What motivated you to become a health care service professional?
I was motivated most by my own recovery, which gave me the opportunity to give back. I started by working the Gambling Helpline and then was fortunate to become part of the Wheeler family as a peer counselor. I work with gamblers and family members of gamblers. I believe this disorder is greatly under diagnosed and misunderstood as gambling has become so socially acceptable. At Wheeler Clinic, we have organized a gambling intervention group of 14 women at York Correctional Facility for Women in Niantic. The program meets once a week and has a waiting list. I am extremely proud of this program and more motivated than ever to help those affected by this disorder.
What level of training and education are essential today for a professional to provide the kinds of service you deliver?
Professionals today need to understand that gambling addiction is a real disorder. Professionals need to attend gambling specific training to learn about the nuances of the disease. Few college or post-college level courses exist on this topic. The Department of Mental Health & Addictive Services and Wheeler Clinic annually offer a wide range of training programs to help professionals learn about and work with gambling addictions.
In what areas of health services do you perceive the greatest need and why?
I believe that people involved in the criminal justice system, children and teens in particular, are at great risk. In the criminal justice arena there is no screening performed for this addiction on entering Connecticut’s correction and incarceration system
More and more young adults and children who are left alone while parents are working have found their way to the Internet where they are gambling on their parents’ credit cards. This type of gambling is illegal and not all sites are in the U.S. Many parents have found out all too late with little recourse that their credit cards have been maxed out by their children. Schools and children and family social service agencies need to be educated about the disorder.
What are the greatest challenges you face in your role as a health care service professional?
My greatest challenge is spreading the message that gambling is a true addiction and disorder. Society understands tobacco, drugs and alcohol because a substance is ingested and a physical change results. Gambling is an activity based addiction. People have a difficult time understanding how someone can become addicted if they haven’t ingested something.
How will the kinds of health care reforms being considered, if enacted, affect the way you and/or your organization deliver services?
If the reforms being considered are enacted, it will enable providers to receive more training. Reform will provide money to expand education and prevention efforts and, hopefully, bring legitimacy to a very real disorder by spreading the message to the larger population.â–Â
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STATS:
Position: Peer Counselor and Case Manager, Wheeler Clinic
Quote: My greatest challenge is spreading the message that gambling is a true addiction and disorder.
