co-occurring substance use and problem gambling: implications for clinicians
DESCRIPTION
APSAD 2014 Presentation by Louise King on her work and research on addressing problem gambling within the context of alcohol and other drug treatment.TRANSCRIPT
Co-occurring substance use and problem gambling: Implications for clinicians
Louise King BA, MSW
A Clinician Perspective
• Curiosity
• Pat, not his real name
• Ice and the pokies
• Help - there are no clinical guidelines
here!
Evidence of Co-occurrence
• Evidence for co-occurrence of AOD and gambling in many studies
• 63% of problem gamblers seeking treatment have co-occurring AOD issues (Black & Moyer, 1998)
• 1 in 10 substance users seeking treatment report co-occurring problem gambling (Cunningham-Williams et al, 2000; Toneatto & Brennan, 2002)
• One study reported up to 21% of treatment seeking AOD clients had problem gambling (Mathias et al, 2009)
What else the literature tells us…
• Alcohol, cannabis and methamphetamines
• Substance use precedes gambling
• Increased risk of suicide, incarceration, mental &
physical health problems (Bruner et al 2010)
• Harms of AOD/Gambling – individual & community
• Screening
• Concurrent treatment helps prevent relapse
Methodology
• Exploratory, practice based research
• Literature Review, Policy Review & Qualitative study
• 20 clinician interviews
Key Questions
• Are gambling issues raised as part of normal, everyday practice a in typical AOD service?
• How do AOD clinicians assist clients who disclose gambling issues?
• What extent of knowledge do AOD clinicians have about gambling issues and the best practice treatment for clients?
Themes
• Co-occurrence of AOD and gambling
• Interventions
• Barriers to treatment
• Future directions for practice
Summary of findings
• AOD clinicians do perceive problem gambling as an issue for some clients
• Literature indicates co-occurrence of AOD and gambling (& mental health)
• Screening for both issues and concurrent treatment is appropriate.
• Training staff and development of relationships between AOD & gambling services.
The Future
• Development of Clinical Guidelines
• Training
• Future research opportunities
Acknowledgments
University of Melbourne
Dr David Rose
Dr Winsome Roberts
ReGen
All my colleagues and clients
Donna Ribton-Turner
Trevor King
Malcolm Doreian
Questions….