Linking Gambling and Trauma: A Phenomenological Hermeneutic Case Study Using Almaas’ Transformation of Narcissism Approach Gary Nixon & Jason Solowoniuk & Lauren Julia Boni & Ruth Grant Kalischuk Published online: 25 September 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012 Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the phenomenon of pathological gam- bling and addiction from the perspective of writer and teacher A.H Almaas. By drawing on his Diamond Mind approach we trace the origin of addictive behaviors and pathological gambling to narcissistic wounding, which constitutes the loss of connection with the Essential Identity. A phenomenological hermeneutic methodology was applied in the re- search process in which Penny, the subject of this case study, willingly shared her life journey through addiction. A thematic analysis clustered into 5 themes revealed a link between her experiences of childhood trauma, addiction, pathological gambling, and the manifestation of fundamental narcissism. Keywords Childhood trauma . Being . Narcissistic wound . Great betrayal . Pathological gambling . Empty shell . A.H Almaas Trauma and the Female Problem Gambler There is a paucity of research that addresses the connection between trauma and female pathological gambling with issues of trauma being raised but the explicit connection not being illuminated (Boughton and Brewster 2002). For example, in a study of 22 families, Grant Kalischuk and Cardwell (2004) developed a grounded theory that situated trauma as a factor in problem gambling for both males and females. Similarly, in a sample of 111 pathological gamblers, (Kausch et al. 2006) identified a relationship between gambling and trauma, however the role that trauma played in the development of pathological gambling was not determined. Meanwhile, (Atifi et al. 2010) found that “dating violence, marital violence and severe child abuse victimization were associated with increased odds of gambling problems” (Atifi et al. 2010). Petry and Steinberg (2005) studied childhood maltreatment in male and female treatment- seeking pathological gamblers, recruiting participants from seven treatment sites (N 0 149; Int J Ment Health Addiction (2013) 11:123–138 DOI 10.1007/s11469-012-9403-4 G. Nixon (*) : J. Solowoniuk : L. J. Boni : R. Grant Kalischuk Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada e-mail: gary.nixon@uleth.ca