5 Courses on Gambling to Help Support Clients in their Recovery

This intermediate-level course explores the complex relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), gambling disorder (GD), and comorbid factors such as impulsivity and substance use. Drawing on research involving both recreational gamblers and U.S. veterans undergoing treatment for GD, the course examines how PTSS uniquely predicts vulnerability to gambling in specific high-risk situations, including those involving negative affect, social pressure, and...

The article highlights the lack of clear, consistent definitions of "recovery" in research on veterans with gambling disorder. Most studies focus narrowly on abstinence and symptom reduction, overlooking broader, strengths-based, or harm-reduction approaches. The review also points out the lack of diversity in study samples and a failure to consider natural recovery pathways or social and cultural factors. The authors...

Gambling disorder is a behavioral addiction associated with impairments in value-based decision-making and cognitive control. These functions are thought to be regulated by dopamine within fronto-striatal circuits, but the role of altered dopamine neurotransmission in the etiology of gambling disorder remains controversial. Preliminary evidence suggests that increasing frontal dopamine tone might improve cognitive functioning in gambling disorder. We therefore examined...

Nowadays, gambling disorder (GD) is a worldwide health issue and there is a growing need to both improve our understanding of this disorder and to tailor specific interventions for its treatment. Moreover, theoretical models and preliminary empirical results suggest that difficulty in regulating emotional states might be involved in GD. However, literature describing clinical and theoretical aspects of emotional dysregulation...

The article evaluates the utility of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) when applied to older adults. Using a Rasch model approach, the study analyzes data from older adults to determine the dimensionality, fit, and effectiveness of the PGSI in measuring gambling severity among this demographic. The findings reveal the strengths and limitations of the PGSI in differentiating problem gambling...