CarePlus NJ receives $120,000 funding to help gambling addicts

The Department ofMental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) has confirmed that it is funding CarePlus NJ, a treatment specialist for children and adults, with $120,000 which will be used to set up a mental health gaming disorder clinical program in northern New Jersey, the Paramus Post reported.

CarePlus NJ is confident that the grant will enable it to bring the tools necessary to help people in the targeted region cope better with gambling disorders and help them on their way to recovery. The money will be used for screening, treatment and case management of people who have been impacted by problem gambling.

Anyone who enrols with the program will go through a 12-week treatment course, which includes further education about gambling. The entire process will be guided by the latest scientific evidence in the field of mitigating gambling-related harm and treating gambling disorders.

CarePlus NJ will not just seek to treat the symptoms of gambling addiction, but also its broader implications on individuals and patients, such as how their financial health may have been impacted. The specialists will further try to help patients deal with legal issues and restore relations the patients may have lost due to their gambling habits.

Gambling disorder is a serious problem, as it is usually a predisposition for financial ruin and continuous mental distress. Classified as a serious mental problem by the National Association of Addiction Professionals, gambling disorders have the highest level of suicide attempt rate. Treatment efforts are also becoming more common as the United States is quickly legalizing more forms of gambling, with Kentucky recently becoming the latest state to sign off on sports gambling.

Commenting on the new opportunity to provide people with help, CarePlus NJ SVP of Clinical Services Ann Marie Zihal said that gambling addiction is already becoming more prevalent in the Garden State with some 13% of all residents in the state meeting the criteria of suffering from a gambling-related problem.

Zihal argues that often gambling disorders do not manifest themselves individually and they occur together with other issues, such as substance abuse. This is why, Zihal says, a more comprehensive approach is needed in addressing the matter, which includes the treatment of all addictive behaviors, not just gambling addiction itself.

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