SUMMARY
Treatment services specifically for pathological gambling are relatively recent in the Nordic countries. Availability and type of treatment offered varies. A common feature of most of the treatment services is that pathological gambling is treated in the same way as other types of addiction. This article is based on a survey on treatment facilities carried out during the fall of 2004. There were differences in the theoretical perspective that treatment services were based on. The most common theoretical basis was cognitive-behavioural therapy with a focus on correction of cognitive fallacies and magical thinking associated with gambling. There were clear ideological differences between the types of treatment in the different countries. There is limited knowledge about the effect of treatment over time. In the future, focus should be directed towards increased cooperation and professional development between the countries and evaluation of the effects of treatment.
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