There is functional, healthy engagement with technology – ubiquitous and necessary in our everyday lives – and addictive use, and it can be difficult to know when that line has been crossed," Petros Levounis,

In a return to Psychiatry Unbound Dr. Petros Levounis, incoming president-elect of the American Psychiatry Association, and professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, discusses Technological Addictions (2022) co-edited with Dr. James Sherer. Drs. Roberts and Levounis explore the ways new technologies are impacting us, where the potential dangers are, early approaches to treatment, and how the pandemic has increased everyone's dependency on the devices and applications that helped us through the lockdown.

In this episode:

Introduction (0:20) working with Dr. James Sherer (2:13) When does extreme technology usage become an addiction? (3:30) The legitimacy of "technology addiction" as a newly emergent diagnosis (5:45) How widespread are these addictions? (7:13) Diagnosing the condition in younger patients (8:10) Impact of technological addiction across the population in the short-term future (9:55) The process of writing the book (11:55) Likely effects of the pandemic upon technological addiction (17:28) Possible effects of healthcare disparities (20:13) Understanding and treating technological addictions (22:37) Reacting to "new" forms of addiction (25:50)

For more information on Dr. Petros Levounis, please visit: https://njms-web.njms.rutgers.edu/profile/myProfile.php?mbmid=levounpe

Books edited by Petros Levounis

Technological Addictions (2022) The Pocket Guide to LGBTQ Mental Health (2020) Office-Based Buprenorphine Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder, 2nd Edition (2018) Motivational Interviewing for Clinical Practice (2017) Pocket Guide to Addiction, Assessment and Treatment (2016) The Behavioral Addictions (2015) Addiction Casebook (2014) The LGBT Casebook (2012)

Other resources

Are You Addicted to Technology?

APA bookstore

Psychiatric News article