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Recent years have witnessed the emergence of mindfulness meditation as an important intervention in the alleviation of illness-related
disability and distress. Although originally developed within the context of physical illnesses such as chronic back pain,
recent years have seen mindfulness meditation effective in the alleviation of emotional distress, especially anxiety and depression.
Mindfulness meditation assists the individual in learning more adaptive ways of responding to aversive mental states by encouraging
a focus on remaining present, non-judgement, and acceptance towards all mental states. Unlike cognitive therapy there is no
attempt to directly challenge or restructure cognition. Given the prominence of distorted thinking among problem gamblers
and the difficulty in modifying them, mindfulness meditation holds promise as an adjunctive intervention to help problem gamblers
learn to cope with gambling-relevant cognitive distortions. A case study is presented illustrating the integration of mindfulness
meditation into treatment for problem gambling.
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is the main evidence-based treatment for pathological gambling, a condition characterized
by difficulty controlling impulses to engage in repeated, persistent gambling. Primary treatment targets in CBT are the gamblers'
cognitive distortions, or irrational beliefs regarding the extent to which gambling outcomes can be predicted and controlled
(Kahnemann & Tversky, 1982). Although CBT has been shown to benefit problem gamblers (for instance, to reduce the frequency of gambling and to produce
better rates of abstinence from gambling than no treatment at all (Toneatto & Millar, 2004)), rates of relapse and treatment nonresponse to CBT remain high. Given the limitations of purely cognitive-behavioural approaches
for the treatment of pathological gambling, it is important to consider alternative therapeutic strategies that could enhance
clinical outcomes (Toneatto & Millar, 2004). Mindfulness is a meditation practice derived from Eastern spiritual training that has been integrated increasingly into
CBT for a number of mental health and addiction problems. When integrated into CBT, mindfulness may provide clients with a
unique practice that can assist them in reacting less impulsively to their own thinking, especially gambling-related cognitive
distortions.
A substantial body of work has described the role of cognitive factors in problem gambling (e.g., Petry, 2005; Toneatto, 1999; Griffiths, 1995). Problem gamblers have been distinguished from social gamblers on the basis of having a number of cognitive distortions
(e.g., Joukhador, Maccallum, & Blaszczynski, 2003). Two of these major cognitive distortions are beliefs that gambling outcomes can be (i) predicted and (ii) controlled (Letarte, Ladouceur, & Mayrand, 1986). Even games that are ostensibly completely random, such as slot machines and bingo, elicit irrational beliefs about control
and prediction (e.g., Toneatto, Blitz-Miller, Calderwood, Dragonetti, & Tsanos, 1997; Langer, 1983). These core beliefs form the basis for a wide array of irrational or maladaptive beliefs about gambling outcomes that have
been well described in the literature (e.g., Toneatto & Nguyen, in press (a); Petry, 2005). Some frequently observed cognitive distortions among pathological gamblers are the following:
Cognitive-behavioural treatments for problem gambling work directly with the content of cognitions. Thoughts, beliefs, and
attitudes are identified, examined carefully, restructured or revised, and tested in the natural environment. A variety of
techniques are used to challenge the contents of cognitions, such as questioning the evidential or formative basis of the
irrational belief, modifying self-dialogue, reframing explanations of gambling outcomes, considering neglected evidence, detecting
occurrences when the expectations did not match the gambling outcomes, and urging open-minded observation of gambling outcomes.
While CBT is focused on challenging the content of the cognitive distortions associated with mental health problems, mindfulness
is focused on assisting clients in examining how they relate to their thoughts. Mindfulness asks clients to learn to observe
their own mental processes openly, without censure, judgment, or restriction, and without getting caught up in the actual
content of their thoughts. As defined by Segal, Williams, & Teasdale (2002), the core skill in mindfulness is the capacity to respond to aversive cognitions, sensations, and emotions with an attitude
of nonjudgmental, accepting, present-moment awareness. In other words, the content of the thought is less important than how
the individual responds to the occurrence of the thought, as well as other mental content, such as images and memories. Mindfulness
is believed to enhance skills in both recognizing and disengaging from self-perpetuating mental states characterized by ruminative
and negative thought (see Segal et al., 2002).
Mindfulness can best be considered a form of behavioural, cognitive, and affective self-regulation. Individuals are asked
to maintain a decentred awareness of mental content without “reacting” to the mental event (e.g., elaborating or becoming
preoccupied with the thought). Instead, mental content is allowed to arise within conscious awareness and to subside as a
natural mental process. As an initial step in their training in mindfulness, meditators are asked to maintain awareness of
their breathing and to return to this awareness when their attention is drawn to any thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations.
By repeatedly returning awareness to the breath, clients are assisted in learning about the nature of mental activity and
in distinguishing mental activity from responses to such activity. Shifting awareness away from mental content to the breath
also interrupts the flow of ruminative thought processes and has the effect of reducing the potency of mental events, thereby
reducing impulsive, reactive, or automatic reactions to these events. Individuals are asked to simply note the occurrence
of the event and return their attention to their breathing. No attention is paid to the specific content, validity, veridicality,
or significance of the mental event itself. With practice, clients learn to observe sensations, feelings, and thoughts, and
the process of thoughts coming and going. Simply put, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions (and all other mental events) are
viewed as “just thoughts,” not to be believed, judged, suppressed, prolonged, dismissed, manipulated, or, most importantly,
acted upon. Within a mindfulness meditation perspective, mindfulness interrupts the cognitive chain reaction that usually
occurs in response to spontaneously emerging cognitions, which left unchecked initiate distressing emotions and behaviours,
including pathological gambling (Toneatto, 2002).
Mindfulness practices, as described in Kabat-Zinn (1990), include systematic, guided meditations practised daily for approximately an hour, and also during sessions with a therapist.
During these practices, the client learns to bring present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness to bodily sensations, feelings,
and thought contents and processes. Specific mindfulness meditation practices include
Gradually, awareness is expanded so that it encompasses all aspects of experience. For instance, while doing the sitting meditation,
meditators will note where their attention goes and observe how sensations, feelings, and thoughts arise and pass. By observing
and noting these everyday aspects of experience, clients gain skills in knowing and noting experience without impulsivity
or reactivity. Clients who gain the skill of observing and noting experience without getting caught up in reactions gradually
become less reactive to more emotionally laden sensations, feelings, and cognitions, including those sensations, feelings,
and cognitions in the chain of events that lead to discrete episodes of problem gambling.
In sum, rather than reacting to thoughts and attempting to control them directly, for instance by altering their content as
in standard CBT, individuals are encouraged to passively but alertly observe their mental activity. Individuals are guided
in observing that the process of cognition is automatic, conditioned, and autonomous (Toneatto, 2002). Through the cultivation of mindful attention the links between thinking and impulsive acting out, which are usually automatic
and out of awareness, are gradually deconditioned. With sustained practice, the mindful meditator learns that the content
and process of mental activity is:
Distinguishing mental events from the responses to them provides a choice to the gambler regarding how to best respond, rather
than react, to gambling-related cognition. Learning to relate differently to gambling cognitions may be as important as, if
not more important than, challenging the specific contents of the thoughts. In a sample of video lottery players, Ladouceur (2004) showed that the raw frequency of erroneous perceptions related to gambling did not distinguish problem from non-problem gamblers.
Instead, problem gamblers were more convinced of, or attached to, the seeming truth of their erroneous gambling-related perceptions
than non-problem gamblers. Thus, whereas the problem and non-problem gamblers were similar with respect to the number of cognitive
distortions they endorsed, only the problem gamblers responded in a way that indicated an investment in, or attachment to,
these thoughts. Ladouceur's findings suggest that it is not the thoughts themselves, but rather the gamblers' relationship to gambling-related thoughts and tendency to fixate or ruminate on these cognitions, that contribute most significantly to
the thoughts' maladaptive behavioural consequences.
Although it is unlikely that mindfulness meditation is sufficient as a standalone intervention for treating problem gambling,
it may have utility as a component of cognitive-behavioural treatment as has been found in the treatment of severe mental
health problems involving disordered emotion regulation (such as self-harm and borderline personality disorder; Linehan, 1993), or as a relapse prevention strategy following standard CBT (as in the treatment of depression; see Segal et al., 2002). In considering a mindfulness meditation intervention for problem gambling, it is critical to continue to provide treatments
that have been shown to be effective. The benefits of mindfulness training might best be realized when delivered concurrently
with other therapies, or when delivered as an adjunct to help clients better cope with persisting urges and cravings and prevent
the risk of relapses.
Since gamblers may initially be unaware of the degree to which their gambling behaviour is associated with irrational beliefs,
many of the standard intake assessment and self-monitoring processes used in CBT are important as a component of a mindfulness-based
approach to working clinically with the problem gambler. To increase clients' awareness of gambling-related cognitions and
beliefs, several methods are utilized:
Mr. S is married, in his sixties, and the father of four adult children, and has gambled most of his life. His game of choice
has been roulette. When casinos arrived in his community 5 years ago, he began gambling more compulsively. Over the past 5
years, he had been visiting the nearest casino upon the monthly arrival of his pension cheque, which he immediately spent
on gambling. While waiting for his cheque, he experienced a pattern of preoccupation with gambling consisting of fantasies
of winning large sums of money, feeling “like a winner,” and paying off his debts. He believed that, unlike other patrons,
he had a special skill at playing roulette and was able to control the outcome of a game that he otherwise saw as influenced
by random chance. While playing, his conviction that he could win strengthened and overwhelmed any incompatible beliefs. When
he gambled, he inevitably lost the money he brought with him (approximately $2,000) within an hour of his arrival, prompting
him to chase his losses by immediately withdrawing funds from the ATM on-site. During the course of a 24-hour period he typically
lost $10,000. Physically and emotionally exhausted and full of self-loathing and guilt he would return home to face the anger
of his family. A month later, the cycle would repeat itself. When he finally presented for treatment he was highly motivated
to resolve this problem.
Based on a detailed examination of his gambling episodes, several cognitive distortions were identified: illusions of control,
in which he believed that he could improve his chances at winning and that he could identify or develop unique “systems” to
win; assumptions that discrete plays of roulette were connected and that losses would be diluted with wins if he persisted
in playing; and pervasive feelings of superiority to other gamblers. Through a cognitive analysis Mr. S was able to clearly
recognize these beliefs about gambling and to benefit from straightforward cognitive techniques that undermined the confidence
with which he held these beliefs. He was able to entertain doubt about each of these beliefs and rationally understand their
fallibility. Furthermore, Mr. S also became acutely aware of the consequences of his chronic gambling on the mental and physical
health of his wife and children. Instead of dismissing their concerns, he felt guilty and remorseful that their wellbeing
was being so severely affected by his gambling behaviour.
Despite these cognitive insights and understanding, Mr. S nevertheless found it difficult to refrain from gambling and had
barely reduced his involvement after several months of treatment. He reported that he was able to circumvent his clinical
understanding by entertaining beliefs that the “next time” he would win, or that “one more time won't hurt.” He continued
to fantasize about winning, generating very intense urges and leaving him vulnerable to returning to the casino once his cheque
arrived. His awareness of the psychosocial consequences of his gambling diminished during these periods, especially when his
cravings to gamble were intense and compelling.
As an additional component of treatment, Mr. S was agreeable to learning mindfulness meditation. He was presented with a rationale
for this technique that focused on learning to attend to gambling-related thoughts and feelings with an attitude of discovery,
observation, and dispassionate awareness. Over the course of several weeks Mr. S mastered the basic techniques of mindful
meditation and breath control and committed himself to a daily practice routine of 45 minutes. Specifically, he was taught
to permit thoughts related to gambling to arise and subside, initially only while meditating but eventually throughout the
day. He was instructed neither to “cling” to a thought nor to elaborate it (e.g., fantasize) but to simply observe that the
thought had occurred and to become aware of his breathing. He was encouraged to note that all thoughts, gambling-related or
not, were very brief, transient, and impermanent, rather than to “react” by fantasizing, distorting, suppressing, or dismissing.
Instead, he was encouraged to observe his thoughts in the same way he might observe waves crashing on a shore or clouds drifting
across the sky. Mr. S was instructed to refrain from judging any specific thought or feeling as desirable or not, watching
all of his mental events emerge into his conscious awareness and as rapidly disappear. Through such practice, he was able
to clearly distinguish himself as the “observer” from the activity of his consciousness, the “observed.”
Equally importantly, his mindfulness skills led him to be more aware of the thoughts and feelings he had about the consequences
of his gambling. These tended to be dismissed or rationalized away when he was caught in a strong urge to gamble and would
completely disappear while at the casino. By applying mindfulness skills, he became and remained aware of the harms his gambling
had caused for his significant others. Mr. S also found that as he diligently practised his mindfulness skills, he was able
to apply his attitude of uninvolved observation of his gambling-related cognitive processes throughout the day. He found himself
responding to gambling thoughts with amusement, curiosity, and amazement but with reduced conviction in their validity or,
most importantly, the need for a behavioural reaction on his part. He noted that this attitude generally led to a rapid dissolution
of these thoughts and the elimination of any strong urges or temptations to gamble. He acknowledged that the gambling thoughts
continued to occur at approximately the same frequency as before treatment but their intensity or salience in his awareness
was much diminished (analogous to reducing the volume on the radio), and as a result he was able to make more adaptive decisions
(i.e., not gamble).
The case of Mr. S was presented to illustrate the utility and limitations of a cognitive approach. Although intellectually
able to restructure his cognitive distortions related to gambling, during standard CBT, Mr. S found it difficult to actually
modify his gambling behaviour. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the treatment of gambling. Recently, Williams and Connolly (2006) found that educating university students on probability theory (e.g., odds) through the use of gambling examples produced
differences in the ability to calculate gambling odds and resistance to irrational gambling-related mathematical beliefs compared
to those who were instructed on probability theory generically (i.e., without the aid of gambling-related examples). However,
there was no effect on gambling behaviour, leading Williams and Connolly (2006) to conclude that learning mathematical knowledge related to gambling was unrelated to gambling behaviour.
A missing element of the traditional cognitive therapy approach supplied by mindfulness training is the practice of a critical
metacognitive skill. The metacognitive skill imparted to Mr. S is an experientially based mindfulness practice, which demonstrated
to Mr. S that his gambling-related cognitions, which appeared to emerge independently and spontaneously, were distinct from
his mental responses to them. Mr. S was taught a series of skills, including body scan, mindful yoga postures, sitting meditation,
and mindful eating and walking. He was taught to expand these skills to specific gambling-related sensations, feelings, and
cognitions. Over the course of the therapy, he learned to replace reacting as he normally would (with excessive preoccupation
and engagement in feelings, sensations, and cognitive distortions about gambling) with allowing cognitive events to rapidly
arise and subside as they normally do when they are observed, but not interfered with. The development of this metacognitive
skill essentially liberated Mr. S from the “compulsion” to react to his distortions with actual gambling behaviour. It also
simultaneously allowed him to remain aware of the negative consequences of his gambling to a greater degree than he would
have otherwise.
The most significant limitation in advocating for the inclusion of a mindfulness meditation component in treatment for problem
gambling is the lack of empirical evidence. There is considerable research demonstrating the benefits of mindfulness meditation
for other emotional disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and stress (Toneatto & Nguyen, in press (b)). There are also a number of treatment programs for more severe mental health issues, including self-harm and personality
disorders, that make cogent arguments for mindfulness as a clinically potent tool for enhancing self-awareness and emotion
regulation (e.g., Linehan, 1993). Given the potential benefits of mindfulness for reducing distress and maladaptive engagement in other impulsive, maladaptive
behaviours, mindfulness could conceivably provide similar benefits to patients engaging in pathological gambling, a group
for whom problem gambling is usually one of a number of mental health or addiction concerns.
Another important consideration is that for it to be effective, the instructor must have considerable personal experience
with, and maintain an active practice in, mindfulness meditation. Not all clinicians and, likewise, not all problem gamblers,
can be expected to find the techniques of mindfulness meditation, which include sitting meditation and the practice of an
attitude of dispassionate observation, desirable or easy to learn. Such challenges may be particularly evident when working
with highly impulsive or comorbidly diagnosed problem gamblers. To be effective, mindfulness meditation needs to be practised
regularly, on a daily basis if possible, and over an extended period of time. The problem gambler needs to be willing to maintain
consistent practice to gain the potential benefits of mindfulness meditation.
In conclusion, mindfulness meditation interventions are compatible with other psychotherapies, especially the cognitive-behavioural
approaches, with which they share many similarities. Mindfulness also introduces unique strategies that might serve to enhance
the benefits provided by standard CBT. Mindfulness interventions are likely to continue to attract clinical and scientific
interest and become an additional therapeutic option for the clinician treating individuals with problem gambling.
Copyright © 2021 | Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Journal Information
Journal ID (publisher-id): jgi
ISSN: 1910-7595
Publisher: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Article Information
© 1999-2006 The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Received Day: 13 Month: September Year: 2006
Accepted Day: 1 Month: November Year: 2006
Publication date: January 2007
First Page: 91 Last Page: 100
Publisher Id: jgi.2007.19.12
DOI: 10.4309/jgi.2007.19.12
The role of mindfulness in the cognitive-behavioural treatment of problem gambling
Affiliation: 1Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto. E-mail: tony_toneatto@camh.net
Affiliation: 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
Affiliation: 3Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto
Affiliation: 4Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
For correspondence: Tony Toneatto, PhD, Clinical Research Department, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell St.,
Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1. Phone 416-535-8501 ext. 6828, fax 416-595-6399, e-mail tony_toneatto@camh.net
Contributors: TT reviewed the literature of cognitive distortions in problem gamblers. LV developed the case study. LN helped
write the section on mindfulness meditation. All three authors assisted in the writing of the article.
Competing interests: None declared for any of the three authors.
Funding: The writing of this article was not funded. Tony Toneatto is employeed by CAMH. Lisa Vettese holds a CIHR-funded
post-doctoral fellowship. Linda Nguyen is a full-time student in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto.
Tony Toneatto (PhD, clinical psychology, McGill University) is a senior scientist in the Clinical Research Department at CAMH.
He holds a cross-appointment in the Departments of Psychiatry and Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto and
is also a registered clinical psychologist in Ontario. His research interests include the psychology and treatment of problem
gambling, psychiatric comorbidity and addictions, and mindfulness meditation.
Lisa Vettese (PhD, clinical psychology, York University) is a registered clinical psychologist. She completed a postdoctoral
fellowship focused on mindfulness and addictions, sponsored by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and trainings
through the Centre for Mindfulness Studies at University of Massachusetts Medical School. Her interests include the integration
of mindfulness into psychotherapy for chronic pain, psychological trauma, and concurrent mental health and addiction issues.
She conducts research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and has a private practice incorporating cognitive-behavioural
and mindfulness-based treatment approaches.
Linda Nguyen (BSc., zoology, University of Toronto) is currently in her first year in the Faculty of Nursing at the University
of Toronto. She is interested in mindfulness meditation and its application to medical and emotional disorders, especially
anxiety and depression.
Abstract
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Article Categories:
Keywords:
gambling, mindfulness meditation, treatment.
Related Article(s):
Editor-in-chief: Nigel E. Turner, Ph.D.
Managing Editor: Vivien Rekkas, Ph.D. (contact)
Introduction
Cognitive distortions in pathological gambling
Mindfulness meditation
Application of mindfulness to the treatment of problem gambling
Clinical case
Discussion