Family Support for Gambling Addiction
This family has dealt with their brother’s gambling problem before. He racks up huge debts and then becomes overwhelmed. The last time they bailed him out he didn’t gamble for about 10 years. They want to have an intervention and confront him, but do not have a plan for afterwards. We advised that they might want to hold off on an intervention until they have some options for treatment. That way they can offer him solutions for treatment during the intervention process. We provided the following information: Intervention resources Family resources AHS public programs Private non 12-step programs Intervention Information: http://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/family-intervention.html http://www.canadadrugrehab.ca/Alcohol-Drug-Intervention.html Here is the contact information Catherine MacDonald: Website: http://www.onmywaycounselling.com/ Phone: 1.613.722.1884 Note: Uses a gentle approach to intervention. She invites the person to their intervention rather than ambushing. From your basic details, it sounds like your brother already acknowledges his gambling problem and does not need to be ambushed by his family. FAMILY RESOURCES This is a link that will take you to different therapies and models used to treatment families of addicts: http://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/family-addiction-help.html This webpage outlines different styles of therapies and lists hundreds of resources organized into categories for the family. Here are some books on Enabling and boundaries. They can be helpful in deciding what sort of approach you want to take with your addicted loved one. Addictive Relationships: Reclaiming Your Boundaries (1989) Joy Miller Better Boundaries: Owning and Treasuring Your Life (1997) Jan Black, Greg Enns Boundaries – Where You End And I Begin: How To Recognize And Set Healthy Boundaries (1994) Anne Katherine Boundaries and Relationships: Knowing, Protecting and Enjoying the Self (1993) Charles Whitfield Boundaries in Marriage (1999) Henry Cloud and John Townsend Boundaries in Marriage – Participant’s Guide (2002) Henry Cloud and John Townsend Boundaries: When to say Yes, When to Say No, To Take Control of Your Life (1992) Henry Cloud and John Townsend Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day (2000) Anne Katherine TREATMENT RESOURCES Now, there will be a variety of treatment options for you to offer Ben*. Treatment is generally more effective when the individual needing treatment is an active part of their recovery and not just pushed in one direction. After all, only they can keep themselves “sober” and they often have an idea what might work best for them. In this section, resources are organized into two options: programs you pay for and programs subsidized by provincial healthcare. PUBLIC Here is the website for the responsible gaming program in Alberta: www.aglc.gov.ab.ca/responsiblegambling/ With the public systems (if you cannot or choose not to go the private route) there are always going to wait times and protocols. Typically a person must be assessed and then referred into treatment (outpatient and or inpatient/residential). Here is the assessment office in Calgary. Ben will need to book an appointment or find out when drop in times are. You may want to call ahead to see if they deal with gambling. They may need to redirect you to a mental health office instead the addiction and mental health office. Calgary Adult Addiction Services (AHS) Stephenson Building 2nd floor, 1177 11 Ave. SW Calgary, AB T2R 1K9 Phone: (403) 297-3071 Toll-Free: 1(866) 332-2322 Fax: (403) 297-3036 Note: Service hours are Monday to Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. Intake and assessment is available on a drop-in basis weekdays at 1:00 PM. Residential Gambling Programs Poundmaker’s Adult Residential Treatment Program PO Box 34007 Kingsway Mall Post Office Edmonton AB T5G 3G4 Phone: (780)458-1884 Email: info@poundmaker.org Problem Gambling Resource Network 2nd floor, 3312 Parsons Road Edmonton, AB T6N 1B5 Phone: (780)461-1259 Email: pgrn@programgamblingalberta.ca Note: The...
A Veteran with a Gambling Addiction
A caller, Lindsay*, recently made a hard decision that many people with addicted loved ones have to make. She recently left her partner, Greg*, because she could no longer deal with the turmoil his gambling addiction was causing. Even though Lindsay took a big step in asserting her own boundaries by separating from Greg, she, like many others, was still concerned with helping him find support and treatment for her loved one’s addiction. A little more about Greg… 29-year-old Greg is an ex-military veteran with PTSD who received two $30,000 settlements for his mental distress. He has blown his entire settlement on gambling. Like many people with process addictions, Greg also abuses substances (he uses alcohol and cocaine), but mostly struggles with gambling. Greg does not recognize he has a problem. Greg admitted to having a problem when Lindsay moved out, but has yet to make any effort to stop gambling or get help. We informed Lindsay that we have specific resources for veterans needing treatment. This was a huge relief to Lindsay, knowing there are resources for Greg to get treatment. We also mentioned the benefit of attending a treatment center that has programs to address both process addictions and trauma, such as our sponsoring organization, Sunshine Coast Health Centre. Lindsay was looking specifically for counselling in Edmonton, AB to help her cope with the impacts of Greg’s gambling problem. We provided her with contacts for the Edmonton Mental Health & Addictions Office… GOVERNMENT-FUNDED OUTPATIENT CLINICS IN EDMONTON Edmonton Adult Counselling and Prevention Services (Alberta Health Services ) 10010 102A Avenue NW Edmonton, AB T5J 0G5 Phone: (780) 427-2736 Open Monday to Friday 8 AM -5 PM, Tuesday to Thursday 8 AM – 9 PM. Intake/Assessment is available on a drop-in basis Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 8 AM – 3 PM and Wednesdays 8 AM – 2 PM. and general links for problem gambling resources in Edmonton and Canada… GENERALIZED EDMONTON RESOURCES FOR ADDICTION Here is the link to a webpage for private Edmonton addiction resources: http://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/edmonton-rehab.html#private There is a long list of counsellors who deal with addictions and Lindsay will have to contact them to see if they help people affected by addicts, specifically gambling, before deciding whether or not she will connect with them. GAMBLING SPECIFIC Here is the link to the gambling-specific resources: http://www.canadadrugrehab.ca/Gambling-Addiction-Treatment.html You will see each province’s resources and you will also see federal resources. Just click the grey bar for each section or province and it will drop down all the resources for that section. This is one resource we thought might help Lindsay more than any other… Problem Gambling Resource Network 2nd floor, 3312 Parsons Road Edmonton, AB T6N 1B5 Phone: (780)461-1259 Email: pgrn@programgamblingalberta.ca The Problem Gambling Resources Network is committed to helping individuals and communities address gambling in a healthy and responsible way through public awareness, education, advocacy, prevention, treatment/referral and research. *Not their real names Looking for more information? Contact us...
