Family Support for Gambling Addiction in Alberta
This family has dealt with their brother’s gambling problem before. He racks up huge debts and then becomes overwhelmed. The last time they bailed him out he didn’t gamble for about 10 years. They want to have an intervention and confront him, but do not have a plan for afterwards. We advised that they might want to hold off on an intervention until they have some options for treatment. That way they can offer him solutions for treatment during the intervention process. We provided the following information: Intervention resources Family resources AHS public programs Private non 12-step programs Intervention Information: http://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/family-intervention.html http://www.canadadrugrehab.ca/Alcohol-Drug-Intervention.html Here is the contact information Catherine MacDonald: Website: http://www.onmywaycounselling.com/ Phone: 1.613.722.1884 Note: Uses a gentle approach to intervention. She invites the person to their intervention rather than ambushing. From your basic details, it sounds like your brother already acknowledges his gambling problem and does not need to be ambushed by his family. FAMILY RESOURCES This is a link that will take you to different therapies and models used to treatment families of addicts: http://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/family-addiction-help.html This webpage outlines different styles of therapies and lists hundreds of resources organized into categories for the family. Here are some books on Enabling and boundaries. They can be helpful in deciding what sort of approach you want to take with your addicted loved one. Addictive Relationships: Reclaiming Your Boundaries (1989) Joy Miller Better Boundaries: Owning and Treasuring Your Life (1997) Jan Black, Greg Enns Boundaries – Where You End And I Begin: How To Recognize And Set Healthy Boundaries (1994) Anne Katherine Boundaries and Relationships: Knowing, Protecting and Enjoying the Self (1993) Charles Whitfield Boundaries in Marriage (1999) Henry Cloud and John Townsend Boundaries in Marriage – Participant’s Guide (2002) Henry Cloud and John Townsend Boundaries: When to say Yes, When to Say No, To Take Control of Your Life (1992) Henry Cloud and John Townsend Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day (2000) Anne Katherine TREATMENT RESOURCES Now, there will be a variety of treatment options for you to offer Ben*. Treatment is generally more effective when the individual needing treatment is an active part of their recovery and not just pushed in one direction. After all, only they can keep themselves “sober” and they often have an idea what might work best for them. In this section, resources are organized into two options: programs you pay for and programs subsidized by provincial healthcare. PUBLIC Here is the website for the responsible gaming program in Alberta: www.aglc.gov.ab.ca/responsiblegambling/ With the public systems (if you cannot or choose not to go the private route) there are always going to wait times and protocols. Typically a person must be assessed and then referred into treatment (outpatient and or inpatient/residential). Here is the assessment office in Calgary. Ben will need to book an appointment or find out when drop in times are. You may want to call ahead to see if they deal with gambling. They may need to redirect you to a mental health office instead the addiction and mental health office. Calgary Adult Addiction Services (AHS) Stephenson Building 2nd floor, 1177 11 Ave. SW Calgary, AB T2R 1K9 Phone: (403) 297-3071 Toll-Free: 1(866) 332-2322 Fax: (403) 297-3036 Note: Service hours are Monday to Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. Intake and assessment is available on a drop-in basis weekdays at 1:00 PM. Residential Gambling Programs Poundmaker’s Adult Residential Treatment Program PO Box 34007 Kingsway Mall Post Office Edmonton AB T5G 3G4 Phone: (780)458-1884 Email: info@poundmaker.org Problem Gambling Resource Network 2nd floor, 3312 Parsons Road Edmonton, AB T6N 1B5 Phone: (780)461-1259 Email: pgrn@programgamblingalberta.ca Note: The...
