Yeşilay to Organize 6th Global Behavioral Addictions Congress

Yeşilay, with its 105-year-long tradition in combating addictions, will organize the 6th Global Behavioral Addictions Congress in Istanbul on 13-14 May 2025.

The congress, to be chaired by Doç. Dr. Mehmet Dinç, General President of Yeşilay, will bring together academics, specialists and representatives of relevant institutions from around the world. The congress will address current scientific developments in the field of behavioral addictions.

Paper submissions to the congress can be made through Yeşilay's official website https://kongre.yesilay.org.tr/bildiri-basvurusu/. The deadline for paper submissions is 31 March 2025.

Global Experts Meet at the Congress
The 6th Global Behavioral Addictions Congress, which continues the International Technology Addiction Congress successfully held by Yeşilay in previous years, will host scientific discussions on behavioral addictions such as digital gaming, social media, gambling and pornography. The congress will address the latest research and practices on the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of these addictions.

Many international scientists including Prof. Marc Potenza, Prof. Hae Kook Lee, Doç. Charles Livingstone, Dr. Beáta Bőthe, Prof. David C Hodgins, Doçent Joshua Grubbs, Dr. Sabrina Molinaro, Prof. Emmanuel Kuntsche, Prof. Attila Szabo and Dr. Kristiana Siste Kurniasanti will participate in the congress.

In-Depth Discussions on Six Key Themes
Within the scope of the congress, the latest approaches and scientific methods in combating behavioral addictions will be addressed under six main headings:
• Current intervention practices
• Innovations in research methodologies
• Prevention, intervention and advocacy activities
• Emerging risks and threats
• Effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation services
• New perspectives and experiences gained

Scientific Solutions to Behavioral Addictions
Five main types of addiction to be discussed at the congress have been identified as follows:
• Problematic digital gaming
• Problematic gambling behavior
• Problematic pornography use
• Problematic social media use
• Other behavioral addictions

Call to Scientists and Specialists: We Await Your Paper Submissions
The congress aims to share current scientific developments in combating behavioral addictions and to present new approaches. Academics, specialists and researchers working in this field can submit papers in oral or poster presentation format until 31 March 2025. Papers will be evaluated in line with the congress themes, with scientific and ethical criteria serving as the basis for selection. Detailed information about the submission process and paper submission can be found at https://kongre.yesilay.org.tr/bildiri-basvurusu/.

Congress International Scientific Board
The International Scientific Board of the congress, composed of expert academics and researchers in the field, will include Turkey Yeşilay Society General President Doç. Dr. Mehmet Dinç; Organization Committee Chair and Yeşilay Scientific Board Member Prof. Dr. Osman Tolga Arıcak, Turkey Yeşilay Society General Vice President Prof. Dr. Muhammed Tayyib Kadak; Turkey Yeşilay Society General Secretary Assistant Scientific Board Chair Prof. Dr. Murat Şentürk; Director of Saint-Luc University Hospital Experimental Psychopathology Laboratory and Internet and Gambling Addiction Clinic Prof. Joël Billieux; Director of University of Sydney Gambling Addiction Treatment Clinic Prof. Alex Blaszczynski, Prof. Zsolt Demetrovics from ELTE Eötvös Loránd University; Prof. Daniel King from Flinders University, Co-Director of Gambling Research at University of Glasgow Prof. Heather Wardle.