Group counselling for problem gambling

Abstract

Group counselling offers clients a number of therapeutic benefits and is used widely to provide general emotional support or assist participants to overcome specific personal difficulties in their lives. Group counselling has been used to assist individuals to overcome difficulties associated with problem gambling behaviour; however, there are few reports of this application in the clinical and research literature. This paper provides a brief review of group counselling, including the therapeutic benefits available to participants involved in this modality of counselling delivery. A description of counselling approaches and strategies commonly used in group counselling settings is also provided.The application of group counselling to assist individuals with gambling problems is then described. Both self-help and counsellor-led groups are discussed.