When the Montana Council on Problem Gambling group therapy treatment program was launched four years ago, executive director Donna Johnson said, there were nine therapists qualified and willing to work with the council.
Today, there are 31 and more are becoming qualified all the time, largely through training sessions organized and sponsored by the council. Such a session was conducted in Missoula in April, 2004 and received glowing marks from gaming industry representatives who observed. And another training seminar took place in Miles City during Sept., 2004. In 2005, there are plans for a spring workshop in Billings and a fall workshop in Great Falls.
"Someone will call the hotline (which is administered by the Delaware Council on Problem Gambling) and will get oral and written information about the disorder, and are offered the names and telephone numbers of local, qualified therapists," Johnson said. "But it's up to them to call."
"The callers can be taken into group therapy immediately," Johnson said. These sessions are conducted by Ph.d. or masters-level therapists with gambling addiction-specific training, she added.
These groups are small, Johnson said--three to four individuals per group--"so they get a lot of individual attention."
"Everyone who attends is asked to pay just $5 per session because we find even a token payment increases participants' dedication to recovery," she said.
"Many see our programs as a miracle," Johnson stated matter-of-factly. "Professional help for $5 a session? Most therapists charge $95 an hour! It's such a good concept. Many doubt it is possible."
The nature of addiction is such that it can never be "cured" in the classical sense, Johnson acknowledges. "We refer to the problem as being in remission," she said, but it is never completely gone.
Unfortunately, there is no method of quantifying results or success rates, Johnson admits, speculating that individual follow-ups a year after clients leave treatment might work, but would be extremely labor intensive and expensive.
"We're dedicated to helping people in need. I'm committed. I have a passion for this program."
Sources: Special Reports I,
published and distributed to 180,000 households state-wide, winter 2001; monthly Montana Tavern Times,
Sept., 2004; both published by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701. The MCPG can be reached at , 1-406-252-9076 or 1-888-552-9076, e-mail <donna@mtcpgambling.com>.