Pre-Conference Series: Treatment

by Sasha C. Russell, M.A., Program Specialist, Communications, The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling

On Friday, April 26^th, 2013 the Mass Council will be hosting the2013 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Working Together to Create New Pathways for Success. The goal of the conference is to explore the collective responsibilities and efforts made to create pathways to educate, provide services, and advocate on behalf of people experiencing problems with gambling, their family members and the community.

Starting this week, and leading up to the conference, I will highlight a particular pathway. Pathways of the conference include: Treatment, Prevention and Recovery, and Advocacy. This week we are going to take a look at Treatment of problem gambling.

Treating problem gambling can be difficult for a myriad of reasons. In many cases, there are just not enough resources for a pathological gambler to get help. Recognizing this issue in Massachusetts, the Council, with the help of the Mass Department of Health (DPH), has been working hard to build treatment capacity. This effort, on behalf of the Council, is led by Council Intervention and Treatment Support Director, Victor Ortiz, MSW, LADC II, CADC II.

Council Consultant Arthur Friedman, Ph. D., LICSW, MA-PGS of Advanced Consulting Associates has worked with Victor to expand services in Western Mass. Arthur created a curriculum and partnered with Baxter Chandler, Director of Behavioral Health at Holyoke Medical Center, to train approximately 27 clinicians in Western Mass on problem gambling treatment. This is a huge milestone for the Commonwealth and a huge step forward in building capacity.

With this in mind, the morning panel of the Treatment Pathway for the Annual Conference, moderated by Victor, will be: Building Treatment Capacity: The Holyoke Treatment Model and the New DSM-V Criteria. Arthur and Baxter will join Executive Director of the River Valley Counseling Center, Anne Marie Martineau, in discussing the treatment model at Holyoke and the need for providers to increase their expertise and build treatment capacity to more effectively work with problem gamblers and their families.  Discussion will also include the impact that the upcoming DSM-V change in criteria will have with recommendations on how to approach pathological and problem gambling diagnoses in the future.

In another effort to help raise awareness and build capacity, the Council has held 9 regional collaborative meetings in the Commonwealth, this fiscal year, with more to come. The Council’s regional collaborative meetings are designed to establish a systematic approach to integrate problem gambling services with other social services, as well as build capacity in the different regions of Massachusetts. Baxter will be joining Director of Addiction and Criminal Justice Service at Gandara, Jaime Maldonado, MSW, LCSW, MA-PGS to discuss past meetings and plan future ones during the afternoon panel: Meeting the Challenges: Regional Collaborative Meetings.

The Commonwealth is in a unique position to take advantage of building capacity, and have open discussion about the future of problem gambling services, before the casinos are built. With this in mind, next week we’ll take a look at the importance of putting preventative measures in place, as well as the need to support those in recovery.

If you are interested in attending The 2013 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Working Together to Create New Pathways for Success, please Register Online Today!

Additional information about the conference below:

Date, Time & Location:

Friday, April 26, 2013
8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Endicott College, Wylie Inn and Conference Center, Beverly

Pricing:

$85 - full admission
$70 - MAPGS Holder
$25 – students

CEUs: 

Certificates have been applied for and are expected to be given to all participants who complete the full day: LADC I, LADC II, LADC Asst., CAC/CADAC, CAS, RN/LPN, NCC, SW, NCGC, LMHC.

Sponsors:

The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, & AdCare Educational Institute, Inc.

For more information or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please call the Council at 617-426-4554 or email Victor Ortiz: victor@masscompulsivegambling.org.