Main description:

Pathological Gambling: Etiology, Comorbidity, and Treatment examines the prevalence and consequences of problem gambling as well as approaches to treatment. In this comprehensive book, Petry clarifies the current understanding of gambling as a disorder, including its levels of intensity; possible origins in biological, neurological, developmental, and environmental spheres; and special issues surrounding populations that seem to be more susceptible to problem gambling, including youth, ethnic minorities, and those with comorbid affective disorders such as depression.The author reviews treatments commonly used for pathological gambling as well as non-professionally guided interventions such as Gamblers Anonymous. Petry then presents her own brief cognitive-behavioural approach, whose success is empirically proven in the largest known study of psychosocial treatments of problem gamblers.This book represents a review of everything currently known about problem gambling as well as promising treatment approaches, making it an invaluable, comprehensive resource for both therapists and researchers in the field of pathological gambling.

Contents:

I. Foundations for UnderstandingIntroductionTerminology, Prevalence Rates, and Types of GamblingAssessmentII. EtiologyDemographic CorrelatesComorbidity of Disordered Gambling and Other Psychiatric DisordersNeurobiology and GeneticsIII. Research on InterventionsPharmacotherapiesRecovery Without Professional InterventionTherapy for Families and Significant OthersPsychoanalytic and Psychodynamic TreatmentsEarly Behavioral TreatmentsCognitive Biases and Cognitive TherapyIV. A Treatment ModelCognitive-Behavioral TherapyBrief and Motivational InterventionsV. ConclusionsPrevention: Focus on Gambling in Youth and Young AdultsConclusions