Speaker: Pete Pennington, MS, NCGC, CGAC-I, NCC is a Problem Gambling and Outpatient Mental Health Therapist at Best Care Treatment Services in Oregon. He is producing a documentary to reveal the deeply personal journeys of devastation, treatment (both successful and unsuccessful) and recovery of problem gamblers. This documentary will also explore the effects of a Gambling Disorder on families and society.

Among other things, Rebecca Daniel-Burke will ask the following questions:

1.) When you started working with this population, what was your first indication that it was different from other populations you’d worked with?

2.) How do you begin working with this population?

3.) Okay, so we’ve got phase one, which sounds like it entails quite a lot, now tell me about phase two:

4.) This biphasic treatment process sounds involved. Not every clinician has access to the training, groups, frequency of service or ability to leave the office to take therapy to the grocery store or bank. What would you say clinicians who don’t specialize in this population and want to provide more informed services, or even be more aware of potential gambling problems in their clients?

5.) Let’s say a clinician follows this process and has a pretty good idea a client has a gambling disorder. Then what?

6.) The DSM V has significant changes for many disorders, their diagnoses and even their treatment. What are the changes to Gambling Disorder and what will these mean for clinicians?

7.) You're involved in a documentary film project. How did that come about and what is it?

Links:

Gamblers Anonymous:
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/

Two short videos on the Gambling Disorder:
http://youtu.be/F1j_Yhx3_-E
http://youtu.be/VzzGrIbCrq4

The Elephant Next Door on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/theelephantnextdoor