Pathological Gambling is a disorder with a significant impact on society, causing social, financial and emotional injuries to individuals. In this paper, we conducted a review of scientific literature on Pathological Gambling, focusing on aspects related to this disorder, and its therapeutic possibilities, especially the motivational aspect as an essential factor to treatment. Considering motivation to change as an important issue to be considered in order to develop treatment strategies and interventions for this disorder, this review related Pathological Gambling to motivation to change. The following databases were consulted: Pschynfo, Web of Science, Medline and Lilacs; using the keywords pathological gambling, gamblers, treatment, stages of change, motivational interviewing and readiness to change, between 1990 and 2008. We also examined books and articles that were not in the references of the indexed sources. From the scientific literature searched, it was observed that most studies suggest the need for more research with controlled trials to treat this condition; and the motivation of the patient appears to be crucial as a predictive factor in any therapeutic modality.
Pathological Gambling; Transtheoretical Model; stages of change
