Gaming addiction treatment in Malaysia, for adults
Salus offers gaming addiction treatment in Malaysia for adults aged 18 and over, as a 90-day residential stay in Cyberjaya, Selangor. If gaming, scrolling or streaming has pushed out sleep, work, study and people, that is what families usually mean by internet addiction, and it can be treated. Salus does not treat under-18s, so families of younger teenagers should look to child and adolescent services.
When gaming or the internet has taken over
The World Health Organization describes gaming disorder by three features: impaired control, gaming taking priority over other interests and daily activities, and carrying on despite harm. It says this would normally be evident for at least 12 months, and that it affects only a small proportion of people who game. Hours alone do not decide it. What the habit costs does.
- Sessions that run far longer than planned, and promises to stop at a set time that keep breaking.
- Gaming or scrolling through the night, so sleep, mornings and work or study fall apart.
- Missed deadlines, a lost job, a failed course or commitments dropped without explanation.
- Sadness, anxiety or anger when the console, phone or wifi is taken away.
- Money going on in-game purchases and top-ups that the person hides.
- Pulling away from friends and family, and using games or feeds to escape guilt, stress or low mood.
How gaming and internet addiction is treated at Salus
Treatment is mainly therapy. On arrival you have a medical review, a psychiatric assessment and a psychological assessment, and the diagnosis decides the therapy. For many adults the game or the feed was covering something else, such as low mood, anxiety, loneliness or attention difficulties, so those are assessed and treated in the same plan. A Salus Clinician plans recovery alongside medical care across six areas of life.
01
Assessment on arrival
Medical, psychiatric and psychological assessment, including sleep, mood, anxiety and how the person's days are actually spent.
02
Therapy for the pull
CBT works on the thoughts and habits that keep the person returning to the screen. Motivational interviewing helps them find their own reasons to change, which matters because gaming can be the one place a person feels capable.
03
Repairing sleep and body
Regular meals, daylight, movement and a fixed bedtime come first. A body that has been awake all night cannot do the work of therapy.
04
A life that is not a screen
The living prescription, written with your Salus Clinician, fills the day with real activity and people: movement, creative work, group activity and skills.
05
Screen use at home
A written aftercare plan sets out how devices fit into work, study and free time, and who to call when it slips.
Ninety days, residential, in Cyberjaya.
A private room, all meals, 24-hour care with medical oversight, individual and group therapy, family sessions and a written plan for going home. One price, with nothing added later.
90 days
Four phases: Restore, Connect, Participate, Integrate
RM7,000 per month
All-inclusive
Is gaming addiction real, and is it the same as internet addiction?
Gaming disorder is listed by the World Health Organization in ICD-11, its international classification of diseases. WHO is clear that it affects only a small proportion of people who play, so most gamers have nothing to worry about. The test is control, priority and harm: can the person stop, does gaming come before everything else, and does it carry on despite damage to health, work or relationships?
Internet addiction is the everyday phrase families use for the wider pattern: endless scrolling, short videos, streaming and social media. The WHO definition is written for gaming, but the same three questions are a fair way to judge any screen habit. At Salus we look at the pattern and at what it does for the person, and leave the label argument aside.
What is it like to stop gaming, and is medical care needed?
There is no medical withdrawal from gaming or the internet, so no detox is needed. The first weeks can still be hard. Sadness, anxiety and irritability are common when games are taken away, and sleep is often disrupted. Boredom is common too, which is one reason the programme fills the day with other activity.
Because low mood can sit underneath, the psychiatrist and psychologists keep an eye on mood and sleep from the start. If someone talks about ending their life, call 999 or go to the nearest emergency department. If the person is also drinking or taking sedatives, a medical assessment comes first, since stopping some of these suddenly can be dangerous.
How long does treatment take, and what does it cost?
The programme is 90 days. The early weeks go on sleep, safety and routine, the later ones on activity, friendships and work or study, and progress follows readiness, not the calendar. Reviews of addiction treatment research point to three months as the minimum for lasting change. A full season also gives sleep, routine and friendships time to rebuild, so they hold when the devices come back.
A 90-day stay costs about RM21,000, which is RM7,000 per month with everything included: therapy, meals, accommodation, medical oversight, family sessions and aftercare. Payment plans can be discussed, and a call to ask is confidential and carries no obligation. Salus is not a hospital, and if someone needs hospital care, we will say so after the assessment.
Who is this programme for, and who will know?
Salus is for adults aged 18 and over. If your son or daughter is an adult who has dropped out of study or work because of gaming, a call is a good first step. If the person is younger than 18, please ask a doctor or school counsellor about child and adolescent services, which are built for young people.
Privacy often matters most to adults whose family or employer do not know the full picture. Clinical information is held only by the care team, and the people who know about your stay are the people you tell. With your consent, family receive regular updates and are invited to family sessions, because they are often the ones who make the difference afterwards.
Questions families ask.
How do I help an adult who does not want to stop gaming?
Pick a calm moment and say what you have seen and how it worries you. Leave out the list of failings. Ultimatums sometimes work in the short term and usually cost you the relationship. Offer a specific next step, such as a conversation with a clinician, and keep the door open. You can call Salus without them knowing. Families often need several conversations over weeks, and that is normal.
Is gaming addiction treated with medicine?
Treatment is mainly psychotherapy: CBT, group work and family sessions. Where depression, anxiety or attention problems sit underneath, our psychiatrists treat those as part of the same plan, which can include medication where it is needed. The gaming itself is not something a tablet fixes.
My son is 16. Can Salus help him?
No. Salus is for adults aged 18 and over. For a younger teenager, speak to the school counsellor or a doctor about child and adolescent mental health services, which involve parents differently and are built for young people. You are welcome to call us for a general conversation, and if the person is 18 or over, we can talk through whether Salus is the right place.
Do I have to give up phones and the internet for good?
No. Most adults need a phone and a computer for work or study. The aim is control and a life that does not revolve around a screen. The aftercare plan sets out how devices fit into work, study and free time, and it is written with you before you leave.
Is this just a phase my adult son or daughter will grow out of?
Some people do, and WHO says most gamers are not affected. But if the pattern has run for months and is costing sleep, work, study, money or relationships, waiting for it to pass is a risk in itself. A call is a way to find out which it is, and no commitment is needed.
The clinical team behind Solace Asia.
Salus is part of Solace Wellbeing Group, which opened Solace Asia in 2014. It shares Solace's clinical leadership, methods and advisory board of senior Malaysian psychiatrists and clinicians, in a residential setting designed to cost less.
2014
Solace Asia founded
5,000+
Patients treated across the group
90
Days in the programme
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Insights
Further reading
How to talk to someone you love about getting help
The conversation most families dread, and how to have it in a way that keeps the door open. Practical guidance from the Salus admissions team.
3 min readDepression and addiction: why the two need to be treated together
How often depression and addiction occur together, which tends to come first, and what treatment looks like when both are present.
5 min readWhat is social prescribing, and why we built a recovery programme around it
Social prescribing is well established in primary care. Salus is one of the first programmes to build it systematically into residential recovery. Here is what that means in practice.
4 min read
Sources
- 1World Health Organization, Gaming disorder (ICD-11 frequently asked questions)
- 2World Health Organization, Addictive behaviours: gaming disorder (questions and answers)
- 3Cleveland Clinic, Video game addiction: what it is, symptoms and treatment
- 4NIDA, Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: how long does treatment last
This page is general information, not medical advice, and does not replace an assessment by a qualified clinician. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
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