People may often think of treatment professionals, peers, and 12-steps when they think of recovery help services, but who else is behind the scenes?  Who helps the helpers!?  Who can they turn to for assistance in implementing evidence-based practices, creating a contingency-management program, training on specific topics, and more?  The NW ATTC and ECPG have been partnering on training for over three years now, if you don’t know what they do, here’s a good opportunity to find out.   

Denna Vandersloot, Co-Director of NW ATTC 

Mitch Doig, Technology Transfer Specialist (OR/ID) NW ATTC 

Resources: 

NW ATTC home page: https://attcnetwork.org/  

NW ATTC training page: https://attcnetwork.org/centers/global-attc/training-and-events-calendar  

Dr. Cash and Dr. Diez-Morel share how they got interested in studying and treating Gaming Disorder, why they have stayed involved in it, what inspired them to contribute to sharing knowledge, and recruiting others to the field.  They share the literature that has taught them a lot about the field, what they’ve studied, and what still needs to be researched.  Check it out! 

Guests’ Websites and Publications: 

Stephanie Diez-Morel 

Dr. Hilarie Cash 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 

“I finally got Rob on the show!”  If you didn’t know, March is national Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM).  Here at ECPG, we get all kinds of questions like “what exactly is PGAM?”  “Anything interesting happening this year?”  “You guys seem really busy this month, what’s going on?”  So, we wanted to do an episode all about PGAM, with a “behind-the-scenes" look at the trends we’ve seen and the stuff we get excited about, such as the partnerships and teachable moments we’ve had with our advisors on equity and social justice. Kudos to Rob for coming on the show as a guest, to our whole team, partners, and everyone across the country who works incredibly hard to raise awareness and access to services for gambling-related concerns.  But always, congratulations to those who are changing their lives for the better.  

Cait Huble with NCPG and Kristi Weeks with Washington’s Lottery explain what “Gift-Responsibly” both around the holidays and all year means and why lottery and scratch-off tickets are not appropriate gifts for minors.  Then we do a little “un-boxing” of our own as we open the gifts we sent each other before the episode recording.  Wow, were we in for a hilarious surprise!

#GiftResponsibly Lottery Tickets Aren't Child's Play

Resource Links:

ECPG Gift Responsibly Post: https://www.evergreencpg.org/news/the-last-minute-gift-idea-challenge-giftresponsibly/

National Council on Problem Gambling: https://www.ncpgambling.org/

NCPG Gift-Responsibly: https://www.ncpgambling.org/programs-resources/gift-responsibly-campaign/

Washington’s Lottery: https://www.walottery.com/

Washington’s Lottery Gift-Responsibly: https://walottery.com/Responsibility/GiftsToMinors.aspx

Recommended Reads

A couple brilliant “bookworms” and authors, Jody Bechtold and Dr. Stephanie Diez-Morel, share about some of the most influential authors and bodies of work that contributed to their understanding of problem gambling and gaming.  They also share about some of their own publications, what they read for fun, and make recommendations for books that make great gifts.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the episode. Are you curious about a recommended reading mentioned in the podcast? Host Tana Russell has you covered with a complete list in our episode blog post: https://www.evergreencpg.org/podcast/recommended-reads-season-3-episode-10/

You can this blog post and more episode resource here at: https://www.evergreencpg.org/listen/

TRIGGER WARNING: this episode discusses numbers, pros and cons of gambling, and mentions thoughts of suicide.

Author, advocate, and person in recovery from sports betting, Joel Soper (author of Never Enough Zeros) talks about how he finally found peace after the exhausting “hamster wheel” of Gambling Disorder. Finding he could be more successful in life, relationships, and purpose through recovery than in “the chase for vicarious thrills” through gambling. He grants us a raw view of his life and struggles in the depths of gambling harm from the betting which took everything from him. As well as how he fought, and continues to fight, for freedom, purpose, and autonomy with a variety of healing strategies...including some unconventional means. 

https://www.evergreencpg.org/podcast/life-after-sports-betting-season-3-episode-9/

Resources:

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The referencing of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by ECPG of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein.  Unless otherwise specified, ECPG does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations or on the listserv.  All links are provided with the intent of meeting the educational goals and mission of ECPG.  Please let us know about existing external links you believe are inappropriate and about specific additional external links you believe ought to be included.

In this episode I get to interview Dr. Paul Jackson, retired from a career in computer engineering, who talks to us about the Metaverse.  The good, the bad, the positive potential, and the potential for harm and even addiction, with a sneak peak at the future of the Metaverse, the Omniverse.

Tanna Engdahl describes her life and what led her to become a Cowlitz Tribal Elder, and what that means for her now.  The stories and wisdom of her grandmother are passed on through her, and she shares the importance of being a role model and a servant to the community, as she says, “we are ALL elders in waiting.”

Resources:

Cowlitz Indian Tribe: https://www.cowlitz.org/

Cowlitz Indian Tribe Health & Human Services Programs: https://www.cowlitz.org/services/health-and-human-services.html

Washington Tribes: https://www.washingtontribes.org/

Latina leader and researcher, Dr. Susie Villalobos, joins this Connections episode. She is the Director of the National Hispanic Latino Addiction and Prevention Technology Transfer Centers, and host of the “Latinos Con Voz” podcast. She gets real about what led her to this work, how she uncovers the needs of Latino communities, and the incredible teamwork that goes into the heart-driven dedication of making it happen.

Resources: National Latino Behavioral Health Association: http://www.nlbha.org/ 2022 NLBHA Conference, Sept. 15-16: https://nlbhconference.com/

National Hispanic Latino Addiction Technology Transfer Center: https://attcnetwork.org/centers/national-hispanic-and-latino-attc/home

National Hispanic Latino Prevention Technology Transfer Center: https://pttcnetwork.org/centers/content/national-hispanic-latino-pttc Dr. Susie Villalobos biography: http://www.nlbha.org/index.php/board-bios/

Family Recovery from Gaming: A loving mother finds power and healing in her own recovery experience

Guest Co-Host: Rhonda Hatefi with Oregonians for Gambling Awareness

Guest: Carrie Lipe 

Carrie is a loving mother of a son in recovery from Gaming Disorder. She shares her story of watching her son’s declining physical and mental health as she struggled to find answers and appropriate help for him. Her journey eventually led her to find help not only for her son, but also for herself, and to realize the power and healing of her own recovery experience.