Gambling Help Online is an initiative of the Ministerial Council on Gambling (MCG) and is funded as part of an agreement between all State and Territory Governments and the Australian Government
Gambling Help Online:
Program Update, Client and Counsellor Feedback
Simone Rodda
Kathleen Latage, Renata Vergara April 2011
Program objectives
Attract a new cohort of clients who may not otherwise access face-to-face services
Extend the availability of counselling and support by addressing issues around remoteness, anonymity and after-hours
availability
• Websites
• Service sector
• Exclusions
• Referral
State
Information
• Risk
• Money
• Cognitions Self
assessment
• Signs
• Readiness
• Strategies
• Helping others
Introductory content
• Anytime, anywhere
• 24/7 text based
counselling Live
Counselling
• Q&A
• Tell someone
• Self-directed
Email Support
Are there particular sports that you follow?
Making which ever sport I was watching a lot more meaningful and also the rush you get from winning What did you originally enjoy about the gambling?
To start with I just bet on Australian sports then I found the online sports gambling forums and started betting USA sports. I almost bet $400 on baseball 5 minutes before I logged on here.
10:15 AM 10:09 AM
10:12 AM 10:06 AM
Website activity (Sept 09-Dec 10)
Page viewed Number
Home page 25244
Anonymous counselling 8240
Online counselling - landing page 6584
Gambling calculator 3663
Risk assessment 2382
How the pokies work 2346
Dispelling myths 2082
Since a soft-launch on 31/8/09 Gambling Help Online website has received 29,878 website visits.
The average page views were five pages per visit with an
average time on site of 4 minutes and 30 seconds
Gambling Help Online
Live Counselling - Chat (Sept 09-Dec 10)
There were 1287 live counselling contacts
Gamblers, CSO, Professionals, Students, Venues
Average contact duration was 43 minutes
Sixty-one per cent accessed anonymously
More likely to register if aged between 40-49
Most contacts received outside traditional
business hours
Client contact – time of day; Chat vs Victorian GHL ( July-Dec 10 )
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
6.0%
7.0%
8.0%
9.0%
6am 7am 8am 9am 10am11am12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm11pm12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am GHO Helpline
Who is using this service?
Gamblers using chat are more often:
Male (58%)
Higher proportion of males from NSW (69%)
***
Lower proportion of males from QLD (41%)
***
Aged under 30 (44 percent)
Higher proportion under 30 from NSW (52%)**
Higher proportion between 30-39 from VIC (31%)**
Higher proportion over 50 from QLD (24%)***
Gambler Profile: n=700
Online counselling (Chat)
**p<.01, ***p<.001
.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
15-29 30-39 40-49 over 50
Male Female
Gambler Profile:
Age by Gender (Chat)
***
***p<.001
***
***
Gamblers using chat are more often:
Gambling on EGM’s (70%)
Higher proportion of wagering from Victoria
**& WA
a
Australian (69%)
Higher proportion of Asian background from NSW
***
Problem gamblers (PGSI: M=21.4, SD=4.2)
Females significantly higher than males
Gambler Profile: n=700 Online counselling (Chat)
*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001,a sample not sufficient for sig test
Gambler Profile:
Email Support (n=120)
Gamblers using Email are more often:
Female (53%)
Higher proportion of females using email compared with Chat*
Even distribution across age groups
Higher proportion males aged <30
**& 30-39
*
Higher proportion females aged 40-49
*& >50
****p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
Gambler Profile:
Age by Gender (Email Support)
.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
15-29 30-39 40-49 over 50
Male Female
**
*
*
***
*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
Gambler Profile:
Email Support (n=120)
Gamblers using Email are more often:
Gambling on EGM’s (72%)
Australian (68%)
Higher proportion of Asian background NSW*
Problem Gamblers (PGSI: M=20.6, SD=4.7)
No difference by age or gender
*p<.05
Significant Other Profile:
Chat and Email (n=157)
**p<.01,a sample not sufficient for sig test
Approximately 16% of online clients are Significant Others. They are more often:
Female (73%)
Higher proportion than chat**
Aged <30 (47%)
Concerned about EGM gambling (66%)
18/20 partners using email for EGM concerns
aSignificant Other Profile:
Chat and Email (n=157)
Significant others are more often:
Contacting during business hours
Higher proportion than gamblers using chat during business hours
**
Partner (58%) Son/Daughter (19%)
Partner experiences significantly higher impact of gambling than others
1**p<.05, **p<.01
1Dowling et al., (2009). The development of a brief scale to evaluate the impact of problem gambling on significant others for the national Gambling Help website.
The Problem Gambling Significant Other Impact Scale (PG-SOIS)
Have you or your family experienced financial hardship as a result of the other person’s gambling?
Have you experienced feelings of sadness, anxiety, stress or anger due to the other person’s gambling?
Has the quality of your relationship with the other person been affected by his/her gambling?
Has your or your family’s social life been affected by the other person’s gambling?
Has your ability to work or study been affected by the other person’s gambling?
Has your physical health been affected by the other
person’s gambling?
What happens in a live chat session:
Managing the differences
Social presence
The ability of the online counsellor to project sensitivity, empathy, warmth, understanding
and a willingness to assist in the textual environment which has few visual or
contextual clues. It represents an important element in facilitating effective online
counselling.
Hi Bob, so you are saying that…
Hmm, so you what you are saying is that…
Ok, and I am wondering here…
Look, you are right, and in saying that…
…now, I am thinking here if by any chance you have considered…
WOW! So you are saying that…
I am calling because my wife made me contact you. I don’t think I have a problem
I am wondering if I have a problem
my gambling is destroying me
I have a problem and want to stop gambling
I’m sorry to hear you find yourself in this situation. I’m wondering how long it has been…
He keeps lying to me about what he does with our money
And then I realise that he gambles more than I thought he does It broke my heart to know that he lies to me constantly
My husband is a gambler
Hi, okay – are you able to tell me a bit more about how his gambling has been a problem?
The real problem started around 2 years ago.. I would say the fun betting started 3 years ago
Okay, I know when I speak with other partner/family members it is usually a huge shock when they find out that the gambling is more serious than previously thought. It sounds as if that was the case for you
Yes it was a big shock for me especially that we got married 3
years ago… And we have plans to buy a house and everything else
Ok, so you have used of those techniques in the past, and how did that work for you
Ok, so you are saying…, right, and what about…
I understand this situation is very stressful for
you, I am wondering how long you’ve been
feeling like that?
Ok, 2-3 years ago when you first started, how did it happen?
Started 2-3 years ago with the pokies and it has increased Dramatically over the last year… higher bets and losses
Wanting to win back the losses
I have had enoufth, have to stop NOW!!! Tell me what to do!!!
Ok, I can see gambling is a problem for you, do you mind telling me a little bit more
LOL
Good on ya!
ZZZZZZZ
GTG
Counsellor upskilling: a peer
supervision model
Online Peer Support
The demand of immediacy and perceived distress
How to best support counselors managing
the challenges of encouraging positive and
purposeful change with a client.
Development of a Peer Support Group
New opportunities for counsellor support
Developed in addition to the usual clinical
individual and group supervision within the
organization.
Background
Format of the peer support group
Journal articles discussing themes arising
from online counselling were distributed two
weeks before meeting.
Group readings
Fletcher-Tomenius & Vossler (2009).
Research in the role of trust and the therapeutic relationship online
Lange et al., (2001). Effectiveness of online counselling in reducing presenting problems
Chechelle & Stofle (2004). Clients who will not seek f2f - seek therapy online with
evidence of a therapeutic relationship being
formed
Group Process
Opportunity to reveal, discuss, reflect and reinterpret online experiences
Commonly identified themes
Experiences of Online Counsellors
I feel scared that I am going to lose the client
I worry that I am going to get it wrong
Sometimes it feels as if I am just waiting to wear the client’s anger
There are times when I feel so frustrated with the client – I don’t feel that they are really
trying.
Group Outcomes
Increased the therapeutic distance with the client.
Naming thoughts – lead to recognizing the
need to work differently.
Learnings from new model
Development of strategies to support counsellors in dealing with the complexities of online
contacts.
Development of innovative ways in supporting skill development for online counsellors
Usefulness of peer support forum
Survey of client satisfaction and
help seeking experiences
Help Seeking patterns GHO self-
reported (n=264, Nov10-Feb11)
Why choosing online? Previous treatment seekers
I needed to talk to someone about places to go for face to face help (Female, 20-24, EGM, chat from this site)
I felt more comfortable and relaxed as I was able
to have some time to give thought to where I
was having a problem. Sometimes when I am
face to face with a person my thoughts tend to
vanish (female, 45-49, EGM, metro, face-to-face)
Why choosing online? Current treatment seekers
I like face to face but can only get a once a
fortnight session which is not enough. This is a good option to fill the gap (female partner, 40-45, regional Qld)
Easy to use in comfort of home, safe, less
confrontational (Female, 25-29, EGM’s, Metro Vic)
Why choosing online? New treatment seekers
I think people would be less likely to go to the other sources first. Online is accessible and isn't too
shocking to begin with. Embarrassed about the problem, so I like the anonymity of online for the moment (Male, 25-29, Metro NSW)
it was a decision that I was comfortable to do as it is my first time to do anything about the gambling problem that has affected me for 10 years
(female, 44-45 regional QLD)A sense of anonymous. Convenience also (Male, 30-34,
Indigenous)
Exit survey
In an overall general sense, how satisfied were you with the session today?
Not at all satisfied
Extremely satisfied
Is online your preferred method of accessing help or support?
Not at all
Very much so
What’s next?
Current exit survey:
Session evaluation, service satisfaction
Levels of distress, readiness to change
Probable Possibilities…
Therapist moderated forums,
