A nurse is caring for a client who is seeking treatment for gambling disorder. The client states, “I have gambled away all of my savings. I don’t know what I am going to do.” Which of the following statements should the nurse make?

Choice A reason: Interpersonal therapy focuses on relationships, not the cognitive distortions driving gambling disorder. Gambling involves dopamine-driven reward seeking, and while relationships may influence stress, addressing core beliefs about gambling is more effective for managing the addiction’s neurobiological basis. Choice B reason: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targets distorted beliefs in gambling disorder, such as illusions of control, addressing dopamine-driven reward seeking. By restructuring thoughts, CBT reduces compulsive behaviors, making it a primary, evidence-based intervention for addressing the psychological and neurological aspects of gambling addiction. Choice C reason: Gamblers Anonymous promotes abstinence, not controlled gambling, which is unrealistic for a behavioral addiction. Controlled gambling contradicts recovery principles, as the disorder’s reward pathway dysregulation drives compulsive behavior, making this statement incorrect and misleading for treatment goals. Choice D reason: Systematic desensitization is used for phobias, not gambling disorder. It involves gradual exposure to feared stimuli, irrelevant to gambling’s reward-driven compulsions. CBT is more appropriate, targeting cognitive distortions and behaviors, not anxiety-based avoidance seen in phobic disorders.