Problem and Pathological Gambling

An easy-to-use guide leading clinicians through a cost-efficient approach to one of today’s major addictions: problem or pathological gambling. Over the past 30 years there has been a dramatic increase in the availability of convenient and legal gambling opportunities. Most people can reach a casino in a matter of a few hours, lottery tickets in minutes, or an online gaming site in seconds. Accompanying this proliferation of gambling is a growing understanding that between 5% and 9% of adults experience significant to severe problems due to their gambling activities. These problems have become a real health concern, with substantial costs to individuals, families, and communities. The objective of this book is to provide the clinician – or graduate student – with essential information about problem and pathological gambling. After placing this behavioral addiction and its co-occurring difficulties in perspective, by describing its proliferation, the associated costs, and diagnostic criteria and definitions, the authors present detailed information on a strategy to assess and treat gambling problems in an outpatient setting. They go on to provide clear and easy-to-follow intervention guidelines, including homework assignments, for a brief and cost-efficient cognitive behavioral approach to problem gambling, involving stepped care and guided self-change. Means of countering problems and barriers to change and vivid case vignettes round off this thorough, but compact guide for clinicians. Earn 5 CE credits for reading volumes of the Advances in Psychotherapy book series. Click here to find out more!

The new series, Advances in Psychotherapy -- Evidence-Based Practice, provides therapists with practical, evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of the most common disorders seen in clinical practice -- and does so in a uniquely "reader-friendly" manner. Each book is both a compact "how-to" reference on a particular disorder, for use by professional clinicians in their daily work, as well as an ideal educational resource for students and for practice-oriented continuing education.

The most important feature of the books is that they are practical and simple to use. All have a similar structure, and each is a compact and easy-to-follow guide covering all aspects of practice that are relevant in real-life. Tables, boxed clinical "pearls," and marginal notes assist orientation, while checklists for copying and summary boxes provide tools for use in daily practice.

The series has been developed and is edited with the support of the Society of Clinical Psychology (APA Division 12). The Society is planning a system of home study continuing education courses based on the series that an individual can complete on the web.