Among those who do, there is a high attrition from initial contact through screening, assessment, and admission, and even greater attrition when this process involves a waiting list for services (Loveland, 2003). The BHRM model seeks to infuse front-end, or pretreatment, recovery-support services into the community (Loveland, 2003). The goals of such pretreatment services are to: 1) "encourage the self-resolution of AOD problems through natural or mutual aid resources as an alternative to professionally directed treatment, 2) intervene at early stages of problem development before high-intensity services are needed, 3) intervene in severe forms of AOD problems before recovery capital is fully depleted, (4) reduce the attrition in sobriety-seeking and help- seeking experiments, 5) help individuals use community-support systems (Loveland, 2003), 6) engage individuals within their current developmental stage of change. In short, these services are designed to jump-start the recovery process via motivational interventions -- what we have come to call recovery priming (Loveland, 2003)."

Because of this information it is important that when people call for help and decide they want to enter a treatment program that they are able to obtain services as soon as possible.

To this end the center plans to provide as many beds as possible so that fewer people have to be turned away when they are seeking treatment for their gambling addiction.

Overall the center will have a large number of beds available that will be divided into a male side and a female side. Due to the statistical research indicating that more men report gambling addictions than females there will be a large male population possible than female population probability (Loveland, 2003).

With regard to how the building will be configured several elements went into the decision making process. While it would be easier to place a group and therapy on each floor, thereby making supervision of the clients relatively simple, it was decided that it would not produce the most optimum results for recovery. The first problem with such a setting is that it would feel very institutionalized for the clients to be placed on one floor and have them remain on that floor for most if not all of their residential treatment experience (Riessman, 1998).

Part of the vision for this center is to incorporate the serene backdrop of the country setting to help clients begin to work through their addiction issues.

Therefore it is important that they be encouraged to walk on the grounds, and take in the serene atmosphere and environment that it offers.

In addition, the basis for the program is a social setting and having the clients remain on the floor they are sleeping on isolates and discourages that idea (Riessman, 1998).

Finally, if the center is geared so that the clients remain on their floor for all aspects of treatment the center is dependent upon constant capacity filling even in the beginning. If the center has all but three bed filled but those three bed happen to be on the same floor, then those who are also on that floor will be more isolated and have smaller groups to work with.

The key element in the treatment of drug addicts is the power of peer principle, although there are various options on how to undergo treatment that will suit any level of addiction. A mutual aid concept raised by Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, became the basis of an international movement on preventing alcoholism. The concept suggests that people who share the same problem or condition are more likely to listen to each other (Riessman, 1998).

On the surface, there seem to be competing orthodoxies in the field of addiction treatment (Riessman, 1998):"

You are an alcoholic so you must be abstinent. Alcoholics can drink socially.

You must turn your problem over to a higher power. You can quit on your own (Riessman, 1998)."

You need to get into residential treatment. You can overcome your addiction while maintaining your work and personal life (Riessman, 1998)."

These elements of addiction will be best served through social mingling which led the center administrators to determine co-mingling the activities and clients throughout the center and its property would be the most optimum choice.

The groups arenas will be held on the main floor of the building while the sleeping and some of the social areas will be maintained on various center levels (Riessman, 1998).

Americans have seriously inadequate access to addiction treatment, according to experts (Kertsz, 1997). The American Society of Addiction Medicine and...

In May, the American Man aged Behavioral Healthcare Association, which represents 17 companies serving more than 80 million enrollees, and the ASAM began a dialogue "to seek ways to successfully screen, assess and treat individuals with addictive disorders (Kertsz, 1997)."
The fact remains that adequate care and facility capacity when it comes to addiction treatment, particularly in a residential setting is poorly lacking in the United States.

Even when one locates a center that can provide gambling addiction treatment there is often a long wait to enter because of the lack of bed space.

Nongambler.com has made the decision to provide the maximum number of beds possible while at the same time preserving and protecting the integrity of the serene social setting it aims to provide.

The center will be geared to place two people to a room. There are several reasons that this decision was made. If there is a large community sleeping area there is a perceived lack of privacy. Some people can sleep with a moderate amount of noise occurring while others must have much more quiet to sleep comfortably. The idea of private rooms was addressed, but as the program and everything research says about successful programs points to a social setting the centre believed it was important to provide a social setting even during the quiet or non-structured times.

Placing clients into rooms where they have one roommate provides an instant social setting without being overwhelming in numbers.

One recent study focused on the success rate of residential treatment as compared to outpatient treatment only to determine which provided the most optimum level of success. The addiction study incorporated 1,736 patients that were divided into 774 in-patient and 952 outpatient only patients (Humphreys, 1999).

The study concluded that those who first entered a residential setting before going on to take part in an outtake program were likely to experience a higher rate of success than those who went straight into an outpatient program (Humphreys, 1999).

Because the center is aware of this and other statistics it will strive to offer as many unit beds as possible while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the social setting that provides the strongest hope of long-term recovery from gambling addiction.

Conclusion

The problem of gambling addiction is a growing on. This addiction often leads to loss of family relationships, financial ruin, and suicide. In addition self-esteem issues often prevent the addict from recovery steps which perpetuates the cycle of addiction.

The center is going to provide as many beds as possible to provide treatment while at the same time being conscious and careful to maintain the social setting that research has indicated is the most effective method of recovery treatment.

A serene, calm setting with qualified staff will compliment the overall premise of treatment modalities.

References

Loveland, David (2003) a model to transcend the limitations of addiction treatment: the acute model of intervention is being challenged by models that wrap episodes of professional treatment within a continuum of recovery-support services. (Features Article). Behavioral Health Management

Riessman, Frank (1998) the peer principle: the key to addiction treatment.

Kertesz, Louise (1997) Addressing addiction: groups fight on-size-fits-all substance-abuse coverage. Modern Healthcare

HUMPHREYS, KEITH (1999) Professional Interventions That Facilitate 12-Step Self-Help Group Involvement. Alcohol Research & Health

KELLY, TIMOTHY a. (2000) a Booming $800 Billion Industry - Addiction.(social costs of pathological gambling)(Brief Article) World and I

Taxman, F. (2006) Substance abuse counselors" treatment philosophy and the content of treatment services provided to offenders in drug court programs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages 75-84