The specificity of pathological gambling

AbstractPathological gambling is classified as an impulse-control disorder, although it has much in common with substance dependence and its treatment is based on treatment of substance abuse (Petry, 2005). This disorder is often accompanied by mood, anxiety, antisocial personality or substance use disorder; about three quarters of problem gamblers suffer severe depression. Psychological treatments, mainly approaches that try to change cognitive distortions about gambling, have the most empirical support. Current studies agree that CBT interventions appear to be the most effective treatment of problem gambling (Blaszczynski, 2010; Toneatto & Millar, 2004; Raylu & Oei, 2010)