Some miscellaneous background stuff

I have been in private practice since 1998 treating gambling addiction and general psychological issues. I Graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago in 1995 with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology; from UCLA with B.A. Psychology in 1988, and I am a past president of the UCLA Psychology Honor Society.  I also assisted the State of California in writing the health and welfare code that re-established the California Office on Problem Gambling.  I have also assessed with the legal defense of gamblers facing criminal prosecution.

I first became interested in psychology as a high school student after a close friend developed schizophrenia and was hospitalized.  I was set on learning everything I could about the brain, mind, and psychology in order to understand what happened to my friend.  I also was interested in helping the homeless mentally ill population.  In high school I volunteered at the USC-County psychiatric hospital and the Anne Seppi institute for Schizophrenia.  In college I was a pre-med student at San Diego State for 2 years and then transferred to UCLA which a focus in psychology. 

Following graduation from UCLA in 1988 I moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern University where I spent the next 8 years working/studying psychology at the doctoral level.  At this time I was providing psychotherapy for people with severe medical illnesses.  I studied the relationship between stress and illness.  I worked on helping people cope with the stress of pain and illness with the use of meditation, hypnosis and biofeedback.  I completed medical-psychological clinical rotations in the following areas: inpatient & outpatient chemical dependency treatment, geriatric neuropsychological assessment, oncology, psychiatry consultation-liaison service, cardiac transplantation evaluation, and spinal cord injury rehabilitation and chronic pain.  After becoming involved in a research project that examined treatment outcome for drug and alcohol addiction, I decided to focus specifically on addiction issues.

After graduating from Northwestern I spent a year in Europe and the middle east and then moved back to Los Angeles, where I was born.  At this time, in 1996, I learned that a friend had a  severe gambling problem.  I was really amazed how this highly intelligent, very successful businessman was so completely powerless over his gambling that he regularly needed help getting home from Vegas after losing his airfare. 

I spent the next year reading every article and book on gambling addiction that I could find.  The more I read the more my interest grew.  I contacted the California Council on Gambling and completed their training program for counselors.  I was in their first graduating class and was the first Ph.D. Psychologist in California who was certified as a problem gambling treatment provider.

I attended local Gambler's Anonymous meetings as a guest and started to provide treatment for gamblers.  I had supervision from experts in this area and still consult with them as needed.  Since that time I have worked with many people, helping them to help themselves to be free from the addiction.

I joined the California Council on Problem Gambling in 1998 and help them to develop a training program to educate new therapists in the treatment of Gambling Problems and subsequently I lectured and taught certification workshops across the State. After a while I also became a nationally certified gambling therapist and helped the national council develop their certification test. I am a Board Certified Clinical Consultant on the national level, and an Office on Problem Gambling (OPG) Supervisor for the State funded program, in conjunction with UCLA, that is helping to provide supervision for the new gambling therapists in the state.

I have appeared on many TV news spots or in print media press such as Fox Sports West and Dear Abby, and worked with hundreds and hundreds of patients or the people who care about them.

In march 2013 I won the State of California Office on Problem Gambling Achieving Success Award for my work as a treatment provider and for assisting the state's gambling program.

Starting in 2011 I have been busy providing supervision for the new gambling treatment providers as a part of the State of California Treatment program.

Publications:

Geffner, E. (2003) Gambling treatment offers opportunity for the flexible counselor. The Addiction Professional, 1 (4) 34-39.

Geffner, E. (2003) Incorporating multiple tools to treat pathological gambling. The Addiction Professional, 1 (5) 34-36.

Geffner, E. S.  (1995).  The effect of a role-induction intervention on patient dropout and session attendance in chemical dependency treatment.  Doctoral Dissertation.

Pavkov, T. W., McGovern, M. P., and Geffner, E. S.  (1993).  Problem severity and symptomology among substance misusers:  The International Journal of the Addictions, 28(9), 909-922.

Affiliations:

California Council on Problem Gambling
National Council on Problem Gambling.