Rubbing Elbows on the Continuum of Care
by Jim Wuelfing, CPP-R, NRPP, Prevention Director
Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling
I have been doing a lot of trainings lately describing the continuum of care, particularly as it relates to recovery-oriented systems of care. I have been thinking about the components of the continuum, namely prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery, and where the similarities and differences lie. I most often represent the continuum in a Venn diagram like this.
As a prevention professional, one of my early mentors was William Lofquist who defined prevention as “an active process of changing conditions and fostering personal attributes that promote the well-being of people.” I tried to find a consensus definition of recovery and found that task to be nearly impossible. A group at the Betty Ford Clinic produced a number of possibilities and I was drawn to “a voluntarily-maintained lifestyle characterized by sobriety, personal health and wellness and citizenship.”
In my own 26+ year journey of recovery, I find that both the definition of prevention and the panel’s take on recovery fit my experience. Certainly, my recovery produced the most positive results when it was an active process, rather than a reactive process, that involved both environmental changes and a focus on fostering my personal attributes. It has always been voluntary as I continue to work toward health and wellness.
It is the word ‘wellness’ that I keep coming back to. To me, both prevention and recovery are about wellness. Intervention often initiates treatment and treatment initiates recovery. Even Bill Wilson in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous speaks of the outcome of recovery as to lead a life happy, joyous and free. I am grateful for the disciplines of intervention and treatment but I’d rather spend my time in recovery rubbing elbows with prevention.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Michael Walks America
We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Michael Korpi to the 25th National Conference in Boston this year. Michael is currently walking across America in order to raise awareness about problem gambling. He began his journey in October, 2010 in Edmonds, Washington and he will conclude his journey with us, at the National Conference on Gambling Problems, in Boston on July 1 and 2, 2011.
In 2006 Michael walked across the state of Washington with a good friend. A few summers later, he hitchhiked from Los Angeles to Seattle. He says, “I didn‘t have a purpose for these trips like I do with this one, but they planted the travel bug deep inside me. Now, with both the bug and some spare time -- and a strong purpose to boot -- it seemed to me that this trip was the only reasonable thing to do.” He adds, “I started my trip with a rigid itinerary. Most of these plans I threw into the wind, as the wind brought to me things I couldn‘t plan for -- equipment problems, weather, and people I met. I quickly learned that I wasn‘t taking this trip; the trip was taking me.”
As far as Michael’s goal for the trip he states, “As far as I’m concerned, this trip has already been a great success for me personally. It is an excellent exercise in approaching life one day at a time. Granted, it is necessary to have long term goals in mind -- like my long term goal of arriving in Boston, and my longer term goal of never gambling again -- but time elapses slowly, especially when you travel at less than three miles per hour. As far as my trip‘s broader affect, I will consider it a success if only one person‘s life is influenced positively by my efforts. I wouldn‘t want my worst enemies’ lives to be destroyed by gambling (nor by anything else, but problem gambling is my personal focus).
Michael has been documenting his travels and discussing his personal struggle with gambling addiction on his blog located at http://michaelwalksamerica.com. You can also check out where he's been so far on this map: http://www.masscompulsivegambling.org/swf/michael_WALKS/index.html
Follow along with us and we’ll see you and Michael in Boston for the conference!
**Here's a photo of Michael with his traveling companions.
In 2006 Michael walked across the state of Washington with a good friend. A few summers later, he hitchhiked from Los Angeles to Seattle. He says, “I didn‘t have a purpose for these trips like I do with this one, but they planted the travel bug deep inside me. Now, with both the bug and some spare time -- and a strong purpose to boot -- it seemed to me that this trip was the only reasonable thing to do.” He adds, “I started my trip with a rigid itinerary. Most of these plans I threw into the wind, as the wind brought to me things I couldn‘t plan for -- equipment problems, weather, and people I met. I quickly learned that I wasn‘t taking this trip; the trip was taking me.”
As far as Michael’s goal for the trip he states, “As far as I’m concerned, this trip has already been a great success for me personally. It is an excellent exercise in approaching life one day at a time. Granted, it is necessary to have long term goals in mind -- like my long term goal of arriving in Boston, and my longer term goal of never gambling again -- but time elapses slowly, especially when you travel at less than three miles per hour. As far as my trip‘s broader affect, I will consider it a success if only one person‘s life is influenced positively by my efforts. I wouldn‘t want my worst enemies’ lives to be destroyed by gambling (nor by anything else, but problem gambling is my personal focus).
Michael has been documenting his travels and discussing his personal struggle with gambling addiction on his blog located at http://michaelwalksamerica.com. You can also check out where he's been so far on this map: http://www.masscompulsivegambling.org/swf/michael_WALKS/index.html
Follow along with us and we’ll see you and Michael in Boston for the conference!
**Here's a photo of Michael with his traveling companions.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Joan's blog
Greetings. My name is Joan Gilmore and I am the Helpline Coordinator here at the Massachusetts Council on Problem Gambling. Much of the time, my job involves talking with people concerned enough about their own gambling or the gambling of someone they care about, to reach our Helpline (800-426-1234) or our Chat function (navigate through our Home Page www.masscompulsivegambling.org) to find information about problem gambling or resources for help.
For the past several weeks, however, I’ve been involved in the planning of a Pre-Conference Workshop to be held on June 30, 2011, as part of the National Conference on Problem Gambling, scheduled for June 29 – July 2, at the Park Plaza here in Boston. The Pre-Conference Workshop will look in the morning at the effects of problem gambling on the individual, the family, the community, and the judicial system. In the afternoon, we will have two concurrent sessions: one addressing aspects of internet gambling as they affect lawyers in particular, and the second examining effective responses by the judicial system to the legal challenges that can result from problem gambling.
We have arranged for a number of national experts to participate in this Workshop and expect that we will have an interesting, fact-filled, and challenging day on June 30. While the sessions will be designed with a legally-oriented audience in mind, we hope to include many other participants who want to learn more about legal issues involved in problem gambling.
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me here at the Council (800-426-1234). If you would like to register for the Workshop, please follow the links here to the conference registration forms. I’ll look forward to seeing you!
For the past several weeks, however, I’ve been involved in the planning of a Pre-Conference Workshop to be held on June 30, 2011, as part of the National Conference on Problem Gambling, scheduled for June 29 – July 2, at the Park Plaza here in Boston. The Pre-Conference Workshop will look in the morning at the effects of problem gambling on the individual, the family, the community, and the judicial system. In the afternoon, we will have two concurrent sessions: one addressing aspects of internet gambling as they affect lawyers in particular, and the second examining effective responses by the judicial system to the legal challenges that can result from problem gambling.
We have arranged for a number of national experts to participate in this Workshop and expect that we will have an interesting, fact-filled, and challenging day on June 30. While the sessions will be designed with a legally-oriented audience in mind, we hope to include many other participants who want to learn more about legal issues involved in problem gambling.
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me here at the Council (800-426-1234). If you would like to register for the Workshop, please follow the links here to the conference registration forms. I’ll look forward to seeing you!
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