Gambling counselling.

Gambling is a habit - often an expensive and destructive one, in many various ways; not only financial ones. Nobody was born as a gambler; so gambling is a learned habit - which can be changed. Our gambling counselling works towards developing a different lifestyle where gambling, and the thoughts of gambling, are not the client's normal process.

Working towards that new manner of life encourages:

• a life with consistency of living and working for a prosperous, happy outcome.
• people trusting you and your reliability.
• regaining trust in a relationship.
• avoiding the necessity to lie to others, either by outright lies or evading truth.

Working away from the reoccurring problems that gambling brings:

• acceptance that the thrill and excitement of gambling is detrimental and dangerous.
  
• reality that gambling is a negative behaviour.

Our gambling counselling works towards bringing reality. The reality is the gambling industry always wins, which means the gambler always loses - on average. There will be intermittent wins, whilst overall losses will continue.  Accepting that reality is a principal counselling objective.

A learned habit can be changed, towards a different way of life. That involves effort to change. Gambling counselling can provide the tools to bring those changes and encourage the efforts to make those changes.

Gambling is guessing a random event of the future. Gambling can be fun and a way of adding excitement and enjoyment to a period of relaxation. It excites the reward centre of the brain in similar ways as some illegal drugs.

Gambling has a similar effect on the brain as various drugs, it can be addictive and certainly damaging. If clients really want to change, that can be assisted by our counselling. It will need the clients working to help themselves.

Our gambling counselling will commonly be in phases. Each phase will advance on previous sessions, with appropriate reinforcement of prior work.  The phases may not be sequential, they probably will be repeated and emphasised.

1. Developing the therapeutic relationship, whilst understanding the reality of the client's situation.
2. Informative interventions of some tools which minimise gambling tendencies.
3. Developing acceptance of the past, with what has been learned from it - bringing reality.
4. Informative interventions of techniques used by the gambling industry to maximise their profits.
5. Informative interventions of guessing as a survival tool by animals and humans.
6. Working towards developing an new identity of being a 'non-gambler', with those implications.
7. Acceptance of the new personality of being a 'non-gambler', with the adaptions and changes necessary.
8. Understanding that efforts to be a non-gamblers are worthwhile, with benefits of relationships and finances.

Our gambling counselling principally uses the assumption that all actions start with thoughts, which then may or not be followed by actions.

The actions do NOT have to follow the thoughts. So a gambling thought does not have to be followed by  gambling actions. When a gambler understands and accepts that concept there often will be a drastic change.

After a time of not using the 'action' of gambling, the frequency of the 'thoughts' of gambling decrease - maybe to nothing.

Gambling is a time consuming occupation. If a person stops gambling, there will be a void in their lives. A void requires something to fill it. The easiest thing to fill the void is what came out of it - gambling.  So it is preferable to start, or increase, a different activity - a sport, hobby, educational course, relationship, family, etc.

During therapy there may be relapses. We can work with those relapses; they would not be disasters, they would be hiccups or bumps in the road to being a 'non-gambler'.

I have extensive experience of working with problem gamblers, who often are then able to change their emotional ability to stop their gambling problems. I also provide gambling counselling to partners/relatives who are affected by another person's gambling.

I practise online as a counsellor to assist clients to develop reality, positivity and their improved well-being. I work with various issues, using counselling with clients in locations worldwide. One issue which is common in many locations is excessive gambling problems, which may also be called compulsive gambling.

If you consider that you might be a problem gambler - or a person affected by a gambling person,  please contact me by email, phone or my contact page.

For a prompt  appointment: email, call or text: 07757 233386 (UK). I may be with a client, or otherwise occupied, in which case please leave a message with your contact number. I will respond promptly. Or email: info@counsellingworld.co.uk Or use the contact page to send me a message.