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Estimated 60,000 Oregonians have gambling
problem
More than 6 percent of the clients
treated in 2003-04 say they had attempted suicide.
Oregon to offer inpatient treatment for gambling Addiction - An estimated 60,000 people in the state have a gambling problem Sunday, July 23, 2006 MICHELLE COLE The Oregonian SALEM -- Her darkest moments came after she'd spent 12 hours at a video poker machine. Hyped from too many cups of coffee and desperate over $1,400 in losses, she resisted the urge to crash into the highway guardrail on her way home. "The shame and the remorse becomes so great," says Bonnie, who has struggled with compulsive gambling for 10 years. The 50-year-old Gresham woman, who shared her story on the condition that her last name not be reported, spent a month in a Florida clinic and later at another in South Carolina because she couldn't get affordable, inpatient treatment in Oregon. Starting Wednesday, Oregonians struggling with gambling problems will be able to find inpatient care close to home. A gush of lottery revenues has made it possible for the state to provide inpatient treatment at a clinic in Salem. Oregon spends more per capita on gambling treatment, prevention and education than any other state. Only a handful of states offer subsidized inpatient care. Jeffrey Marotta, who coordinates state services for problem gamblers, says inpatient treatment will start modestly with seven state-funded beds contracted through Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, a nonprofit organization that provides treatment for addiction and mental illnesses. The beds are in a new wing of a Cascadia addiction treatment center. They will be filled within the first days, Cascadia says, with at least four others on a waiting list. Gambling counselors from across the state will decide which of their clients require inpatient treatment. An estimated 60,000 people in Oregon are problem gamblers, Marotta says. About 1 percent of the state's adult population is believed to suffer from pathological gambling, an impulse control disorder listed by the American Psychiatric Association since 1980. To qualify for state-funded, inpatient care, a person must live in Oregon and exhibit at least five of the 10 characteristics of the disorder, such as repeated attempts to quit, lying to hide gambling activity or stealing to pay for it. Oregon will spend about $125 a day per person for inpatient gambling treatment. Patients will be required to pay a share of the cost, though probably not more than $500. By law, the state dedicates 1 percent of lottery proceeds to treatment, which translates to about $4.6 million this year. The Oregon Lottery has budgeted another $1.9 million next year for a marketing campaign stressing responsible gambling and problem gambling awareness. A habit develops Oregonians have been gambling in some form for more than 60 years. For most, gambling isn't a problem. But addictive gambling became a concern after the state lottery began offering video poker in 1992. Last year, the lottery added slot games. Their effect on the number of problem gamblers has not yet been measured. Bonnie says she'd played bingo throughout her life but that her compulsive gambling began with video poker. She won about $360 the second time she played, Bonnie says. "I was off and running." Within two months, Bonnie says, she was stealing her son's allowance and paying frequent visits to her bank's cash machine. She learned that putting barriers in the way of her gambling was crucial. Bonnie has no access to the joint checking account she and her husband have. She carries no credit cards and has no personal savings account. Still, Bonnie says, she'd return bottles to the grocery store just to get money to gamble. Three times she sold her blood plasma. Oregon gamblers are spending $14 million a week on video lottery games, records show, an increase of about 27 percent from a year ago. A growing number of gamblers and their family members have sought help from state-subsidized outpatient centers, telephone counseling and short-stay "respite" programs. More women seeking help While studies suggest a higher incidence of problem gambling among young people, an analysis of Oregon gamblers receiving state-funded treatment in 2003-04 found the average age was 44. The share of women seeking treatment has increased since 1995 from 37 percent to nearly half. About half of the people treated in state-funded programs worked full time, with an average income of $35,317. About 40 percent of those receiving treatment were married and owned their own home. On average, gamblers treated in state programs in 2003-04 reported a gambling debt of about $24,000. "A common recovery goal for gamblers is paying off debt caused by gambling and learning to live within their financial means," Marotta says. More than 6 percent of the clients treated in 2003-04 say they had attempted suicide. Cascadia's inpatient gambling program will be designed to meet individual needs, with the average length of stay expected to be about 30 days. It will be staffed around the clock and will include quiet time and three to four hours a day of group and individual therapy. Group sessions will explore patients' values and attitudes about money. "People who have serious gambling problems tend to have very distorted view of money," says Rick Berman, Cascadia's director of addictions treatment. "They use credit cards, family money, mortgage the house. One guy sold an RV to three people." Other group sessions and workshops will cover the nuts and bolts of financial planning and what individuals will need to pay off their debts. Individual and group counseling will also focus on helping gamblers cope with their feelings. "Most people with severe gambling problems are emotionally fragile and, on the whole, more fragile than people with drug and alcohol problems," Berman says. And though gamblers can receive similar help in outpatient treatment, he says, residential treatment allows them to talk about feelings in a safe place -- without the opportunity to go out and gamble to numb those emotions afterward. Aid for family, too Family members, who qualify for state-funded outpatient treatment, will be encouraged to participate in group discussions and educational workshops. "Often with severe gambling problems, the family is very angry. . . . They may just be learning that their retirement is gone," Berman says. For Bonnie, losing money wasn't the worst part of her gambling. "It's the loss of the trust from my family, my loved ones," she says. "You feel the awful shame that you've disappointed your family again." Yet inpatient treatment is no guarantee of success. Among people who participate in state-funded outpatient treatment in Oregon, 74 percent are either gambling less or not at all six months later, officials say. Among those who complete treatment, 90 percent are gambling less or not at all after six months. Lori Rugle, coordinator of the gambling treatment program at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center near Cleveland, says their most recent research shows about 50 percent of the people who complete the inpatient VA program are able to abstain from gambling for as long as 18 months. That 50 percent success rate is lower than Oregon's outpatient rate. But Rugle, as well as experts here, say the population in need of residential treatment often suffers far more serious problems. Gamblers who complete state-funded residential treatment in Oregon will be connected with outpatient counselors before they leave. They will also be encouraged to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings in their hometowns. Bonnie still attends group meetings and fights the possibility of relapse. "I can't say that I will never gamble again," she says. "I can say I won't gamble today." Michelle Cole: 503-294-5143; michellecole@news.oregonian.com http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1153547766154880.xml&coll=7 |
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