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My brother is a gambling addict. What's best kind of treatment for him?

answered 08:57 AM EST, Sat December 01, 2012
anonymous anonymous
My brother came to me for a loan. He is a gambling addict. I swore I would never give him money again but he came to me with 2 broken fingers and he said that he was going to get killed unless he paid some gangsters back what he owed. I gave him $5000 but made him promise he’d get help. It was the first time he actually admitted what everyone has known for a long time – That he is an addict. So now what’s the best kind of treatment for him to get. My parents will not give him any more money but they will help pay for treatment. So if money is not really a problem, what’s the best thing for him to do if he is really serious about stopping for good?

Donna Hunter Says...

Donna Hunter D. Hunter
LCSW, CAP

If your brother will commit to some kind of treatment it needs to include Gamblers Anonymous attendance. He needs the support of other gamblers. He may also benefit from a family type of meeting, where everyone who has enabled his gambling and has been hurt by his gambling come together to let him know his gambling loss safety net is gone. As family members you will need to deal with the issues that allowed you to enable his behavior.

If your parents will help to pay for treatment there are many treatment centers around that treat behavioral addictions. It will take some research to find a suitable facility. Your brother should be a part of that search. He needs to demonstrate his commitment. To get started you could search for gambling addiction residential treatment.

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Page last updated Dec 01, 2012

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