scholarly journals Gamblers Anonymous and the 12 Steps: How an informal society has altered a recovery process in accordance with the special needs of problem gamblers

2009 ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Ferentzy ◽  
Wayne Skinner ◽  
Paul Antze
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Substance Abusers ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Problem Gamblers ◽  
12 Steps ◽  
Unique Approach ◽  
Fourth Step ◽  
Gamblers Anonymous ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
And Gender

This paper discusses how Gamblers Anonymous (GA) members approach the 12 Steps of recovery, originally advanced by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a spiritual solution to alcoholism. GA's approach finds unique expression in its fourth step, which in AA involves a written "moral inventory." In GA, members are expected to make a financial inventory alongside the moral one. Pecuniary matters are important to gamblers given the debt loads many of them carry. Debt, which is technically a Step 4 and Step 9 (making amends) issue, in practice is typically addressed early in the program, with preceding steps addressed later. The spiritual process central to 12 Step programs will normally not proceed in the expected manner when gamblers are substituted for substance abusers. For one, the process is not as linear for gamblers. GA members often work on the ninth step well before addressing those coming before it. The process assumes a pragmatic, and even haphazard, flavor. GA has altered a time-honored process of recovery - by means of grassroots wisdom and practice - to apply to the realities of problem gambling. While the paper's primary focus is GA's unique approach to the 12 Steps, this is addressed in the context of the changing nature of GA as a whole. Shifting spousal and gender roles along with a greater appreciation of the 12 Steps themselves are all endemic to a GA fellowship that seems to be in transition. While these changes have had some effect, many aspects of GA's approach to the 12 Steps remain intact: the focus on debt entails solutions seemingly unique to the special needs of problem gamblers.

Recovery in Gamblers Anonymous

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Ferentzy ◽  
Wayne Skinner ◽  
Paul Antze
Keyword(s):  
Alcoholics Anonymous ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Central Theme ◽  
Notable Feature ◽  
Rigorous Approach ◽  
Slow Pace ◽  
12 Steps ◽  
Gamblers Anonymous ◽  
The Individual

This article was written to provide an overview of recovery in Gamblers Anonymous (GA). How GA's approach reflects the distinctive needs of compulsive gamblers is a central theme. GA is a mutual aid organization modeled upon Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), though differing in some ways from that organization. One notable feature of GA is its emphasis on patience in the recovery process, reflected even in its approach to the 12 Steps, which are "worked" at a slow pace for this reason. Another feature that distinguishes GA is a seemingly more rigorous approach to avoiding potential triggers, notably gambling establishments. Whereas AA leaves it up to the individual to decide whether or not it is safe to enter establishments where alcohol is served, GA's official stand on such questions is uncompromising: members should not enter, or even go near, gambling establishments. Reasons for these differences are discussed.

Legal Pressure in Therapeutic Communities

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
George De Leon
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abusers ◽  
Therapeutic Community ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Treatment Retention ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Compulsory Treatment ◽  
Differential Outcomes ◽  
Retention In Treatment ◽  
Legal Pressure ◽  
Indirect Relationship

Therapeutic community (TC) studies are reviewed to assess the effects of legal referral on treatment retention and outcome. The main findings reveal little evidence for differential outcomes between legally referred and non-legally referred clients in TCs, although legal referrals to TCs remain longer in treatment than do “voluntary” clients. Thus, there is an indirect relationship between legal referral and outcome which is mediated through retention in treatment. Issues are discussed which have confounded interpretation of research on the efficacy of compulsory treatment, e.g., definitions, client perception of pressure, implementation of legal referral procedures and the complexity of the recovery process itself. It is hypothesized that legal pressure can have a limited but potent role in the recovery process for appropriately identified substance abusers.

scholarly journals Feminist theory in Feminism & Psychology [Part I]: Dealing with differences and negotiating the biological

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Lorraine Radtke
Keyword(s):  
Feminist Psychology ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
History Of ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Theoretical Issues

Theory is an important preoccupation of articles published in Feminism & Psychology. This Virtual Special Issue includes 10 of those published since the journal’s inception that have a primary focus on theoretical issues related to two related topics – differences and the biological. The concern with differences includes the socially constructed categories sex and gender, as well as sexuality and social class. Those articles addressing the biological represent critical scholarship that is working to negotiate a place for the biology within feminist psychology and entails moving away from the view that the biological is natural and innate. This introductory article addresses how theory fits within feminist psychology and offers a brief history of debates concerning differences and the biological before offering summaries and observations related to each selected article. The featured articles can be located on the Feminism & Psychology website and are listed in Appendix 1 at the end of this article.

Using Subtests of the Brain Age Quotient to Screen for Cognitive Deficits among Substance Abusers

1992 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Fals-Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Substance Abusers ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Neuropsychological Battery ◽  
T Score ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Screening Device ◽  
Brain Age ◽  
The Brain

The subtests of the Brain Age Quotient, a brief neuropsychological battery, were used to screen for cognitive impairment in a sample of 112 substance abusers. Each of the subtests was scored, using newly developed T scores corrected for age, education, and gender, for which a mean battery score of T < 40 indicates general cognitive impairment. The chance-corrected agreement in finding cognitive dysfunction between this battery and the Average Impairment Rating T score from the Halstead-Reitan battery was adequate, κ = .81. This result suggests that, for discerning global cognitive impairment, this relatively brief neurodiagnostic screening device may be an attractive alternative to the more time-consuming Halstead-Reitan battery.

scholarly journals RESEARCH OF IMPLICIT ATTITUDES TOWARDS GAMBLING FOR GAMBLERS AND NON-GAMBLERS

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 498
Author(s):  
Irina Plotka ◽  
Nina Blumenau ◽  
Zhanna Vinogradova
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Attitudes ◽  
Implicit Associations ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Implicit Measures ◽  
Implicit Methods ◽  
Explicit Attitudes ◽  
Problem Gamblers ◽  
Single Category ◽  
Gamblers Anonymous ◽  
Explicit Measures

The importance of studying attitudes towards gambling has been recently recognized in the field of gambling. Research aim is to examine whether non-gamblers and gamblers exhibit both positive and negative implicit attitudes towards gambling-related stimuli. Research questions: (I) What is the valence of implicit associations with gambling among gamblers and non-gamblers? (II) Are the differences in attitudes towards gambling revealed by explicit and implicit methods among gamblers and non–gamblers? (III) Is there a consistency between results obtained by implicit measures and explicit measures of attitude towards gambling? Methods: Participants - 98, age 18-58, Mdn=34 years. Groups: Social Gamblers – 24, Problem Gamblers – 25, Non-Gamblers – 49. Implicit measures: Modified version of Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT). Explicit measures: “Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs (GABS)” and “Gamblers anonymous twenty questions (GA-20)”. Results and Conclusions. (I) Both positive and negative implicit gambling associations were found in each of the groups. (II) Explicit attitudes towards gambling are most pronounced in social gamblers and most not pronounced in non-gamblers. Differences in implicit associations with gambling among the groups were not found. (III) In case of positive implicit associations, a negative correlation between the results of explicit and implicit measurements was found. It is possible that the use of negative implicit associations will contribute to the classification of gamblers with low, moderate and high risk.

scholarly journals Relevance of Representative Bureaucracy in Municipality Administration in the Republic of Lithuania

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Arvydas Mikalauskas
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Representative Bureaucracy ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Active Communication ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
And Gender

The concept of representative bureaucracy is based on the significance of representativeness of bureaucracy: its sensitivity to the public interest is directly related to representativeness of public sector servants. This article clarifies the concept of representative bureaucracy as an approach that enables one to diagnose problems in the Lithuanian civil service human resources management and presents possible solutions. Primary focus is on the aspects of trust in civil servants and gender representation in the public service. Research into representative bureaucracy has highlighted the issues of human resource management that need to be addressed in municipality administration in Lithuania. The principles of representative bureaucracy are also relevant to local autonomy because of both, the possibility to involve residents into handling administrative issues (via active communication of civil servants) and efficiency of bureaucracy itself.

A cognitive-behavioral analysis of Gamblers Anonymous

2008 ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Toneatto
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral ◽  
Twelve Step ◽  
12 Steps ◽  
Gamblers Anonymous ◽  
The Common ◽  
Ongoing Support

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is often placed in opposition to twelve-step approaches in the treatment of addictions. While the former is accompanied by considerable empirical support and tend to be relatively brief and symptom-focused, twelve-step approaches are often more widely available, accessible without cost and can provide long-term, ongoing support. Very few studies have directly compared these approaches in the treatment of problem gambling. The purpose of this article is to briefly examine the twelve steps of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and show their essential comparability to concepts and strategies commonly found in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The striking similarities in intention and process between these two approaches are shown for each of the 12 steps despite their differences in their conceptual and linguistic framework. The result of this analysis is to encourage integration of these complementary approaches based on the common ingredients of therapeutic change rather than on ideologically-based differences.

Ethnic and Gender Differences in the Diagnostic Profiles of Substance Abusers

1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albana M. Dassori ◽  
James A. Neff ◽  
Sue K. Hoppe
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Substance Abusers ◽  
And Gender
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