Want to learn more about pathological gambling behavior? Want to earn credit toward addiction counseling certification? Want to hear Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer give a rousing keynote address?
The you might want to plan on being at the Windgate in Helena April 20-21 for the Montana Council on Problem Gambling (MCPG) and the Montana Alcohol and Drug Counselors spring workshop.
For more information contact MCPG Executive Director Donna Johnson at 406-698-0528 or 888-552-9076.
The workshop begins Friday, April 20, with registration at 8:30 and the first session from 9 a.m. to noon, on your own for lunch. Session II runs from 1-5 p.m. that day. Saturday's Session III runs 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
The featured instructor will be Christopher Anderson, MS, NCGC, LMFT, who will speak on "Dream World of the Addict: Advanced Treatment Skills." Anderson is a recovering compulsive gambler.
He says: "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' 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 (dream world). This pattern is characteristic of family members as well as the addict.
"The process is common to all addictions and a working knowledge provides the clinician and the addict with significant additional tools to use in their treatment and recovery processes. This workshop details specific clinical interventions, as well as a road map for treatment and recovery, of both the individual and the family."
Anderson 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 and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Illinois. He is a National Certified Gambling Counselor and Supervisor who maintains a practice in the Chicago area.
He is the Director of the Gambling Recovery Center, which specializes in the treatment of gamblers and their families. Additionally, he supervises clinicians nationwide who are in training for the National Gambling Counselor Certification.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, March. 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.