Game Changer
Australian Story profiles psychologist Wayne Warburton, here to help parents with kids who are addicted to video gaming.
Many parents will tell you they're worried their children are spending too much time playing video games and are desperate about what to do.
Wayne Warburton, a plumber-turned-psychologist, reckons he can help.
Together with German researchers, Dr Warburton, from Macquarie University, has devised a 3-month program to help the minority of teenagers who are gaming excessively and who feel they've lost control of their lives.
Caleb, 13, and Rhys, 15, who both joined the program, got drawn more deeply into gaming through the Covid lockdowns.
"It's living on the edge, never quite knowing what's going to happen next when they are distressed around their lack of ability to game", says Jude, Rhys' mother.
"When my behaviour had been at my worst, I was probably like throwing stuff, yelling, kicking things, punching walls", Rhys admits.
When Jude heard about the work of Wayne Warburton, she thought ‘hallelujah'.
Warburton says studies show excessive gaming can change the brain and inhibit impulse control, making some gamers aggressive.
"I've seen numerous cases of parents needing to take apprehended violence orders against their kids because they become so violent when the screens are taken away", he says.
Australian Story has gained exclusive access to follow Rhys and Caleb as they embark on this ground-breaking program to try and change their lives and take control of their gaming habits. But will it work?
Producer: Janine Cohen
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
The Rookie
The Rookie is inspired by a true story. John Nolan is the oldest rookie in the LAPD. At an age where most are at the peak of their career, Nolan cast aside his comfortable, small town life and moved to L.A. to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies twenty years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous and unpredictable world of a "young" cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.
The Studio
As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it's the job Matt's been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.
True Detective
Touch darkness and darkness touches you back. True Detective centers on troubled cops and the investigations that drive them to the edge. Each season features a new cast and a new case.
True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto.
S.W.A.T.
Shemar Moore stars as a locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant newly tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, former Marine Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson has everything it takes to be an excellent leader and bridge the divide between his two worlds.
