Short description:

Poker websites. State lotteries. Sports betting. As gambling outlets become easier to find, more?and younger?people are risking their finances, family lives, and health. In the Pursuit of Winning brings together an international panel of 35 experts to present theoretical, clinical, sociological, historical, and spiritual perspectives on problem gambling, and test popular addiction and disease models in the field. Early chapters examine the general psychology of gambling, before moving on to the irrational ideas associated with compulsive wagering, from belief in luck to illusions of control. The seven chapters in the second half are devoted to evidence-based interventions from a variety of clinical orientations. Case examples, Q&A sections, and a glossary add extra readability to the coverage.

Among the highlights:

• The genesis of gambling: human nature or social learning?
• Potential relationships between individual factors?including temperament, coping skills, and specific clinical syndromes?and problem gambling.
• Beyond the house edge: the view from economics and marketing.
• Cognitive-behavioral, transpersonal, and anger-management interventions for pathological gambling.
• Guidelines for developmentally appropriate treatment of gambling problems in youth.
• Cogent reviews of Gamblers Anonymous, telephone/online counseling, and the emerging science of pharmacology in gambling treatment.

For addiction counselors, psychiatrists, health psychologists, clinical social workers, and researchers in behavioral medicine, here are solid insights into an underrecognized client population. Its balance of accessibility and scientific rigor make In the Pursuit of Winning an ideal textbook for applied and graduate programs in addiction counseling and health psychology.

Long description:

Gambling is an underrecognized problem from both a clinical and a public health point of view. It is not uncommon for an adolescent or adult to participate in one form of gambling or another on a regular basis, be it the lottery, card playing for money, sports wagering, or gambling on electronic gaming devices. Nor is it uncommon for such participation to reach excessive or destructive proportions, with negative effects on the individual?s psychological, social, economic, and family life. The results of the National Research Council?s 2000 review of empirical studies suggest that 85% of adolescents report having gambled during their lifetime, with 73% of adolescents reporting having gambled in the past year. Despite gains in knowledge concerning the correlates and risk factors associated with severe gambling problems among youth during the past ten years, a general lack of public and parental awareness exists. This raises serious mental health and public policy concerns.

Writtenfrom an international perspective, this book covers gambling research and interventions in the following categories: role of helpline services; a Jungian-transpersonal approach to treatment; cognitive therapy for problem gambling; pharmacological interventions for problem gambling; desensitization/biofeedback as treatment for problem gambling; binge gambling; pathological gambling; past and contemporary aboriginal peoples? experiences with gambling; problem-gambling counselor certification; measurement of outcomes in problem gambling treatment; overview of teen gambling-related issues from leading researchers.

From the reviews:

"Zangeneh, Blaszczynski, and Turner offer an excellent and complete account of the current state of the science of gambling behavior and the treatment of problem gambling. ? Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers." (S. R. Flora, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (11), 2008)

"This book is a series of very interesting ? ideas on the nature of gambling, of pathological or compulsive gambling, and on treatment. ? I found this book to be an interesting and informative read, particularly in its attempt to provide diverse voices on the possible causes of pathological gambling. It is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, clinicians, and academics and will add to our debates about the nature and treatment of pathological gambling." (David M. Ledgerwood, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 53 (38), 2008)

Table of Contents:

Explaining Why People Gamble.- Games, Gambling, and Gambling Problems.- Exploring the Mind of the Gambler.- Individual Factors in the Development and Maintenance of Problem Gambling.- Gambling.- A Critical Perspective on Gambling.- The Marketing of Gambling.- Religiosity and Gambling Rituals.- Buying a Risk.- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Problem Gamblers.- Psychopharmacological Management of Pathological Gambling.- A Transpersonal Developmental Approach to Gambling Treatment.- How Science Can ?Think? About Gamblers Anonymous.- 15.- A Treatment Approach for Adolescents with Gambling Problems.- The Evolution of Problem Gambling Helplines.