What’s in a Name?
May 22, 2013
Perhaps…HOPE, HELP and ultimately enhanced UNDERSTANDING and TREATMENT
Clinicians have long-awaited the release of the DSM-5, with the resultant recategorization and change in nomenclature for Gambling Addiction, from Pathological Gambling, Gambling Addiction, Compulsive Gambling and a variety of terms used to discern the varying degrees of severity of addiction, to the newly endorsed term of “Disordered Gambling.“
For those who suffer from a gambling addiction, or “Disordered Gambling” ….the name doesn’t matter. The category doesn’t matter. What matters is..access to treatment, being cared for with dignity as one who suffers from a serious illness versus an individual of weak morals and even weaker character. Gambling addiction is a progressive illness. By the time the afflicted individual reaches out for help, financial resources are decimated, familial relations are strained and help of any kind is hard to come by. There are a few low-cost outpatient treatment services available and, in most states, residential treatment, if available at all, is cost prohibitive and not underwritten by insurance or social services. Read more →
Internet Poker pulls the plug…or does it?
December 18, 2012
Don’t believe everything you read. At the very least..read on for ‘the rest of the story.’ Such was the case for me when I read this eye-popping headline in the Las Vegas Review Journal: “Reid Pulls the Plug on Internet Poker.” Say WHAT??!!
And then I read on…only to learn that Internet Poker’s “plug” was pulled for 2012. This on December 14th in a year when all eyes, ears and minds should be focused on the proverbial “Fiscal Cliff” vs. yet another gaming initiative.lvrj.com/news/reid-pulls-the-plug-on-internet-poker-for-this-year-183548271.html
Has the plug been “pulled?” No. The switch has been turned off for a mere few weeks until 2013. Internet gambling, social media gaming, online poker and more are hot issues for 2013. Read more →