How To Break a Gambling Addiction

To encourage the participants to complete the follow-ups, they will be rewarded with a gift card after the post-treatment assessment (T4). If the participant discontinues participation before end of study for any reason, they will be contacted by telephone. Standardized questions will be asked in order to complete questionnaires equivalent to those in T3 (see Table 2) as well as the reasons for discontinuation (optional). The first assessment will be done before the initial visit to the clinic (T0). Measurements will continue through the treatment period with questionnaires distributed at session four (T2) and nine (end of treatment) (T3). If the treatment takes longer than expected an extra measurement will occur during the treatment period.

Adverse events identified by the therapist or spontaneously reported will be registered in the eCRF of the trial dataset and reported during the weekly clinical meetings. The severity of the adverse event will be evaluated by the trial management group. In occurrence of an AE or SAE, the participant will be referred to relevant care. All collected adverse event data will include onset, duration, severity, relationship to the intervention, expectedness and outcome in accordance with the CONSORT harms statement 2022 61. The General Anxiety Disorder-7-Item Scale was developed as an instrument to measure the presence and severity of symptoms of anxiety 34. It is a seven-item questionnaire screening for symptoms during the last two weeks.

Discover how therapy can help treat addiction by offering a safe space to explore your goals, learn new skills, and move forward. With Talkspace, you can connect with your online therapist from the comfort of your home on your schedule. Recognizing your small victories helps build your motivation and reinforces the positive changes you’re making to stop gambling. Recovery from gambling isn’t all-or-nothing; it’s a process you have to work through. During the process, it’s important to celebrate each win, no matter how small. Allow yourself to celebrate every time you go a full day without gambling, resist the urge to place a bet, or go for a walk instead of gambling.

CBT manual

The participants randomized to the control group will remain on a waitlist for 12 weeks. During this time, the participants in the control group will receive the same questionnaires at the same time points as the intervention group. After 12 weeks, the control group will be offered the same treatment as participants in the intervention group. In an additional study, all participants will be followed up until 24 months after treatment. The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is a nonprofit organization in the United States focused on addressing issues related to problem gambling. The NCPG provides resources, support services, and education to individuals and families affected by gambling addiction.

• Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is a fellowship of men and women who have come together to help themselves and others recover from a gambling problem.
• The participants randomized to the control group will remain on a waitlist for 12 weeks.
• The results will also be made available to the public via press releases and information directed to health care staff and other professionals.
• The M.I.N.I. is a brief interview aimed at detecting psychiatric comorbidity (see Sect. 18a) and will enable further identification of reasons for exclusion.
• Recovery from gambling addiction is possible, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.

Gaming Disorder Timeline Follow-Back (GD-TLFB)

Any activity that brings you joy and can help shift your focus away from gambling can be a good replacement for gambling. By incorporating new habits into your routine, you can find healthier ways to meet your emotional needs. Theravive is a network of licensed therapists and psychologists committed to helping people receive the best mental health care available.

There was no wait list control in the pilot study, but there was a waiting time between first visit and start of treatment. During this time, we saw a small mean decrease of 0.5 on the same symptom measure. Based on this, we would not expect any or a very small reduction in the wait list control group. However, in the RCT the control group will receive questionnaires including questions about time spent gaming.

They also work to raise awareness, advocate for responsible gambling policies, and connect people to treatment services nationwide. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of CBT on symptoms of GD. Cognitive behavioral therapy involves managing problematic thoughts, feelings and behaviors in more functional ways and thereby reducing symptoms.

Gaming time is not directly connected to GD 29, but spending excessive amounts of time gaming has been identified as a risk factor for GD 30. If you’re struggling with how to give up a gambling addiction or you’re wondering how to know if you have a gambling problem​ in the first place, your first step could be as simple as reaching out. Talkspace can connect you with a licensed therapist specializing in gambling addiction and long-term behavior change. If you’re wondering how to stop gambling, connecting with others who know what you’re going through can make a big difference. Controlling your access to money can be a helpful step in breaking your gambling addiction. When you have easy access to cash or credit, the temptation to gamble can be too hard to resist.

“Thousands of individuals and families could suddenly find themselves without access to the only national lifeline for problem gambling,” said Amanda Szmuc, an attorney with Offit Kurman. With advances in payment technology, it’s becoming increasingly easy for people who gamble to quickly access large amounts of money. Grounded in an informed consumer choice model, these guidelines are designed to minimize gambling-related harm by emphasizing player control and shared responsibility. Founded in 1996, the NCRG is dedicated to funding research on problem and youth gambling.

The occurrence of, and possible effect of the intervention on comorbidity of depression and anxiety will be used as exploratory outcomes of this trial. These conditions will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) 33 and General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7) 34. Previous research has shown that both depression and anxiety are common in patients with GD 16, 19,20,21. Data for depression and anxiety will be collected at every time point for assessment (see Table 2, timeline), and data will be aggregated as the mean change from baseline to follow-up. The primary objective of this trial is to examine the effects of a 12-week CBT-intervention on GD-symptoms, compared to a waitlist control.

Our findings showed that different types of consequences, such as those affecting one’s finances, relationships, and health, are often experienced simultaneously or in reinforcing cycles. In some cases, relatively infrequent harms were described as having substantial and lasting effects. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview is a structured screening interview for common psychiatric disorders. It includes questions assessing as per industry sources a wide range of psychiatric disorders including mood and anxiety disorders, suicide risk, and use of psychoactive substances. The Swedish version of this structured clinical interview will be used to assess psychiatric comorbidity in the assessment of exclusion criteria 59.

Serious adverse events refer to e.g. hospitalization, suicide attempts or significant worsening of psychiatric symptoms requiring extensive additional out-patient care. To complement the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5, a shorter questionnaire based on ICD-11, the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT), is included in the test battery, 31, 32. The mean change from baseline to end of treatment will constitute the outcome for GDT, that will be distributed at all time points for data collection (see Table 2, Timeline). Compulsive gambling can be tied to trauma-related addiction, anxiety, depression, and unresolved emotional issues.

The power calculation is based on an expected reduction in the symptoms of GD, measured by IGDS9-SF. While the IGDS9-SF demonstrates robust psychometric properties 28, 39, we have not found any clinical studies using this instrument as an outcome measure after intervention. However, in our pilot study 24 we included a set of items highly resembling the IGDS9-SF and observed a mean decrease of 10.9 (SD 10.6) points.