SEXT ADDICTS
The parents paying this clinic £70,000 to cure their teenage...
year- olds had received sexually explicit messages and a similar figure admitted t o sharing such images. And official figures from Internet Matters, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to keeping children safe online, also show that between 2013 and 2015, more than 2,000 children under 18 were reported to police for crimes linked to indecent images.
Dr Graham Music, consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist at the specialist Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London, which treats mental health disorders, said girls made themselves ‘more vulnerable’ by sending explicit pictures.
‘They do it largely to get attention because they can be made to feel very special, but they may be being groomed alongside many other girls being asked to do the same,’ he said. ‘It’s a form of addiction, which can be compulsive.’
In February last year, one of Britain’s top judges, Sir Brian Leveson, warned teenagers that sexting had ‘ consequences’ and could even lead to jail following the case of a 19-year-old, who left an underage girl suicidal after he threatened to expose her naked texts.
And in January 2016, a sexting scandal involving 42 pupils at £30,000-a-year Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire sparked outrage when boys as young as 11 were asked to send explicit images of themselves to someone posing as an older teenage girl.
The 24-bed Yes We Can clinic, which also treats social media, gaming, drugs and alcohol addict i ons for 13- 25 year- olds, has a strict daily regime where ‘fellows’ – as the patients are referred to – are given little free time.
Instead, the £55,000 programme requires them to undergo six hours of therapy per day, both one-on-one and in group sessions. The most popular to treat screen-based addictions such as sexting is cognitive behavioural therapy, a talking therapy that aims to change the pattern of negative thoughts and behaviours. All participants are also required to engage in three-and-ahalf hours of sport in the clinic’s vast 17-acre grounds, and complete homework assignments.
The white-painted interior contains slick, modern bedrooms that have no bars or locks, and brief flashes of colour provided by bright artwork on the walls. The patio doors open out onto a sprawling field and healthy meals – no junk food here – are prepared by specially qualified chefs.
Each therapist treats just four fell ows and the programme also includes four days when the addict’s family joins the clinic for therapy together. Upon their discharge, the patients undergo a £ 15,000, four-week stint of aftercare with
‘Parents need to be firm, precise and direct’
a coach in their own country.
The English-speaking clinic has also provoked huge interest from both Germany and Spain.
While drugs and alcohol addictions remain the main focus, boys are increasingly being treated for gaming addictions.
‘This is a huge issue at t he moment,’ Mr Poot explained.
‘Young men, from teens into their early 20s, spend over 20 hours each day gaming, playing games on their phones or other electronic devices.
‘It becomes so addictive that it gets to the stage where these young men are unable to live normal lives or have any kind of friendships or relationships. We are getting lots of people at this stage in their addiction calling us and booking in. It is a new thing but it’s frightening how fast it is growing as a problem for young men.’
The general manager of Internet Matters, Carolyn Bunting, is urging parents to talk to their children about sexting. ‘Talk to your children about the risks before they start using social media or own a smartphone,’ she said. ‘It’s a delicate issue, and can be a tricky topic to bring up, but treat it like it is the digital birds and bees.
‘One confused dad recently asked us: “What am I supposed to do, tell my daughter not to take pictures of her private parts?” Yes! Many teens may see sexting as harmless, but it can have long-lasting effects on their self-esteem. Be firm, precise and direct with your advice.
‘Tell them about the “T-shirt Test” – never send anything to anyone that you wouldn’t want printed on the front of your T- shirt. They should understand that once an explicit image has been sent, it is no longer in their control.’
Dr Music agrees. ‘We want parents to know there are dangers in more compulsive ongoing use of all technologies. Adolescence is naturally a time to experiment and take a few risks, but for the more vulnerable ones, or at more vulnerable times, such use of technology can have a worse effect.’