Gambling Disorder: A Clinical Guide to Treatment is a systematic, eloquent, and exhaustive examination of the etiology, psychopathology, neurobiology, and treatment of the disorder, which was reclassified for DSM-5. Building on its 2004 predecessor, Pathological Gambling, which was groundbreaking for its era, the second edition has been thoroughly restructured and is designed to prepare clinicians to diagnose, treat, and―most important of all―understand their patients with the disorder. More common than previously supposed, gambling disorder is associated with decreased self-esteem, comorbid substance use disorders, financial and legal difficulties, relationship and family stress, and suicidality. Yet, many clinicians are unaware of the personal and social consequences of this disorder, as well as its implications for public health. Accordingly, the book provides a detailed look at the effects of gambling on societal, familial, and individual health and well-being and prepares clinicians to accurately assess their patients and provide effective treatments. As befits a field that has been the recent focus of so much innovative and promising research, the new edition boasts a fresh roster of contributors, each of whom bring special insight to their areas of expertise. Noteworthy topics include: • Currently available screening and assessment instruments for diagnosing gambling disorder and monitoring symptom change are discussed in-depth, including psychometric properties, norms, administration methods, and scoring and interpretation of each instrument. • Online gambling and gambling-gaming convergence is considered in a new chapter, which explores the complex interplay between gambling and technology. Highlighted issues include the growth of interactive platforms, role of new player experiences and reward structures, tailoring of products to individuals, and integration into other online activities, such as gaming and social media.• Gender differences in epidemiology, phenomenology, psychiatric comorbidity, and biology have been identified among patients with gambling disorder, with important treatment implications. Similarly, older adults and young people can exhibit significant differences in behavior. These are explored in separate, clinically rich, chapters.• The always evolving field of gambling and criminal/legal issues is explored in a chapter on forensic issues in gambling, which examines the relationship of gambling disorder to antisocial personality disorder and domestic abuse, and looks at the interface between gambling and the legal system.• Tremendous advances in the treatment of gambling disorder have been made since the last edition, and these are reflected in comprehensive chapters on psychosocial and pharmacological treatments. Full of expert clinical knowledge and cutting-edge research, Gambling Disorder: A Clinical Guide to Treatment is the clinician’s comprehensive guide to helping patients with gambling disorder find relief from this disabling disorder.

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If you think you have a gambling problem, you need to read this book. It could save your life, and then it will help you to become gambling free, safe, and happier. If you are a gambling therapist, counselor, or researcher, you will learn important current gambling addiction information and fresh insights about all available treatment options; from CBT and DBT to financial controls, from inpatient treatment recomendations to urge warefare, from GA and Smart Recovery to hypnosis. More importantly, you will learn how to protect your patient from suicide.

Please read what the experts are saying about this book:

Sheryl Anderson, Director of Vanguard Center for Gambling Recovery at Project Turnabout. Vanguard is the nation’s premier inpatient treatment program for gambling addiction: “Mr. Dahl’s insights into the characteristics of problem gambling are significant and important for our current understanding of this growing epidemic. Psychologists, gambling counselors, and problem gamblers should all read this book.”

Devonna Rowlette: Washington State Certified Gambling Counselor II: “I intend to provide this book to all my patients, and I will recommend that every therapist I know do the same. It was also a very pleasant surprise that the book was a pleasure to read. It was well written, even funny at times. I believe this book will become the go-to first book for the problem gambling industry for a very long time to come.”

D.G. Smith, Co-founder of Youth Emergency Services (Y.E.S) one of the nation’s first phone-in crisis hotlines.: “Suicide is preventable. Intervention is possible. My experience with crisis helplines informs me of that reality. Mr. Dahl’s specific step-by-step plan to get the problem gambler to prepare for a suicide attempt well before they get to that awful moment of decision not only has never been proposed, I believe it is pure genius. It will prevent completed suicides in the thousands!”

Keith S. Whyte, Executive Director, National Council on Problem Gambling:“This timely book on preventing problem gambling-related suicide is packed with practical tips and recommendations. Gambling addiction is a life-threatening disorder and needs to be taken extremely seriously.”

If you think that you may have a gambling problem, read this book now before it is too late. Gambling addiction is exploding around the world and it is causing an alarming increase in suicides. Last year in the United States gambling-caused suicides killed approximately the same number of people as all homicides combined!

These gambling related suicides are preventable, and this book tells you why, and how. If you have, or suspect you have a gambling problem, this book could save your life. If you know someone who you suspect has a gambling problem, this book could save their life.

After dealing with suicide prevention, the book goes on to give you the most comprehensive information anywhere about all the available treatment and recovery options for gambling addiction. Therapists, researchers, counselors, and educators will also learn valuable concepts and tools for dealing with this exploding and dangerous addiction.

Reading and learning from this book is a small price to pay to avoid impulsive and preventable suicides.

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