Program gives gamblers specialized help

Michelle Saxton

Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000 | 10:14 a.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia is using a new software program to help compulsive gamblers get specialized treatment.

The program helps those who answer calls to a hot line collect demographic and historical clinical information about gamblers to establish case studies. It also stores professional information about counselors who help gamblers.

"Based on what we find, we can take people and put them in certain categories," said Warren Biller, director of the Michigan Council on Problem Gambling. "Based on that category, we can develop a protocol for treatment."

Biller, a recovering gambler, was the consultant for the Problem Gambler's Help Network of West Virginia.

Biller helped set up the software program based on RESUMate, a program that matches job candidates with prospective employers.

"Not only can we match them with a counselor that has a specialization in gambling addiction treatment, we can perfect the match to a counselor that has the gambling experience, plus experience in treating other conditions such as depression, domestic violence," said Mia Moran-Cooper, director of the Problem Gambler's Help Network.

"It's just point and click and there's all the information," she said.

The network is funded by a $500,000 grant by the West Virginia Lottery and includes a toll-free hot line. The program is neither for nor against recreational gambling, Moran-Cooper said.

The 24-hour hot line has fielded 55 calls since its inception on Aug. 1, Moran-Cooper said Friday.

A confidential telephone screening determines what kind of gambling addiction a caller has, if the caller is in debt and if the caller is suffering from any other disorders or addictions, such as depression or substance abuse.

Eighteen of the 55 callers reported prior treatment for other mental health related conditions, Moran-Cooper said. Twenty-five callers reported that their gambling problems began during or after they experienced personal loss or stress, such as the death of a loved one, divorce or physical injury.

Forty-six callers have been referred for a free consultation with a licensed clinician. Family members of gamblers can also get a consultation.

Clinicians have earned master's degrees and are licensed in social work, counseling or psychology.

"There's no common solution to this problem," Biller said. "It will take a very sophisticated analysis of each individual to determine the best course of action."

Moran-Cooper said the program may also help provide a "better snapshot" of problem gamblers.

Records will be stored confidentially. Biller said he hopes other states will implement the system and share information with West Virginia.

Approximately 1 percent of adults nationwide may be pathological gamblers, while 2 to 3 percent may be problem gamblers, said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, Inc., based in Washington, D.C.

Pathological gambling is more serious than problem gambling, and has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as an impulse-control disorder.

Biller said support groups must be part of the solution.

"You tell your story, and all of a sudden it gives everybody else the permission to tell their stories," Biller said.

Callers to West Virginia's hot line are referred to a local Gamblers' Anonymous or online support group.

"Many of these callers think they are the only person that has this problem," Moran-Cooper said. "It's kind of a relief to them, I think, to hear that they are not alone."

Michigan's hot line gets up to 2,000 calls a month, said James McBryde of the Michigan Department of Community Health. About 10 percent of the callers are compulsive gamblers, while others may simply be seeking information, McBryde said.

New Jersey's hot line fielded about 9,000 calls in the last year, said Kevin O'Neill, director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Inc.

The national council has a hot line with 28 call centers across the nation. Callers are forwarded to local call centers based on their location. This allows people traveling to other states to gamble to have access to a universal number, Whyte said.

"If you have someone in crisis, you don't want to give them four or five numbers," Whyte said.

Moran-Cooper said West Virginia will be involved in the national council and hot line starting Jan. 15.

In the meantime, she hopes the state hot line will encourage compulsive gamblers in West Virginia, or their families, to seek help.

"There's a lot of denial inherent with this disorder," Moran-Cooper said. "They don't believe they have a problem until they run out of their money."

Of those who called the West Virginia hot line, 12 percent had filed for bankruptcy, she said.

Callers can be referred to their nearest consumer credit counseling office to help them develop a debt repayment plan.

"If you're in debt, a lot of time the thinking is, 'I gambled my way into debt; I'll have to gamble my way out,"' Moran-Cooper said. "So when bill collectors are calling you daily, the gambler feels increased pressure to go out and gamble to pay the bills."

The hot line is advertised through radio ads, billboards, brochures and stickers.

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Hot line for West Virginia: 1-888-696-2517

Hot line as of Jan. 15: 1-800-GAMBLER

National Problem Gambling Help Line 1-800-522-4700.

On the Net:

http://www.ProblemGamblers.net

http://www.ncpgambling.org/