Treatment Planning Category

Staying in Action: The Pathological Gambler's Equivalent of the Dry Drunk

2 CE Hours
440 members have taken this course

This course has been retired. We regularly update our course catalog to ensure relevance.

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About the Course

Alcoholics Anonymous refers to the alcoholic who has stopped drinking, but who still demonstrates alcoholic attitudes and behaviors, as a "dry drunk." Such individuals are said to have abstinence but not sobriety and are considered at risk for relapse. Although the concept of the dry drunk has been adopted by other self-help programs, "staying in action" is an equivalent and arguably more meaningful expression to use for the understanding and treatment of many pathological gamblers. The author discusses covert gambling, mind bets, switching and fusing of addictions, procrastination, risk-taking, and power games; a repertoire of ways in which the individual can remain in a gambling mind-set while technically abstinent. This is a clinical paper, based on the author's experience, especially in treating the more traditional, action-seeking gamblers.

This course is based on the reading online article, Staying in Action: The Pathological Gambler's Equivalent of the Dry Drunk created by Dr. Richard J. Rosenthal in 2005.

Publication Details

Journal/Publisher: Journal of Gambling Issues
Publication Date: March 2005, Issue 13

Course Material Author

Dr. Richard J. Rosenthal

Richard J. Rosenthal, M.D., is co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. He co-authored the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, was co-investigator on the first genetic study of gamblers, and has published articles and book chapters on the phenomenology of pathological gambling, its course, complications, and treatment. Dr. Rosenthal was a member of the National Academy of Science's Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and in 2004 the National Council on Problem Gambling presented him with their Robert Custer Award.

Dr. Richard J. Rosenthal authored the material only, and was not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.

Course Creator

Keith Gibson, Ph.D.

Dr. Gibson is a Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years in research, clinical and consulting practice. He has also held leadership roles in research administration and program evaluation and more recently has specialized in program evaluation and system analysis. He draws upon his years of expertise as a practicing psychologist, administrator, researcher and technologist to help universities evaluate their programs to implement, meet, and maintain CACREP standards.

Target Audience

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially addiction counselors, psychologists, mental health counselors, social workers, and nurses who seek knowledge about the pathological gambler's equivalent of the dry drunk. It is appropriate for all levels of participants' knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Define the concept of "dry drunk" as it applies to pathological gamblers.
  2. 2 Identify symptom substitutions and behavioral equivalents for recovering gamblers who are no longer actively gambling.
  3. 3 Explain the concepts of lying, cheating, stealing, and flooding as they relate to recovering pathological gamblers.
  4. 4 Discuss the recovering gambler's challenges with boredom, commitment, success, and reality.

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Material Authors

Any relevant financial disclosures for course material authors can be found in the article.

Course Creator

Keith Gibson, Ph.D. – There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until Sep 29th, 2026
This course has been approved by CE Learning Systems, service provider of Impact CE, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #192243, CE Learning Systems is responsible for all aspects of their programming.
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NAADAC Approved Education Provider

Florida Certification Board (FCB)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 30th, 2027
Impact CE, a service of CE learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Certification Board (FCB) to offer continuing education programs (Provider # 5069A).
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Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 30th, 2026
AddictionCounselorCE is an approved provider of the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (Provider #101). AddictionCounselorCE maintains responsibility for this course and its contents.
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New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS)

2 CE credit hours

CASAC

Renewal: Yes

CPS, CPP, CASAC-G, CPP-G

Section: Section 1
Renewal: Yes
Initial: Yes
Eligible until Feb 27th, 2028
More Info

Virginia Certification Board (VCB)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jul 31st, 2026
Virginia Certification Board educational provider # 106
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Course Article

Course Article

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$18

Course Details

2 CE Hours
Reading Online
Course 101426

Profession Group

  • Addictions

Availability

This course is retired. It is no longer available.

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