Our Origin Story
I was watching a sports game, when I noticed something that surprised me. I hadn’t seen a beer ad in over an hour.
Then, I realized that all the ads were for sports gambling. Online gambling companies have been outspending traditional advertisers on sports.
In the past few years, online gambling has become legal (and accessible) in over two-thirds of the country. With gambling becoming more popular, there has been a surge in the number of people who have an addiction to gambling. An estimated 7 - 10 million American adults suffer from problem gambling or a gambling disorder.
How do you treat 10 million people with gambling disorders? The good news is that the treatment of problem gambling and gambling disorder is well-researched. There have been over 200 scientific papers on the topic, which demonstrate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other interventions. However, there are not enough therapists with the specialized knowledge to deliver the therapy.
For every 10,000 people with problem gambling, there is less than one therapist with the specialized training to help them. To deliver help to all those who need it, we must find alternative ways to do so. I believe the help can be delivered through AI-powered chatbots.
There is a growing body of research showing that specially trained AI-powered chatbots can effectively deliver the treatment for a range of mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety. At Changing Choices, we are building an app that utilizes AI-powered coaches to provide help for problem gambling.
Our mission is to provide effective, easily accessible, affordable help for problem gambling.
—Marc Prosser
CEO of Changing Choices & Founder of Choosing Therapy
The Science
There are multiple effective approaches to treating problem gambling, including motivational interviewing (MI) , behavioral therapy (BT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Researchers at the University of Albany, State University of New York, under the leadership of Dr. Edelgard Wulferthaveh, have developed a treatment titled “Cognitive Motivational Behavior Therapy” (CMBT), which combines these approaches. The results have been very strong.
In the 2025 research paper by Wulfert, Wemm & Broussard,, “Betting on change: An analysis of cognitive motivational behavior therapy versus referral to gamblers anonymous for gambling disorder” the combination of these techniques were compared against the results from attending Gamblers Anonymous. The abstract concludes:
“Compared to GA, CMBT was more effective at retaining participants in treatment and reducing the amount of money gambled. For those who began treatment with low readiness to change, CMBT also decreased the severity of problem gambling, which was not the case for those referred to GA.”
Changing Choices follows the core principles espoused by CMBT, however, it has been modified to allow for delivery by AI chatbots instead of mental health providers. To establish the efficacy of CMBT’s implementation and method of delivery via chatbots, we are planning to test the effectiveness of Changing Choices in clinical trials.
Dr. James Broussard, Lead Clinical Advisor
Dr. Broussard is the lead clinical advisor for Changing Choices.
Dr. Broussard's multifaceted work bridges the gap between research, technology, clinical practice, and advancing the field of behavioral health treatment. He is an assistant professor of psychology at Jackson State University, where he leads the UPRITE Lab (Understanding and Preventing Risky and Impulsive Tendencies through Evidence). Dr. Broussard earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University at Albany, SUNY. Additionally, he is an actively practicing psychologist at LeFleur Behavioral Health, where he specializes in treating gambling disorder and other behavioral addictions
Dr. James D. Broussard’s work emphasizes the integration of technology in mental health. He has co-developed the Brief Digital Accelerator Treatment (BDAT) for gambling, a clinician-guided program designed to reduce risky gambling behaviors through interactive simulations and digital tools.
Dr. Broussard also played a significant role in development of Cognitive-Motivational Behavior Therapy (CMBT), an integrative treatment approach that combines motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and relapse prevention strategies
Dr. Broussard, Lead Clinical Advisor
