Council on Problem Gambling hosting training
Pub Date: 10/1/2007
The Montana Council On Problem Gambling is sponsoring a fall workshop on gambling treatment called "The Dream World of the Addict." It is said to involve "advanced treatment skills."
The workshop will take place October 26-27 at the Holiday Inn in Billings.
There is an 8:30-9 a.m. registration on October 26, then a 9 a.m. to noon program followed by a noon to 1 p.m. lunch and a 1-5 p.m. training program.
On October 27, training programming will be presented from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
There are 11 credits available for LCSW, LCPC, LAC certification. The total cost is $120. Attendance Friday only is $80 for six CEUs or Saturday only for $50 for five CEUs. There are group discounts for five or more at $110 each.
Check, money order or purchase order accepted but a $25 cancellation fee will be charged.
Exhibit opportunities are available.
The following was provided as a program narrative:
"One of the primary characteristics of addicts is the escape from reality into an altered state. The most common and well understood mechanism of the escape into a mood altering experience is through the ingestion of substances.
"Less understood, but no less significant, is the addict s use of their thought process to escape into that mood altering experience. While this process is common to all addicts, it is most clearly demonstrated through a study of pathological gamblers.
The core process of gambling addiction involves the repetitive pattern of escape, from an unmanageable reality into a manageable fantasy or dream world.
Presenters' biographies:
Peggy Hough, MA, CADC, NCGC, received her Master s degree in Counseling Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago. Ms. Hough is a Certified Alcohol and other Drug Addiction Counselor, a National Certified Gambling Counselor, and a Certified Master Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner.
Christopher Anderson, MS, NCGC, LMFT, has a MS in Clinical Counseling with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy. He is a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Illinois, and is a National Certified Gambling Counselor and Supervisor.
He is the Director of the Gambling Recovery Center in Evanston, Ill. and maintains a clinical practice where he specializes in the treatment (as well as interventions and evaluations) of gamblers and their families.
It is recommended that social workers, professional counselors, chemical dependency counselors, school counselors, mental health case managers, probation and parole officers attend.
The Montana Council on Problem Gambling reimburses 34 therapists in Montana to provide group outpatient treatment for the gambler and their families. Contact: Montana Council on Gambling Treatment Program, Donna Johnson, Executive Director, P.O. Box 50071 Billings, MT 59105, or phone 1-406-698-0528 or toll-free 1-888-552-9076.
For most of the gamblers in Montana, gambling is a social activity, according to the MCPG. They participate in gaming activity without harmful effects. However, some gamblers are not able to limit their gambling and are referred to as problem or pathological compulsive gamblers.
The American Psychiatric Association first recognized pathological gambling as a mental disorder in 1980. Problem gambling can be defined as pattern of gambling behavior that compromises, disrupts or damages personal, family or vocational pursuits.
The Montana Council on Problem Gambling is a non profit agency dedicated to alleviating gambling related social and personal distress through the provision of a toll-free confidential 24 hour help line and referral service to their outpatient treatment program. That number is 1-888-900-9979.
This program has trained therapists in 22 Montana communities. The Council is dedicated to funding treatment groups across Montana and provides training for mental health professionals to conduct these groups.
The MCPG also provides education to compulsive gamblers, their families and other concerned Montanans. The Council has an active web-site, and is an affiliate of the National Council on Problem Gambling, .
As an affiliate, the Council participates in National Problem Gambling Awareness Week in March. This year MCPG had an information booth at the State Capital. The Council also was visible in Helena in support of a funding bill.
The Council provides two workshops or conferences each year. These are held over two days in opposite areas of the state. The object is to train therapists to better work with gamblers and educate the public about availability of treatment and local support.
In spring 2007, the Council had a workshop in Helena with 25 participant.
The Council is putting special emphases on the Native American gambler and our goal is to have treatment groups on each reservation. They also have gambling treatment groups in the Women s Prison and plans for targeting the adolescent gambling population.
Here are the figures from the beginning of the MCPG treatment program:
In 2000 there were nine providers who did 110 groups with 210 participants.
In 2006 there were thirty-one providers who did 1,172 groups with 3,003 participants including 165 new members.
In 2007 (January through June) there were thirty-four providers who did 816 groups with 1,772 participants and 148 new group members. Three new providers were added in Glendive, Clancy and Helena.
This year the council added treatment for the family of the gambler. There were 83 family groups and 45 individual family members. In these cases, the gambler was in treatment as well. These numbers are not included in the above treatment figures.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, September, 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.