4-2 Case Study
Al Estacion
Southern New Hampshire University
PSY-200: Foundations of Addictions
Professor Ernest Lawson
05/31/2026
, Client Information and Presenting Problem
The client in this case study is , HC, a 16-year-old Korean boy who currently lives in the
United States with his mother and brother. He is a son and brother as well as a high school
student. He currently holds no professional responsibilities as he is a full-time student. HC was
brought in by his mother due to a negative change in his behavior that has led to poor attitudes,
signs of depression, and an unhealthy usage of the internet.
HC presents with a severe behavioral and psychological impairment which appears to be
caused by his compulsive overuse of the internet as well as online gaming. He was diagnosed
with a clinical condition called process addiction which is also classified as a behavioral
addiction. This differs from a substance addiction because a substance addiction would require
ingestion of toxic chemical that are foreign to the human body like alcohol or prescription drugs
and narcotics. Process addiction focusses on an individual’s inability to stop an action or
behavior and in this case, HC’s inability to control his internet usage. In HC’s case, his condition
is caused and anchored by the persistent and repetitive engagement with digital media which
gives a type of neurological reward to the brain that can be seen in individuals with chemical
addictions/dependencies. It was reported that HC spends between 3-5 hours a day playing online
games during the school week and increases on the weekends to about 13 hours per day.
Assessment
Since HC is suffering from a process addiction, the physical and mechanical execution of
his dependency does not have to involve the substance routes like oral ingestion or intravenous
injection. Instead, HC is relying on a specific physiological loop which is manually using and
operating a computer while playing highly stimulating games. His addiction is administered
through his prolonged usage of the internet as well as the visual stimulation of the games that he
, plays. This keeps him stationed in front of his computer screen for hours creating a loop of
continuous audio and visual stimulation as well as instant digital feedback.
HC’s physical and social environment heavily enables his addictive behaviors. He spends
a lot of his time stuck in his room. After moving from South Korea to the United States, HC was
placed in an environment was made him feel lonely. His mother and brother being away from the
home until late in the evening also enabled HC to have complete unsupervised use of his
computer. His family support system is broken, and his mother is very concerned for HC’s
psychological health. HC does not hang around individuals who are using addictive chemical
substances. Instead, his friends are all virtual. People that he has met on the internet and through
his online games. He actively choses to avoid real world interactions with his peers because of
the language barriers and would rather sit up all night talking with his online friends. Since he is
a full time student, he does not work for a company where his addiction is encouraged. Him
being alone and unmonitored for majority of the day after school, enables his addiction.
HC does not believe that he has an addiction and initially rejects the “addict” label
because he truly believes that if he truly wanted to stop gaming, he could do so without any
outside assistance. Culturally, he views the therapeutic process with suspicion. HC was given a
12-Step questionnaire regarding powerlessness by his counselor, and he expressed an agnostic
philosophical stance. He doubts the existence of God because of all the unanswered personal
prayers. His motivation level for getting help from a professional is low and did not voluntarily
initiate treatment. He was coerced by his mother to attend counseling. Throughout the whole
process, HC viewed the assignments given to him as a burden rather than an opportunity to grow.
His low motivation is accompanied by a sense of hopelessness. HC appears to feel trapped
between adapting to Western norms while maintaining his Korean traditions. This causes a deep
Al Estacion
Southern New Hampshire University
PSY-200: Foundations of Addictions
Professor Ernest Lawson
05/31/2026
, Client Information and Presenting Problem
The client in this case study is , HC, a 16-year-old Korean boy who currently lives in the
United States with his mother and brother. He is a son and brother as well as a high school
student. He currently holds no professional responsibilities as he is a full-time student. HC was
brought in by his mother due to a negative change in his behavior that has led to poor attitudes,
signs of depression, and an unhealthy usage of the internet.
HC presents with a severe behavioral and psychological impairment which appears to be
caused by his compulsive overuse of the internet as well as online gaming. He was diagnosed
with a clinical condition called process addiction which is also classified as a behavioral
addiction. This differs from a substance addiction because a substance addiction would require
ingestion of toxic chemical that are foreign to the human body like alcohol or prescription drugs
and narcotics. Process addiction focusses on an individual’s inability to stop an action or
behavior and in this case, HC’s inability to control his internet usage. In HC’s case, his condition
is caused and anchored by the persistent and repetitive engagement with digital media which
gives a type of neurological reward to the brain that can be seen in individuals with chemical
addictions/dependencies. It was reported that HC spends between 3-5 hours a day playing online
games during the school week and increases on the weekends to about 13 hours per day.
Assessment
Since HC is suffering from a process addiction, the physical and mechanical execution of
his dependency does not have to involve the substance routes like oral ingestion or intravenous
injection. Instead, HC is relying on a specific physiological loop which is manually using and
operating a computer while playing highly stimulating games. His addiction is administered
through his prolonged usage of the internet as well as the visual stimulation of the games that he
, plays. This keeps him stationed in front of his computer screen for hours creating a loop of
continuous audio and visual stimulation as well as instant digital feedback.
HC’s physical and social environment heavily enables his addictive behaviors. He spends
a lot of his time stuck in his room. After moving from South Korea to the United States, HC was
placed in an environment was made him feel lonely. His mother and brother being away from the
home until late in the evening also enabled HC to have complete unsupervised use of his
computer. His family support system is broken, and his mother is very concerned for HC’s
psychological health. HC does not hang around individuals who are using addictive chemical
substances. Instead, his friends are all virtual. People that he has met on the internet and through
his online games. He actively choses to avoid real world interactions with his peers because of
the language barriers and would rather sit up all night talking with his online friends. Since he is
a full time student, he does not work for a company where his addiction is encouraged. Him
being alone and unmonitored for majority of the day after school, enables his addiction.
HC does not believe that he has an addiction and initially rejects the “addict” label
because he truly believes that if he truly wanted to stop gaming, he could do so without any
outside assistance. Culturally, he views the therapeutic process with suspicion. HC was given a
12-Step questionnaire regarding powerlessness by his counselor, and he expressed an agnostic
philosophical stance. He doubts the existence of God because of all the unanswered personal
prayers. His motivation level for getting help from a professional is low and did not voluntarily
initiate treatment. He was coerced by his mother to attend counseling. Throughout the whole
process, HC viewed the assignments given to him as a burden rather than an opportunity to grow.
His low motivation is accompanied by a sense of hopelessness. HC appears to feel trapped
between adapting to Western norms while maintaining his Korean traditions. This causes a deep
