About Us

Kenneth M. Woog, Psy.D.

The Computer Addiction Treatment Program was founded as a behavioral/cognitive behavioral based outpatient treatment program for computer and gaming addiction. This problem, considered by some to be a growing epidemic, affects as many as 9% of online computer gamers. While treating this problem for more then a decade, Dr. Woog found early on that simply borrowing methods from substance addiction treatment programs did not work well in treating computer/video addiction (which is a behavioral addiction). Abstinence was not a typical goal and 12 step meetings were (and still today) not widely available. Further, individual or family talk therapy alone was not sufficient for treatment in most cases. To make matters worse, few gaming addicts believe they have a problem and are only willing to attend therapy to appease their distressed family members. This was often true despite significant evidence to the contrary such as failure in college or repeated job firings. An alternative to long term residential treatment or wilderness programs, Dr. Woog has developed a 3 day weekend intensive program offering many of the benefits of residential treatment in a brief, 3 day weekend format. Individuals can participate once or monthly as needed. This program is intended to help kick start treatment or as an adjunct to ongoing local care. For those truly addicted, self limiting is not possible. Efforts by parents or significant others to control or limit an addict's gaming generally results in strained relationships, anger and in some cases violence. In 2005, Dr. Woog developed a sophisticated electronic device called the PC Moderator which could both monitor and limit computer use without requiring that parents or loved ones maintain the computer or serve as system administrators. It received PC Magazine Editor's Choice Award in 2006. Soon Dr. Woog will be delivering the next generation tool for treating and preventing gaming addiction - the Sentinel Gaming PC. This high performance gaming computer provides remotely controlled, hardware enforced usage limits that cannot be overridden by tech-savvy individuals. This patent pending product is the only one of its kind in the world. Dr. Woog also provides clinical consultation for therapists working with computer addicted clients and accepts referrals for collaborative care.

Clinical Psychologist and Computer Engineer, Dr. Woog has appeared on television and speaks nationally on computer addiction and has been cited in numerous publications. Dr. Woog is a behavioral/cognitive behavioral psychologist and performs assessments, develops and monitors treatment plans and conducts individual and family psychotherapy. He also provides support for the behavioral treatment component.

"I want to thank you for all your help. My son just graduated from High School this past Saturday and I want you to know your help was instrumental in helping us get through it. He graduated with honors , scholarships, and straight A' for last semester". Grateful parent, 2011

"Thank you so much for your help and advice when my son was hooked on World of Warcraft. He is now a freshman at Cal Poly studying biomedical engineering and doing well. He has grown out of his gaming days and is studying hard..." Grateful parent 2008