Calvary Center in Phoenix is One of Few Residential Treatment Programs Nationwide Providing Help for Problem Gamblers

National Problem Gambling Awareness Week is March 5 - 11, 2007

With National Problem Gambling Awareness Week slated for March 5 through March 11, Phoenix-based Calvary Center is reaching out to problem gamblers and family and friends of problem gamblers to provide help through its new 30-day residential treatment program.

Nationwide, there are fewer than 10 facilities with residential treatment programs geared specifically towards helping problem gamblers. Yet, during the past three years, the National Council of Problem Gambling Hotline has recorded a 60 percent increase in calls to an all-time high of 221,736 calls in 2005.

"Problem gamblers? They're everywhere," says Bobbe McGinley, a nationally- recognized expert in addiction recovery, who is a program consultant to Calvary Center in addition to her role as Clinical Director/CEO ACT-Counseling & Education. "If you're getting into trouble with your finances, causing stress in your relationships or having problems at work because of gambling issues, we have a place for you to get things back in order."

Calvary Center admitted its first problem gambling clients in December 2006 in response to a growing demand for problem gambling treatment. The center is dedicating a portion of their 50 beds to problem gambling clients who choose either a Christian-based or traditional program track to assist in their recovery.

The center, which was founded in Phoenix in 1964, is nationally recognized for providing residential recovery services for people with alcohol and drug addictions.

"We work with people to break their addictive patterns," McGinley says. "The residential treatment model gives clients the best opportunity to recover because there is time to get to the root of addictive behaviors," she adds.

Calvary Center operates a residential model that includes individual counseling, group therapy and family counseling, and will also provide an aftercare follow-up program of counseling and activities for those who choose to participate.

Calvary Center is also committed to helping clients with a dual diagnosis, or addiction to both alcohol or drugs and gambling.

"The incidence is pretty high," says McGinley. "It's not unusual for a person to go from one addiction to another."

McGinley says it used to be easier to identify the prototypical problem gambler.

"Years ago, it was generally a white male age 50 or older. But today, there is no prototype problem gambler. They come in all ages and in both genders," she says.

McGinley is coordinating Arizona's first Problem Gambling Symposium on Monday, March 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Black Canyon Conference Center, 9440 N. 25th Avenue, in Phoenix. Calvary Center will also have a presence at the Symposium, which will feature several national speakers.

The theme of the Problem Gambling Symposium is "Critical Issues for Youth and Problem Gambling." Seating is limited and reservations are required. The $60 fee includes lunch. To pre-register, call Bobbe McGinley at (602) 569-4328.

For information about the 30-day residential treatment for problem gambling at Calvary Center, call 602-279-1468, 1-866-76 SOBER