Marc Lefkowitz ICGC-II has been a certified gambling counselor for over 25 years. He has directed and developed multiple inpatient and outpatient gambling treatment programs to help change the thoughts and behaviors that contribute to compulsive gambling. While gambling often starts as a harmless pastime, it can quickly grow to become a compulsive behavior. That’s because gambling stimulates the brain’s reward system much like drugs and alcohol can.
Between working for the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, and training thousands of therapists and counselors, Marc has been open about sharing his knowledge and expertise. He is also a national speaker on problem gambling issues, and in 2012, received California’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with problem gamblers and their families.
Marc’s desire to help others goes beyond his expertise, however. As a recovering gambler himself, Marc understands the thrills and highs, entertaining atmosphere and social status that comes with gambling. He can connect to those going through this and help them see that there is more to life than the mainstream gambling scene.
With hard work and dedication, Marc has nearly 40 years of abstinence from placing a bet. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but it has been a rewarding one. Wolf Creek Recovery is honored to have Marc on our team to provide high-quality, gambling-specific addiction treatment and counseling services on an outpatient basis. As Marc says, “In my forty years working with problem gamblers and their families I’ve seen more people recover and thrive than just about anyone in this business. There is hope!”
