You’re a behavioral health professional with requisite bachelor’s and master’s degrees, postgraduate supervised experience, national counseling examination credentials, and status as a licensed professional counselor, licensed mental health counselor, or licensed professional clinical counselor (contingent upon your state’s licensing board). As such, you are qualified to assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression, etc.) through therapy sessions for individuals, couples, or groups. You develop treatment plans, teach coping skills, and help people overcome crises. You are confident in your education, training, and background in issues that millions of Americans struggle with. But lately, you and your colleagues have recognized a growth in public outreach for gambling related behavioral problems. You’ve also read the reports regarding triple digit year-over-year percentage increases in call volumes to gambling helplines since sports betting became legal in your (or neighboring) state. Individuals and their loved ones are calling, messaging, emailing, and asking chatbots about where to get help for what they self-report to be a gambling addiction.
DSM-5 classifies Gambling Disorder (312.31 / F63.0) as a “substance-related and addictive disorder,” requiring at least four specific behaviors within a 12 month period (view signs and symptoms). However, the behavioral health concern is layered with complexities, with mild, moderate, and more severe instances, and in many cases problematic gambling is comorbid with other behavioral or mental health issues. Feeling unprepared to manage this unprecedented and highly nuanced demand for support when it arrives at your door, you have two options. One option, is to investigate qualified problem gambling treatment providers in your area to refer prospective clients to. The other, is to follow-up on the query that brought you here; how to become a gambling counselor? As someone in the latter category we encourage you to read below for a succinct overview what you need to know.
Straightforward Answers to Your Questions About Becoming a Certified Gambling Counselor in the United States
What is a Certified Gambling Counselor?
A Certified Gambling Counselor (CGC), or the more preferred designation of International Certified Gambling Counselor (ICGC), is a trained professional specialized in diagnosing, treating, and supporting individuals and households struggling with Gambling Disorder and varying forms of problem gambling behavior. They provide targeted interventions using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and relapse prevention strategies to help clients regain control of their lives. They possess deep knowledge of the psychology of process addictions with concentration of gambling issues, including identification of triggers and cognitive distortions. They offer various therapies including individual, family, and group counseling. These professionals possess the qualifications to work in various settings, including addiction treatment centers, social services, and private practices.
Who Needs Gambling Addiction Certification?
Gambling counselor certification can be highly beneficial for a variety of behavioral health professionals, including the following:
- Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC/LCPC)
- Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW)
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT)
- Psychologists
- Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselors and Coaches
- Counselors who are already gambling treatment providers seeking advanced specialization
Is Gambling Addiction Certification Worth It?
This is a common question (verbatim) that behavioral health professionals all over North America are asking. And it’s a fair one, because along with your peers, you got into the business of counseling not just to help people, but to earn a living. This is where the law of economics comes into the picture. To know if “gambling addiction certification” is worth it you must confirm that there is enough demand in your area to justify the investment in becoming a certified gambling counselor.
Below is a snapshot of monthly searches occurring on Google / Gemini AI that shows the average search volume per largely populated U.S. state:
What this data means, is that in your state (on average) there are thousands of monthly searches performed by prospective clients in need of gambling counseling services. This snapshot does not account for the hundreds of other semantically related search expressions occurring across Google, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants.
When you consider that the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that more than 120 million Americans live in designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, with two-thirds of the U.S. population residing in areas that do not have enough mental health providers (much less specialized gambling counselors) to meet demand, a clear picture is painted.
Is certification worth it? The numbers speak for themselves.
How Long is Gambling Addiction Certification?
You’ve arrived here after searching for information on how to become a gambling counselor. It may therefore be deduced that you don’t yet have prior experience with process addiction counseling, and thus will benefit from developing foundational knowledge, assessment, and intervention strategies for individuals dealing with gambling issues. You will want to register for International Certified Gambling Counselor-I (ICGC-I) Core Training which is a 30-hour program that can be completed virtually at your convenience. What if you have foundational knowledge, or simply prefer to acquire full ICGC I and ICGC I aligned education in one complete program? Then you can register for International Certified Gambling Counselor I & II Core Training which is a 60-hour program that can also be completed at your own pace.
How Much is Gambling Addiction Certification?
In the section above titled “Is Gambling Addiction Certification Worth It?” it was made clear that qualified counselors will likely see a return on investment in a relatively short amount of time. But what exactly is the cost? Details on the small investment ($400 for ICGC I or $700 for ICGC I & II) into International Certified Gambling Counselor Core Training can be found here.
Where to Get Gambling Counselor Certification?
As America’s leading virtual counseling provider for problem gambling, Kindbridge has developed training and licensing programs to get you gambling counselor certification. These online, engaging, and interactive programs offer low barrier to entry and can be completed at your own pace. Learn more and register for your preferred course via the following links:
- International Certified Gambling Counselor I Core Training
- International Certified Gambling Counselor I & II Core Training
Our virtual gambling counseling platform is growing across the United States. Once you have completed ICGC I or ICGC II there is an opportunity (depending on your region) for you to join the Kindbridge network of gambling counselors. Reach out to learn more about our ICGC I or ICGC II programs and to ask about future opportunities.
