It is crucial that the user of this manual know his or her professional roles and responsibilities. Treatment, particularly involving issues presented in the section, “ Special Treatment Issues: Concurrent Psychiatric Disorders in Problem Gambling ,” requires the collaborative efforts of health professionals from various specializations. Consider the following information a guide for directing the most suitable resources to the problem gambler and heed the reminders to “know your limits.”
Three therapeutic approaches that have been found to be most effective when working with people affected by problem gambling — solution-focused brief therapy, behavioural therapy and cognitive therapy — will be described in this section of the manual. These three approaches address problem gambling behaviour developing predominantly from learning experiences, often referred to as Pathway 1 problem gambling (see Section “ The Pathways Model of Problem Gambling ”). A vital examination of client coping skills and relapse prevention is then presented. The section concludes with a consideration of problem gambling and concurrent disorders. The latter addresses problem gambling in the context of psychological and biological predisposing factors, also known as Pathways 1 and 3 respectively.
The following flow chart will lead you through this process. It is our hope that by presenting each phase of client contact, the reader is left with an understanding of the fine details of working with people affected by problem gambling and a larger picture of this essential service.