Howard Shaffer - Change your gambling, change your life: strategies for managing your gambling and improving your finances, relationships, and health

More Praise for Change Your Gambling, Change Your Life

From recognizing the problem to changing your daily patterns to living a life beyond the dream of hitting it big, this book will transform your thinking about gambling and put you on the path to real change and long-term recovery.Christopher Kennedy Lawford, author, Symptoms of Withdrawal and Moments of Clarity

This is a well-written and easily accessible book that provides the tools for individuals to take control of their gambling problem. In an era where professional addiction treatments are common and yet frequently unsuccessful, it is exciting to see a comprehensive, self-directed approach to addiction recovery.Jon E. Grant, MD, JD, MPH, professor of psychiatry, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota; coauthor, Pathological Gambling

The self-directed approach to addiction recovery is getting the attention it deserves with this must-read book for people who want to work through a gambling problem on their own. Kudos to Dr. Shaffer and his coauthors for meaningfully advancing the problem gambling treatment field with this book.Ken C. Winters, professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School

The topics of gambling and gambling problems often lead to politically and emotionally charged discussions that ignore the needs of the small percentage of people who need help. Dr. Shaffer and his colleagues have removed the value judgments and provided a thoughtful, authoritative manual for those in need.Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO, American Gaming Association

At the Dunes, our clients have seen profound results from using the exercises in the chapters on anxiety and relapse prevention. Dr. Shaffer and his colleagues have come up with a practical way to combat addiction, one thought at a time. Valuable for clients, clinicians, and anyone with an addiction problem.Madeleine Narvilas, Esq., LMSW, executive director, The Dunes East Hampton

The authors have devoted decades of time and energy to the study and treatment of people whose gambling has caused them problems. They have condensed and translated this wealth of experience into a book that is state-of-the-science and accessible to all people who want to change their patterns of gambling, whether on their own or with the aid of a professional or self-help group.Stephen A. Maisto, PhD, ABPP, editor, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors ; Department of Psychology, Syracuse University

Bravo! This groundbreaking self-help resource is a boon to millions of excessive gamblers who would do best as captain of their own ship. It is a prototype that will be replicated many times across the broad spectrum of addictive disorders. Change Your Gambling, Change Your Life reads like a good friend offering a helping hand, asking for nothing in return. It whets your appetite, then invites you to enjoy any or all of its sumptuous menu. Harvey B. Milkman, PhD, professor of psychology; director, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Metropolitan State College of Denver

This book is an excellent resource for individuals who struggle with gambling regardless of the severity of their problem. Written clearly and with compassion, it offers various self-help tools to help people find their own pathway to change, always taking into account each persons unique characteristics and preferences.Michael Levy, PhD, vice president clinical services, CAB Health and Recovery Services and Health and Education Services, Peabody, Massachusetts

In the summer of 2011, the American Society of Addiction Medicine introduced a revolutionary new definition of addiction that, for the first time, includes the behavioral addictions. Finally, after more than thirty years of research, pathological gambling has come out of the closet! Dr. Shaffer and his colleagues eloquently discuss intemperate gambling as a disorder of excess and provide an invaluable practical roadmap for clinicians, patients, and their loved ones on the road to recovery from gambling addiction.Petros Levounis, MD, MA, director, The Addiction Institute of New York; associate clinical professor of psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

If you are struggling with problem gambling, Dr. Shaffers approach to coping with addictive disorders is based on sound principles and workable solutions. This book will help you if you follow his course of action.Kitty S. Harris, PhD, LCDC, LMFT, director, Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery, Texas Tech University

Copyright 2012 by Harvard University. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shaffer, Howard.

Change your gambling, change your life : strategies for managing your gambling and improving your finances, relationships, and health / Howard Shaffer ; with Ryan Martin, John Kleschinsky, and Liz Neporent. 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-93307-7 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-17103-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-17104-2 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-17105-9 (ebk.)

1. Compulsive gamblingTreatment. 2. Compulsive gamblingPsychological aspects. 3. Compulsive gamblingSocial aspects. I. Martin, Ryan. II. Kleschinsky, John. III. Neporent, Liz. IV. Title.