First U.S. Rehab Center for Internet Addicts Opens

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Lessons in social skills such as conversation and reading body language are among the programs offered at the first U.S. rehab center for Internet addicts, which recently opened in the state of Washington.

"We are a cold turkey place; no technology," reStart psychotherapist Hilarie Cash told Agence France Presse. "A gamer is not going to be allowed to game any time they are here because it is the gaming that is their drug of choice."

Along with learning social skills, participants at the five-acre rural facility do hands-on activities such as feeding baby goats or building a chicken coop.

"We are not anti-technology," Cash told AFP. "It is about helping people addicted to technology to get through the withdrawal and help their brains get wired back to normal and connected to the world in a positive way."