continuing education

“Gambling Disorder & Addiction: Treatment, Prevention and Education” will be held for treatment providers on March 21-22, 2018 at the Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The program, cosponsored by NCRG and Sandia Resort & Casino, will cover a wide range of topics including responsible gaming, new research on gambling disorder, gambling problems among the military and veterans, the stigma of gambling disorder, motivational interviewing and Wellbriety, a Native American recovery movement.

Connecting healthcare providers with the most up-to-date research is essential to quality care. The NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction is one of the vehicles the NCRG uses to help counselors, psychologists, social workers, physicians, nurses and public health professionals learn about the latest research on gambling disorders. In fact, the NCRG conference offers the best educational experience for healthcare providers — as evidenced by the many approvals we have received for the continuing education hours offered by the conference. At this writing, the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Sept. 25-26, 2016, in Las Vegas, is approved to provide 13.5 continuing education hours by more health care organizations than any other gambling conference. First, we have the institutions that have granted approval of all NCRG educational programs:

Psychologists, social workers, counselors and other healthcare providers can earn up to 15 continuing education hours at the 16^th Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction. Scheduled for Sept. 27-29, 2015, in Las Vegas, the NCRG’s conference is approved by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals; the National Council on Problem Gambling, the American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders, the National Association of Social Workers, the Canadian Problem Gambling Certification Board and the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation.

Friday, April 3, 2015
2 - 3:30 p.m. (EDT)

Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment: Research Priority for 2015

Speaker: Ken C. Winters, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
University of Minnesota Medical School

Moderator: Christine Reilly
Senior Research Director, National Center for Responsible Gaming

The 2015 research grants program of the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) will focus on investigations of SBIRT (screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment) in order to improve identification of disordered gamblers, explore the efficacy of brief interventions for this population and increase the rate of disordered gamblers referred to treatment. This webinar is intended to help researchers interested in applying to the NCRG for an SBIRT project. However, healthcare providers and public health professionals will also find this program useful in view of the fact that SBIRT is being implemented by many state and national organizations, including the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers associated with SAMHSA. In addition, treatment providers and public health professionals interested in collaborating with researchers on an SBIRT research project are also encouraged to participate.

Next week, the NCRG will hold its second free webinar of 2014. Titled “Preventing Disordered Gambling among College Students,” this March 19 webinar (2 – 3:30 p.m. ET) will feature Dr. Clayton Neighbors, professor and director of the social psychology program in the department of psychology at the University of Houston, who will discuss a new resource that was developed to help reduce problem gambling by showing students their misperceptions of student gambling behavior.

Approximately 75 percent of college students in the U.S. gambled in the past year and 6 percent develop a gambling problem. Despite these research findings, there was no screening/brief interventions tailored for this population—until now.

We are excited to announce the first NCRG webinar of 2014!

The NCRG’s Webinar Series will kick off Friday, January 31 at 2 p.m. with a free 90-minute event featuring Kafui Dzirasa, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, neurobiology, bioengineering at Duke University, and his colleagues Drs. Stephen Mague and Gretchen Sprow.

To understand the big picture of what constitutes a recovery from a gambling disorder, it is best to look at it from both national and local perspectives. The 13th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction kicked off Tuesday morning with a presentation from H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness in America’s communities.

Save the date and register today for the latest NCRG Webinar Series session on September 19! Wendy S. Slutske, Ph.D., 2011 NCRG Scientific Achievement Award winner and professor at the University of Missouri – Columbia, is leading the upcoming training, titled “Path to Recovery: Is Controlled Gambling Possible for Pathological Gamblers?” The webinar will be held on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 from 2 to 3 p.m. EST. The session is free to attend, participants will earn one CEU and registration is now open on the NCRG’s website.

The 13^th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction is a month away, and many engaging speakers are set to present on emerging research and applications for addictions, gambling disorders and responsible gaming from September 30 to October 2 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. Make sure to register by September 10 to receive the discounted rate of $295 for the main sessions and $45 for pre-conference workshops! You can visit www.ncrg.org/conference and click on the registration page for more details.

Here are a few of the speakers you won’t want to miss:

Registration is still open for the second session of the 2012 NCRG Webinar Series, taking place June 20, 2012, from 2 - 3 p.m. EST. The NCRG Webinar Series is a free, year-round educational program designed to help individuals better understand and address critical issues related to gambling disorders and responsible gaming – without having to leave their own home or office. Dr. Serena King, an assistant professor at Hamline University, will discuss her latest findings from an NCRG-funded study that examined the roles of genetics, environment and psychiatric disorders in the development of gambling disorders during the transition from youth to young adulthood.

To sign up for this free session, visit the NCRG’s upcoming webinar page and click the registration link.