Counseling Problem Gamblers: A Self-Regulation Manual for Individual and Family Therapy
Product Description
Over the past decade, legal wagering has expanded rapidly in North America. In 1998 alone, people lost 50 billion dollars in legal betting and it is estimated that illegal wagering is twice that amount. A recent government report, based on the broadest population survey, concludes that the lifetime and pathological gamblers in the U.S. range between 4 and 10 million persons and is growing. If we include the families affected by problem gambling then the potential impact is indeed prodigious. Virtually no community in the U.S. and Canada is left untouched by entertainment or problem gambling. Treating problem gambling has evolved from a small group of practitioners in the 1980′s working in specialty impatient units into an international enterprise that affects the caseload of many mental health professionals. Owing to its quiet origins, problem gambling treatment strategies are not well known throughout the clinical community. Consequently the average clinician is him/herself “learning as they go.” This approach does not benefit either client or therapist. As the book’s first chapter makes clear, problem gambling differs significantly from substance abuse, its nearest clinical relative. Not attending to these differences leads to poor results and clinical failure. This book is the one essential tool needed by clinicians treating or likely to treat problem gambling. Written by a clinician with wide experience, it is intended for the general clinician treating or likely to treat problem gambling desiring a comprehensive, yet user-friendly guide.
Key Features
* Assessment and treatment of problem gambling and those affected by it is discussed
* Includes diagnostic instruments developed by the author
* An integrative approach is taken with a special focus on cultural concerns and clinical applications for women and minorities
* Integration of spirituality in treatment is covered
Counseling Problem Gamblers: A Self-Regulation Manual for Individual and Family Therapy
Esperanza Reynolds said,
Wrote on July 17, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
To develop the skill to counsel patients suffering from a gambling addiction, Alexander J. Ariano, Mental Health Counselor, joined a training class to obtain the license required to treat clients.
Part of the requirements of this course was to read and become familiar with the book by Joseph W. Ciarrocchi: Counseling Problem Gamblers and Their Families; a Self-Regulation Manual for Individual and Family Therapy.
Gambling is now part of our lives in South Florida and its addiction interferes with the ability of many to appropriately deal with family or social / work life demands and obligations.
There is always the hope that a person can beat the odds and become wealthy. The book provides a manual to be used by counselors, whether they are experienced in this subject or not, providing a foundation of knowledge and the latest research.
The book also provides self-help strategies, examples of interventions and theory put into practice; as well as effective treatment approaches, cognitive-behavioral interventions, motivational interviewing and stages of change.
As Alexander Ariano explains, these books have surfaced all issues on how to counsel and help remove imaginary barriers to gambling addiction, but this book in particular delves into the subject of spirituality, incorporating its fundamentals to assist clients with an addiction to gambling. Highly recommend this book for any aspiring counselor.
Rating: 5 / 5
Carl B. Wagner Jr. said,
Wrote on July 17, 2010 @ 11:26 pm
Access to gambling has never been greater. Internet gambling, the poker explosion, most states running lotteries is just some of the new temptations that lead some to serious gambling addiction. Treatment of problem gamblers has had a low success rate.
Joseph W Ciarrocchi has put in one book clinical wisdom and research into a treatment package aimed at developing the skills for successful recovery.
Covered in this manual:
Step-by-step treatment plans
Diagnostic instruments developed by the author
Focus on specific cultural concerns, with clinical applications for women, minorities, and religiously committed persons
Integration of spirituality in treatment
Coping strategies for family members
This is the book for counselors dealing with these very serious problems.
Rating: 5 / 5