Problem Gambling

Recreational gamblers hope to win but expect to lose when they play gambling games. Problem gamblers see it the other way round. The truth is that gambling is most often about getting nothing for something. Most people know this. Problem gamblers, through faulty cognitions and mistaken beliefs, often lock themselves into a dreadful cycle of self-destructive gambling behaviour.

Problem gambling is on the rise and, with the many and varied forms of gambling available on the internet and new opportunities to engage in online stockmarket and foreign exchange trading, the old stereotype of a problem gambler as someone down at the bookies all day is looking particularly redundant. Problem gambling is an especially tragic form of addiction, with suicide an eventual outcome for many people suffering from this form of addiction.

Especially tragic is that problem gamblers will often hide their losses so adeptly from their loved ones that the scale of the problem will remain concealed until the day that the spouse or partner finally discovers that the marital home is being repossessed and all the savings have gone. There is currently no universally accepted theory which explains problem gambling behaviour. How then does one treat it?

Excluding the very small percentage of pathological gamblers who are regarded as having a psychiatric disorder of impulse control, problem gamblers seeking help appear to be unable to control their gambling behaviour. The loss of control over gambling activity is the core problem. The question is this: what is the cause of the loss of control that is responsible for the damage seen in the lives of problem gamblers?

The Start2Stop gambling treatment programme is predicated on the notion that this impaired control is driven by a set of faulty cognitions and beliefs, which sustains the delusion for the problem gambler that he or she can exert control over chance events. The customised Start2Stop treatment programme aims to help problem gamblers with their gambling problem so that gambling will no longer exert the compulsive control it currently has over your life. The programme cannot take the problem away but it can show you how to live in harmony with the addiction.

If you are looking for help and advice, think you or a loved one may have a gambling problem then Start2Stop can help. With Gambling Rehabilitation as part of our Treatment Programmes we can help you understand the root of your gambling addiction and help you develop the emotional and practical tools necessary to fight your addiction and move forward.

Gambling addiction counselling will help you take control of your life, improve relationships and help to free you from the control of this dangerous and often overlooked addiction.