US, July 28, 2009 - In February came the report that a Sweden's Youth Care Foundation had branded Blizzard's World of Warcraft as "the cocaine of the computer games world." Today comes word from England that therapists are signing up to the game in order to provide therapy to those online.
The report, in the Telegraph newspaper, states that Dr. Richard Graham, a consulting psychiatrist, is calling on Blizzard to waive or discount the costs of joining World of Warcraft for therapists. Graham says that this will allow therapist better access to those who need help.
"We will be launching this project by the end of the year," Graham told the Telegraph. "I think it's already clear that psychiatrists will have to stay within the parameters of the game. They certainly wouldn't be wandering around the game in white coats and would have to use the same characters available to other players."
The article also said that Graham may recruit players to serve as "peer mentors" to help identify those who were addicted to the game.
