DULUTH, Minn., Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new professional development certificate, Studies in Gambling Addiction: Counseling the Pathological Gambler, has been created to provide training for those who counsel individuals struggling with gambling addiction. The certificate is a partnership between the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Continuing Education and the North American Training Institute (NATI).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120221/DC55214)

With an increase in the number of gambling addicted individuals comes an escalating need for health care professionals with specialized knowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of a gambling addiction. This certificate addresses this growing need.

The certificate provides 60 hours of online professional education (noncredit) for counselors, employee assistance professionals, substance abuse providers, nurses, clergy and pastoral care, human resources, educators and an array of other mental health providers. Its online format also establishes accessibility for gambling-specific education for health care professionals in rural areas of the country where there is an urgent need for gambling addiction treatment providers. Many agencies report a workforce of fewer than 75 gambling treatment providers serving an entire state.

Besides benefiting those directly affected by gambling addiction, this certificate provides education and professional development for career professionals in the closely related field of substance abuse counseling. Individuals with a gambling addiction often have co-occurring problems with drugs, alcohol abuse or mental health illness. According to research by Dr. David Hodgins, a University of Calgary psychologist, "People with gambling addiction have a risk four times greater toward abusing alcohol and a six-fold greater risk of abusing drugs." www.problemgamblingaddiction.com/gambling-addiction June 10, 2011.

About the University of Minnesota Duluth, Continuing Education
The University of Minnesota Duluth Continuing Education has a long and successful history of innovative continuing education programs and certificates developed in collaboration with an array of university and community agencies. Many of the programs are offered online and designed to provide access for working professionals who wish to enhance their knowledge and expertise in a certain area or transition into a new profession by making accessible the University's resources for continuing education training and professional career development.

About the North American Training Institute
NATI has provided accredited gambling addiction-specific training and prevention services since 1990. NATI has collaborated with an array of universities including Tulane University, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Harvard Medical School's Division on Addiction, as well as state agencies and Provincial governments.

Contact: Lynn Burbank, 218/726-8833, lburbank@d.umn.edu
http://z.umn.edu/gambling



SOURCE University of Minnesota-Duluth