FAQ

Unfortunately, sending money is not one of the ways we can help, we can offer support from financial and gambling help counsellors. 

Financial counsellors provide free, independent, confidential support to review your financial situation and options.  They offer information and advocacy to assist you to make a plan to deal with financial difficulties.

Gambling help counsellors can help you to better understand your and to make changes to reduce the risk of financial problems that may arise from gambling.

Gambling help counselling can help people experiencing problems associated with gambling in various ways.

Counselling can help you to:

• clarify your goals for change;
• understand why you gamble;
• identify your gambling high risk people, places, situations and moods;
• develop plans to eliminate, reduce or manage risks more effectively;
• work with issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma and grief that may interact with gambling;
• work to maintain changes made; and
• identify and plan to manage relapse risks

How long and how often people attend gambling help counselling vary.

At the gambling help service our phone and face to face appointments usually last for an hour.

Frequency and timing of sessions will be negotiated between yourself and your counsellor to respond to your own situation.

Early in the counselling process, your counsellor may invite you to attend weekly appointments.  Appointment frequency may scale back through fortnightly to monthly as you gain confidence in managing your gambling.  When you are confident about managing your gambling your counsellor will work with you to terminate counselling.

Problem gamblers are more likely than non-problem gamblers to experience a range of problems, both recent and on-going.

When compared to non-problem gamblers, problem gamblers were significantly more likely to have experienced the following life events in the last 12 months:

• the death of someone close to them;
• a divorce;
• legal difficulties;
• a major injury or illness to either themselves or someone close;
• trouble with work, boss or superiors;
• a major change to their financial situation; and
• an increase in arguments with someone close.

Source: A study of gambling in Victoria: Problem gambling from a public health perspective.  Victorian-gambling-study-wave-two-findings.pdf

EFFECT OF LIFE

People with gambling problems also exhibit a greater likelihood of experiencing a range of other health compromising behaviours.  People with gambling problems are more likely than non-problem gamblers to experience:

• depression;
• anxiety disorders;
• alcohol use problems;
• substance dependence or abuse; and
• nicotine dependence.

Source: Petry, Stinson & Grant (2005) Co-morbidity of DSM-IV pathological gambling and other psychiatric disorders: Results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions.

Our counselling staff are aware of the interrelationships between other life experiences and problem gambling and are experienced in working with clients to address gambling as it interacts with these other life issues.