Pathological Gambling: A Clinical Guide to Treatment

By Victor Ortiz, MSW, LADC II, CADC II, Intervention and Treatment Support Director, Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling













In an effort for Council staff members to continue educating ourselves on problem gambling, each member chose a book on the topic to read and review. This week’s review comes from the Council’s Intervention and Treatment Support Director, Victor Ortiz, MSW, LADC II, CADC II.

Victor chose the book: Pathological Gambling: A Clinical Guide to Treatment.

Pathological Gambling: A Clinical Guide to Treatment provides insight on the treatment of individuals with gambling disorders. The book provides a comprehensive version of various research done geared towards treatment considerations. It begins by exploring gambling disorders as a public health issue and the benefit of such perspective. The benefit of a public health perspective is that it is a multilayer approach allowing one to explore the association of social risk factor or behaviors with gambling, as well as, the interactions of these factors in an effort to understand gambling and its effects on individuals. 

The book evolves and concentrates on various perspectives and populations: older adults, young adults, gender differences, prevention, pharmacological treatments, and others. The evolvement of each chapter leads to treatment recommendations which are cognitive and behavioral treatment. For example, the cognitive approach is defined as any therapy that is based on the belief that our thoughts are directly connected to how we feel. The goal is to change the thoughts that impact feelings and behaviors. The book lends thoughts to utilizing the treatment recommendations in the development of future trainings in order to provide more practical treatment of gambling disorders.

I highly recommend this book as a must read for all clinicians working with or aspiring to work with pathological gamblers. The book provides a comprehensive perspective and understanding of treatment recommendations. One common and constant concern that I receive is how do I treat gamblers? This book is a great resource to help answer such a question.

Citation: Grant, M.D., M.P.H., Jon E., & Potenza, M.D., Ph.D., Marc N. (2004). Pathological gambling-A Clinical Guide to Treatment. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.