On-Demand Course

at your pace and convenience

This course is approved for 2 continuing education (CE) hours. To earn CE hours, you will need to complete 1) all required course activities and 2) the course evaluation survey. A certificate of attendance will be made available on the Student Dashboard upon course completion.

Who Should Attend

This course is recommended for:

  • family therapists, art therapists, mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health clinicians,

  • problem gambling treatment providers,

  • Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors (CADCs),

  • Certified Gamling Addiction Counselors (CGACs),

  • problem gambling treatment supervisors, and

  • prevention specialists.

What Is Included

This on-demand, online training offers a historical overview of problem gambling, along with information about contemporary gambling technology. Presenters discuss the ways problem gambling behaviors can develop; key indicators to watch for when determining if gambling is becoming a problem; and treatment implications to consider.

  • The course includes four modules. Immersive case studies, presentations, and readings are provided under each module.

  • You are free to take as much time as you need to review these resources. Once you have reviewed and mastered the content of each module, you will be required to pass a short quiz before proceeding to the next module. You must pass all of the quizzes before you are eligible for verification that you have successfully completed the course.

  • We suggest you take your time, view content as many times as you like, and access suggested readings and resources when possible. It is not necessary to complete the course in a single sitting. You are free to open and close the course as many times as you like.

  • This course includes videos of experienced mental health clinicians and actors portraying clients based on scripts from real sessions. This provides authenticity while protecting client privacy.

  • We ask you to have an open attitude as you go through this course. At times it may seem as if we are reviewing what you already know. However, paying close attention is likely to provide an opportunity to realize subtle differences and important nuances in problem gambling treatment and supervision. Finally, we hope you enjoy this learning format and that this course supports your many contributions to counselors, clients, and agencies.

Course Curriculum

    1. Welcome!

    2. How to navigate this course

    3. Course Overview

    4. Course Learning Objectives

    5. Core Competencies Related to Knowledge of Problem Gambling

    6. Required Reading: OHA Guide to Core Competencies

    7. Video: What Clinicians Need to Know

    8. Transcript: What Clinicians Need to Know

    9. Presentation: Evolution of Gambling Technology

    10. Quiz: Evolution of Gambling Technology

    11. Presentation: Evolution of Gambling Technology

    12. Transcript: Evolution of Gambling Technology

    13. Video: Stories of Gambling and Recovery - Tony

    14. Video: Stories of Gambling and Recovery - Kelly

    15. Quiz 1

    16. Before we continue...

    17. Your Professional Background

    1. Video: Biopsychosocial Assessment of Problem Gambling

    2. Transcript: Biopsychosocial Assessment of Problem Gambling

    3. Video: Magical Thinking and the Dream World

    4. Transcript: Magical Thinking and the Dream World

    5. Quiz 2

    1. Video: Diagnosing Disordered Gambling

    2. Transcript: Diagnosing Disordered Gambling

    3. DSM-5 Criteria and Screening Tools

    4. Quiz 3

    1. Video: Addiction by Design

    2. How Problem Gambling Develops: Pathways to Problem Gambling

    3. Video: The Pathways Model Part 1

    4. Quiz: Pathway Model 1

    5. Video: The Pathways Model Part 2

    6. Quiz: Pathway Model 2

    7. Video: The Pathways Model Part 3

    8. Transcript: The Pathways Model

    9. Optional Reading: A Pathways Model of Problem and Pathological Gambling

    10. Quiz 4: How Gambling Problems Develop

    11. Additional Resources

    1. Before we wrap up...

    2. Course Evaluation

About this course

  • Free
  • 39 lessons
  • 1.5 hours of video content

Instructors

Senior Instructor Rick Berman

Rick Berman, MA, LPC, CADC III, CGAC II specializes in integrated treatment of co-occurring mental health and addictive disorders. He trained and supervised addictions and mental health counselors for more than 20 years. In recent years his work focused more specifically on problem gambling. He has presented at national problem gambling conferences in Canada and the United States. He is the past coordinator of Lewis & Clark’s Problem Gambling Services and instructed Gambling Counselor Pre-Certification Courses for many years.

Senior Instructor Teresa McDowell

Teresa McDowell, Ed.D., LMFT is a professor emerita at Lewis & Clark, in Portland, Oregon, where she served as Department Chair and co-founded Lewis & Clark’s Problem Gambling Services. Dr. McDowell has served as a licensed marriage and family therapist, family therapy educator, program director, educational administrator, and consultant over the past 40 years. Her work has primarily focused on counselor education and workforce development, organizational consultation, international family therapy, equity-based clinical practice, integrated treatment for problem gambling, and clinical supervision. She currently serves as a social researcher, program evaluator, and consultant with Partners in Social Research and is the senior instructor for the Advanced Career Online Resource Network (ACORN). Dr. McDowell has published over 50 refereed journal articles and book chapters. She has presented her work at numerous conferences across eight countries. She is the author of Applying Critical Social Theory to Family Therapy Practice and first co-author of Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy: Guidelines for Equity-Based Theory and Practice (1st and 2nd Editions). Her work in problem gambling treatment includes authoring the Working with Families in Problem Gambling Treatment handbook, research on core competencies for problem gambling counselors and prevention specialists, and extensive contributions to the development of Oregon’s problem gambling treatment workforce.

Pricing

This course is free of charge, courtesy of Oregon Health Authority, Problem Gambling Services

ACORN

is committed to excellence.

ACORN has been approved by the International Problem Gambling and Gaming Certification Organization (IPGGC) and the Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) to provide continuing education courses. Additionally, ACORN has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7274. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. ACORN is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Course Reviews

5 star rating

Great training

Fawn Sybrant

I found this training to be very useful and appreciated how the material was very thoughtfully put together.

I found this training to be very useful and appreciated how the material was very thoughtfully put together.

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5 star rating

Really good content

Mike Martini

helpful thorough text

helpful thorough text

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5 star rating

GREAT

Bilal Simms

THANKS

5 star rating

Excelente

Jose Miguel Torres Velasquez

Sin comentarios, Me encanto!

Sin comentarios, Me encanto!

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5 star rating

Great job.

Dr. Robert Perkinson

5 star rating

Great info

Windy Clevenger

helpful

helpful

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5 star rating

Awesome!

Melanie Emming

Awesome!

Awesome!

Read Less
5 star rating

Very educational and insightful.

Brian Lee

Very educational and insightful.

Very educational and insightful.

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4 star rating

Good start to learn about problem gambling.

Diane Anderson

I do not have the text but plan on ordering it.

I do not have the text but plan on ordering it.

Read Less
5 star rating

very attractive content for education

Georgia Giasoumi

5 star rating

excellent title and presentation

Elizabeth Cash

Extremely informative and I was able to follow along presentation.

Extremely informative and I was able to follow along presentation.

Read Less
5 star rating

Good

Danean riley

Great

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Oregon Health Authority (OHA) logo
Oregon Council on Problem Gambling (OCPG) logo
International Problem Gambling and Gaming Certification Organization (IPGGC) logo
Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) logo
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) logo