important, or not very important. In particular, examine the activities ranked "very important." Ask clients how these activities improved their lives.

This exercise will help clients become more aware of the choices they have made and rekindle lost activities they once enjoyed. This also helps clients identify alternative activities that will take them away from the computer, thereby helping them avoid temptation and aiding in future relapse prevention.

TWELVE-STEP SUPPORT

Internet addicts typically suffer from interpersonal difficulties such as introversion or have limited social support systems in place, which explains in part why they turn to virtual relationships. In other cases, their addiction may have cost them interpersonal relationships with a spouse, parent, or close friend.

Twelve-step support groups and family therapy can help repair damaged relationships and engage friends and family in the treatment plan. Support groups improve the addict's social support system and provide an opportunity to build offline relationships. Peer support situations offer comfort that decreases reliance upon the Internet for companionship and serve as a safe place to test interpersonal behavior that leads to personal growth. The 12-step model is a belief system that helps clients overcome temptation when hard times hit.

Because relapse is considered part of the recovery, having a support group will help Internet addicts process moments of temptation and work through the triggers for their next online binge. As with Alcoholics Anonymous, Internet support group membership will help clients cope with difficult times during this transition period.

Kimberly Young is executive director of the Center for Online Addiction (www.netaddiction.com), a recovery service and consultation firm specializing in Internet-related conditions, and an associate professor of business at St. Bonaventure University She has written numerous articles on Internet addiction and two books, Caught in the Net and Tangled in the Web. This article is the first in a two-part series; a follow-up article will look at how EA professionals can educate employers about Internet abuse and limit its impact on the workplace.