Cognitive-Motivational Behavior Therapy for Pathological Gamblers

CMBT has been developed by our team over the last five years, and has shown very promising results in a small, NIMH-funded randomized pilot trial (R21 MH 064568). We will assess patients biweekly during the active treatment phase and follow them for 12 months after the end of treatment to obtain data on long-term treatment outcome. We hypothesize that CMBT will show higher efficacy and retention than CBT in the treatment phase, and that gains will be maintained at a higher rate during follow-up.

A second major purpose of the proposed study is to elucidate the presumed mechanisms of change by examining potential mediators (readiness to change, irrational beliefs about gambling, coping skills, therapeutic alliance) and moderators (psychiatric comorbidity with Axis I and II disorders, family history of PG, impulsivity, and baseline motivation to change) of treatment response. A better understanding of how the proposed interventions work will help advance the science and treatment of PG and will be helpful in the future refinement and adaptation of CMBT. Identifying patient subgroups for which the intervention is particularly effective is essential for rational treatment selection. Thus, the immediate goal of the project is to compare CBMT versus CBT for the treatment of PG. A long-term goal of the proposed research is to establish effective treatment procedures that reduce the considerable individual and social costs of PG.

Inclusion criteria

• pathological gambling
• be able to read, understand and sign an informed consent form prior to any procedure and must be willing to comply with all study procedures and timelines

Exclusion criteria

• to meet DSM-IV criteria for comorbid substance use disorders in the last six months
• current comorbid psychiatric conditions which require treatment and are not clearly secondary to pathological gambling
• psychotropic medication