Gambling treatment program extending its reach
Pub Date: 6/1/2006
Donna Johnson, Excutive Director of the Montana Council on Problem Gambling (MCPG), which is based in Billings, reported the group' problem gambling service' are growing
rapidly.
In 2004, MCPG contracted with 31 counselors who ran 758 group therapy sessions for 1,972 participants, 111 of which were new to the program. In 2005, 37 providers conducted 971 therapy sessions for 2,607 participants, 173 of them new.
In addition to working directly with people, the Council holds two training conferences annually.
In April the Council held a conference in Missoula attended by 44 people, including therapists, probation officers, and people from the legal field who want to know more about the problem.
The Council also recently published a new brochure to inform people of Council services. Ms. Johnson notes the brochure was produced by the talented staff at Summit Gaming and noted the quality standards are high.
Production of the new informational brochure is just part of the support the Council receives from the gaming industry.
Rich Miller, Executive Director of the Gaming Industry Association and a board member of the MCPG, says the funding comes principally from the Montana Tavern Association, the Gaming Industry Association, the Montana Coin Machine Operators Association and corporate partners.
Johnson says, "Without the support of these organizations, we wouldn't have a treatment program." She notes that "We have a grant-writer to seek grants, but otherwise the gambling and tavern associations are a chief source of support."
Johnson said that gambling problems are a growing focus across the country.
"I'm going to be attending a national conference on problem gambling where the emphasis will be on gambling problems among adolescents, Native Americans, and veterans, she said. "I'm excited to be able to go to this conference. It seems we're just on the cutting edge of these issues."
While Johnson deals daily with people with gambling problems, she' quick to note, "We don't take a position for or against gambling," and goes on to say, "People cause their own problems."
She says that a big danger sign that gambling has become a problem is when "people turn to gambling for income. It was never meant for that. It' a social activity. People get economic problems and delude themselves that they'll help themselves out of a jam by gambling--but it won't work.
"Some people are able to quit gambling without treatment. For those who can't quit, help is available."
The answer to the question of how many people there are with gambling problems is elusive. Johnson says that studies indicate that 8.1 percent of people who gamble are problem gamblers and another 9 percent have the potential to have problems.
Rich Miller says that as a percentage of the general population, problem gamblers are about 2.6 percent and various Montana studies indicate that problem gamblers run from 2.3 to 2.8 percent of the state' population.
Miller cautioned that various statistics measuring the problem aren't necessarily helpful. "Statistics all depend on how we count them. We're less concerned about numbers than whether we're getting help to the people who need it. Do we help? Yes."
Miller said, "A statistic that is equally important is that 97 percent of the people don't have a gambling problem."
Mark Kennedy, a Billings investment counselor, is president of the Montana Council on Problem Gambling.
"The issue of problem gambling is one that affects the general population," he says. "Anybody who funds our work wants to know if what we do is working. We're trying to develop a system of measuring just where we're at in dealing with the problems."
Kennedy came to the council with 20 years of experience with the gaming industry as an owner of Bert & Ernie' facilities in Helena, Great Falls and Missoula, and the Little Casino in Billings.
He said that he came on the Council because "I thought they could use someone with a financial background." He says, "I've always been proud of the MTA, GIA and the MCMOA. They're pro-active and they stand up to deal with the problems of gambling."
Kennedy suggested that the whole issue of dealing with problem gambling is still in a learning mode. "We're still trying to develop a system of evaluating where we are. It' where alcoholism evaluation was 20 years ago."
The bottom line? "It' a problem that needs to be addressed," says Kennedy. "We're addressing it."
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, June, 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.