HUNTINGTON - In order to help more clients, the Huntington Comprehensive Treatment Center has added the expertise of two gambling addiction counselors to the resources that they offer.

Kayla Harless and Samantha Page recently completed the 30-hour training needed to join the treatment network, and are both in the process of obtaining their Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counseling certificates. Both counselors' goals are to help others and provide nonjudgmental support for them.

Harless, who hails from Cabell County, attended Marshall University and has been working at the Huntington Treatment Center since completing her master's degree in counseling. Page, a Huntington native, also attended Marshall University and has been working for the Huntington Treatment Center for four years.

The treatment center provides counseling and treatment for individuals with drug or alcohol addiction. However, Harless and Page will also screen clients for gambling addiction.

The reason for this crossover is due to the significant correlation between gambling and drug or alcohol addiction. Those who have one type of addiction are more likely to suffer from the other. A Kansas State University article mentions a study that found "44 percent of those with disordered gambling behavior also report a lifetime history of alcoholism."

"There is a high co-morbidity between gambling and addiction, because they both trigger the same area in your brain, where it releases the dopamine, and that affects the emotions and behaviors," Page said.

By placing gambling treatment counselors in the treatment center, those who have both types of addiction can be helped more effectively.

"Treatment techniques are very unique to this disorder because of the psychological factors involved in the compulsion to continue gambling," communications director Shelia Moran said. Therefore, the additional training Harless and Page received will allow them to better assist those with a gambling addiction.

The 1-800-GAMBLER helpline, which is run by the Problem Gamblers Help Network of West Virginia, has taken nearly 700 calls from Cabell County. Callers receive crisis intervention and an appointment with Harless, Page or another nearby counselor. In addition to group and individual counseling, the organization pays for continued treatment for those without insurance to cover it, can refer them to other programs, and does long-term follow-ups to track clients' progress. These follow-ups indicate that the majority of callers are able to stop gambling within six months of entering treatment. Harless said that gamblers typically recover more quickly than those with another type of addiction.

"We're a big support system," Harless said. "You don't just come to one person. You can come to everyone here; whereas in some places you only have the one person to rely on, you have the whole place here."

More information is available by calling 1-800-GAMBLER or visiting http://www.1800gambler.net. The Huntington Comprehensive Treatment Center can be reached by calling 844-818-1031 or by visiting http://www.swvirginiactc.com.

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Center adds two gambling addiction counselors - Huntington Herald Dispatch