[Cognitive-behavioral treatment for impulse control disorders].

Objectives: This paper reviews the cognitive-behavioral treatment of kleptomania, compulsive buying, and pathological gambling.

Method: A review of the published literature was conducted.

Results: Treatment research in all of these areas is limited.

The association between comorbidity and outcome in pathological gambling: a prospective follow-up of recent quitters.

A naturalistic sample of pathological gamblers (N = 101) who recently quit gambling was followed prospectively for a year (follow-up rate 80%). Lifetime mood disorders were identified in 61% of participants and 73% and 48% had lifetime alcohol use and drug use disorders, respectively. Current prevalence rates, however, were much lower.

Brief motivational treatment for problem gambling: a 24-month follow-up.

A 24-month follow-up of a randomized clinical trial of 2 brief treatments for problem gambling (N = 67) revealed an advantage for participants who received a motivational telephone intervention plus a self-help workbook compared with participants who received only the workbook. Although the 2 groups did not differ in the number of participants reporting 6 months of abstinence, the motivational intervention group gambled fewer days, lost less money, and had lower South Oaks Gambling Screen scores. They were more likely to be categorized as improved compared with the self-help workbook only group.