Tracy Markle, MA, LPC, is a nationally renowned digital media addiction treatment expert. Tracy is the Founder and Co-Director of Digital Media Treatment and Education Center (dTEC®), founded in 2015, and is located in Boulder, Colorado. dTEC’s affiliate program, Collegiate Coaching Services®, was founded in 2008 by Tracy. Both programs offer individualized support and guidance to individuals and families impacted by technology use and digital media applications, such as video games and social media.
Since 1992, she has worked in various roles while supporting people of all ages who struggle with addiction and mental illness. After completing her graduate studies in Community Counseling with a Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2000, her focus has been on treating overuse behaviors and addictions from a systemic perspective. Since 2009, her clinical practice has focused on understanding and developing treatment interventions and strategies to treat digital media overuse issues, and the common co-existing factors, such as academic challenges, anxiety, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a result, Tracy created a systemic treatment approach, called the “Family engagement, Integrated Treatment, Social connection for treating – Internet Addiction (FITS IA®).” She is a featured author along with other experts from around the globe, in the book: “Internet Addiction in Children and Adolescents; Risk Factors, Assessment & Treatment,” where she shares the philosophy and interventions embodied in the FITS-IA treatment approach. This is the first book to thoroughly examine how early and easy access to the Internet and digital media applications impacts children and adolescents. Tracy and dTEC’s Co-Director, Brett Kennedy, Psy.D., CSAT, provide professional training to those seeking to advance their knowledge and clinical skills to treat digital media overuse and addiction.
Tracy and her team members are actively involved in research projects funded by dTEC to understand how digital media use affects students’ academic abilities in the collegiate environment. They are active members and leaders in non-profit organizations that advocate for reduced screen time, advance funding in the field of digital media and children, and to provide parents and educators with the resources and answers to questions to raise happy and healthy children in the digital age.
