Scholarship Recipients Provide Valuable Insights Into Their NCRG Conference Experiences

The14th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addictionwas attended by more than 300 people from around the world. To ensure access to this continuing education opportunity, the NCRG providedscholarshipsto a variety of clinicians, researchers and others. And because we are always interested in improving our program, we asked this year’s scholarship recipients to give us in-depth evaluations of the conference and their experiences.

Here is some of the feedback we received:

• “One of the most useful workshops was ‘Neural Circuits: The New Frontier of Neuropsychiatric Diagnostic and Therapeutics’ with Dr. Kafui Dzirasa. I particularly enjoyed the explanation on the challenges in understanding the brain and studying the brain & its function.”

• “The NCRG Scientific Achievement Awards Luncheon was amazing. The food was a 10… Absolutely superb in taste, quantity and amount provided. The awards ceremony provided a scope of where people were attending from and how this is a world-wide line of work. Well done.”

• “One of the most memorable and eye-opening experiences I had at the conference was attending the open AA/GA meeting. As a researcher working with animal models of disease, it was illuminating to witness the ‘real-life’ version of what I am attempting to study in the lab. It is surprisingly easy to get so focused on brain circuitry, behavioral models, and pharmacological intervention that the translation of our translational research gets lost.”

• “One of my favorite workshops was “Cause Marketing: Lessons for the Effective Promotion of Responsible Gaming.” I found this workshop to be fun and entertaining, but more importantly, I appreciated how it went through a variety of different marketing techniques that can be used for agencies and programs that provide assistance to people…. My main take-away is that successful marketing is due to a trifecta of: connecting with the intended population, in a way that resonates with them (shock, humor, etc.), and encourages them to think about their behavior, or take steps to act for positive change.”

• “Building a Partnership: Researching Native American Populations…provided some excellent information on culturally relevant approaches in Indian Country…The best part of the workshop was the…networking with others working in and/or for Indian Country.”

• “I was very impressed by the presentation…on the four-year exploration of the U.S. Addiction Treatment System. Finally, there is consideration for those who struggle with addiction…The system of treatment is broken and not everyone fits into the rehabilitation structure of yesterday.”

The NCRG also values the constructive criticism offered. One participant suggested the need for livelier presentations and another requested even more clinically-based sessions.

The NCRG is proud to see that the conference serves as a valuable and educational event for all involved in the field—an objective that the organization strives to achieve year-after-year. And we promise to continue this commitment next year!Save the date for the 2014 conference: September 28-30, 2014.

Did you attend the 2013 conference? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

NCRG staffConference on Gambling and AddictionNCRG Conference on Gambling and AddictionScholarships