Clifford Sussman MD, PLLC

04/17/2026

03/16/2026

At the clinician open house this morning in Rockville for my new evening program in collaboration with Marc Sickel and the Fitness For Health exergaming arcade/gym. What a great time we had demonstrating the amazing high tech equipment! We are calling it DGT: Digimotor Game Therapy for screen addiction. If you’re in the dc area and know someone with excessive gaming internet or social media use, consider referring to us to be screened for our pilot group: cliffordsussmanmd@gmail.com. In the picture with me: Author of “the Self driven Child” Ned Johnson and Suzanne Navas, LPC.

03/08/2026

Super Nintendo almost destroyed Alex Kovalev's career: ”When I came to the NHL, I was a maniac. I had a Super Nintendo with the cartridges you were always changing. I had—and I’m not lying—about 35 or 40 games lying around the floor. When I woke up in the morning, I’d have breakfast while playing a game. Sometimes I’d be late for practice just to finish a level. After practice, I’d play again for 5-6 hours, get something to eat, and then play again sometimes late into the night. It was really bad. It got to the point where it was affecting my game.
Not sleeping, I’d forget things I needed to do on the ice. It was almost like you were going brain dead, and couldn’t remember what you usually do. At first, I thought maybe I was tired and needed to get more sleep. Then I realized sitting on the bench, I’d sometimes think about the game on the computer and not the hockey game. That’s when I realized it was going in the wrong direction. At one point, I came home, unplugged it and threw it away. I didn’t touch it at all until my kids were born.”
– Alex Kovalev
Source: Sport-Express

03/08/2026

Rested.

01/16/2026

Caption:
Screen-time battles? Power struggles? Overstimulation?
I’m joining 30+ experts for the Screen Time Solutions Summit (Feb 4–6) to help families and educators raise calm, connected, and tech-balanced kids.
🎯 Practical, research-backed tools
💻 100% virtual
🆓 100% free to attend
✨ Save your spot: gozen.com/screentimesummit

31 experts share realistic strategies to support kids’ mental health and screen habits. Free & virtual - don’t miss it!

01/08/2026

https://washingtonian.com/2026/01/07/a-virginia-man-went-missing-did-he-suffer-from-ai-psychosis/

I was interviewed for this interesting piece in the Washingtonian.
Some excerpts:

"Will industry self-policing and technical tweaks be enough? Clifford Sussman, a DC psychiatrist who specializes in screen addiction, is skeptical. “There’s lots of attempts to regulate technology with technology,” he says—but in his experience, those sorts of fixes fall short. When confronted with screen-time notifications, for example, people who spend too much time on their phones don’t tend to change their ways. They simply turn off those messages."

"Toner says chatbot makers face an “inherent tension” between what keeps customers safe and what keeps them engaged. When OpenAI released an updated version of ChatGPT in 2025 that reduced sycophancy, pushed back more against user delusions, and gave advice targeted to specific health conditions such as depression, some users protested. They wanted the chatbot to flatter them. The company quickly reintroduced the older version for paid subscribers and promised to make the new one “warmer and friendlier.” “I don’t have a lot of faith in the people who create these apps to get people off of them,” Sussman says."

After overcoming a troubled childhood, Jon Ganz left Virginia with his wife in search of a better life—only to disappear into the night. Was his obsession with an AI chatbot to blame?

06/22/2025

https://toshaschore.thrivecart.com/leavemealone/?coupon=MSSPECIAL30

Brain-based strategies to stop tech-induced aggression.

06/22/2025

Richard Simon interviewed me for this book. It is very well written and thoughtful and shares a lot of my insights on screen use. On Amazon its #1 in new releases on handheld and mobile devices. Please check it out!

01/23/2025

We are officially viral! Over a million copies of our Children and Screens Handbook have been viewed! Check out my chapter:
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5

01/17/2025

https://www.childrenandscreens.org/learn-explore/research/adhd-youth-and-digital-media-use/

Date January 2025 Ages & Stages (6-10 yrs) Elementary School (11-13 yrs) Middle School (14-18 yrs) High Schoolers Topics Neurodiversity | Brain and Cognition | Digital Addiction | Education & Learning | Parenting Share Options Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Linkedin Attention-deficit/hy...

10/08/2024

What should parents and caregivers know to best support children with ADHD around media use and overuse?

Join us for Children and Screens' next webinar “ADHD, Children, and Digital Media” on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 12pm ET. A panel of psychologists, digital addiction clinicians, psychiatrists and assistive technology experts will discuss:
🧠 The unique considerations for children with ADHD in relation to digital media use
👨‍👩‍👧 How families and educators can best support their healthy digital lives
📱 Digital tools that might support ADHD children in learning or staying on task

Save a seat ➡️

What should parents and caregivers know to best support children with ADHD around media use and overuse? What digital tools exist that might support children with ADHD in learning or staying on task? How is social media both perpetuating myths around ADHD as well as increasing access to resources? J...

10/02/2024

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1jsbX_jhxvzCf

Pediatric Clinics of North AmericaAvailable online 2 October 2024In Press, Corrected ProofWhat’s this?Problematic Social Media Use or Social Media Addiction in Pediatric PopulationsAuthor links open overlay panelCarol Vidal MD, PhD a, Clifford Sussman MD bShow moreAdd to MendeleyShareCitehttps://d...