Dr. Eric Geffner's Individual Outpatient Gambling Treatment Program

Some of these video links are private and can only be reached via my website please do not use these links on ANY public sites, do not post these links in any manner. Other links are public you tube videos and can done with as you please. I plan on expanding this section over the next few months with more videos and also discussion about them. 

First up we have One Last Bet.

One Last Bet is a video that I have been using for many years in my treatment of gambling addiction and educating the public on the addiction. It is very dated now, but still a very helpful overview of the addiction. I ask my patients to watch this and to try and spot similar thinking that they have currently or in the past. It is also useful to demonstrate the progressive nature of the disease and how severe it can get. Each case vignette is progressively deeper in the disease.

The first case is a female slot machine gambler named Mary Lou who appears to be in denial of her addiction and is only showing very small signs of the disease. Her minimization of "lying about her gambling" is the clue that something is wrong, her using gambling as a way to get out of the house, her attempts to read books on it to control it, gambling when she was depressed, trying to manage it on her own... these are really common issues for someone who is in an earlier stage for the disorder, she also uses a common rationalization that she is not missing work or not embezzling.. this approach is the "Im not so bad" mentality seen in early stages.. Finally she  expresses an unwillingness to stop, almost a fear of even thinking of stopping. One of the other main issues she shows is that she does not stop after a win, she will keep on gambling till the money is gone. To me, this the one of the hallmarks of all addictions: continuing the behavior when most people would be satiated. In addition, we see how the credit card industry is also feeding off of her problem. A few years ago I contacted Mary Lou and she reported that she no longer gambles.

The second case is so tragic, it shows a lady who looks like she could be someone's grandmother a person who was a good employee but eventually embezzles from her job to gamble. In the years I have done this work, I have seem many cases where honest and good people are twisted by the addiction to the point of committing illegal acts that they never otherwise would have.  She clearly shows how the disease progresses over a period of time.The issue of honestly is a critical one in gambling addiction treatment, it is the source of pain for spouses. Most, but not all of my patients are lying only when they are in their addictions and otherwise would be honest people. Gambling addiction recovery requires a willingness to become rigorous honest and open. The majority of women who become addicted to gambling do so with either on slots or video poker, she this example of a female blackjack gambler is somewhat unusual. Being unable to leave without putting winnnings back into more gambling especially after a win is very common. I would have to say that nearly all of my patients tell me that they win, often big, but are unable to leave when they do.  After  these first venettes you will hear a few experts discuss the types of people who are most vunerable, and impact of the expansion of gambling.  The Third case is Kenneth MacGreggor and starts at minute 15. About 15% of my patients have drug or alcohol problems, the rest usually would not ever abuse drugs or alcohol and do not relate to those problems. Kenneth shows how very successful in business many of my patients are also how knowing about one type of addiction and being in recovery from it does not do much to help with gambling addiction. This shows the progress from social gambling to pathological gambling. I love the way he speaks about his delusional thinking the rush he felt when gambling, as well as the ego involvement he expereinced. Helping my patients to learn about the neuological basis for the "rush" and the need to not seek this experience and let the brain is essential to help them recovery, as is their often subjective experience of bordeom.

Click here for part 1 of the Gambling Addiction Video: One Last Bet 

Part 2 of one last bet continues the story of Kenneth...Please watch the next section of kenneth's story, it is important to see what happened to him. Additional commentary to be added soon

Click here for part 2 of the Gambling Addiction Video: One Last Bet

Click here for part 3 of the Gambling Addiction Video: One Last Bet

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This is a newer video.. these are not private links

Against all odds part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7UVO5_zXj0&feature=relmfu

Against all odds part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Y1uv6mB-4&feature=relmfu

Against all odds part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaGvi4W3jm4&feature=relmfu

Against all odds part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpghsRHjcJU&feature=relmfu

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jd4K-kJkpo

This another good educational video that was made in Austrialla called Overcoming Compulsive Gambling. This important video is offers a great discussions of the way slot machines and each form of gambling slowly will beat take everything.

Although gambling addiction is serious life threatening issue, sometimes we need a bit humor as well just to keep things in perspective...  Although this is a bit silly, it does show how gambling takes over the person's mind and becomes obsessive, how it causes people to lose or sell possessions (I have had many patients sell their cars or other property, or not paying bills they owe (more common) how it wrecks friendships and even something simple like paying a newpaper bill.

 Flintstones Gambling addiction episode... "betting freddy"  click here