Find out more about the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.
Resources to help professionals identify problem gambling clients and respond to their needs.
The Foundation coordinates professional development opportunities for the Gambler’s Help workforce. This currently includes two major programs to build capacity to respond to clients with mental health problems and to use a family-inclusive approach to counselling. These programs also help to create links between Gambler’s Help and other services.
Alfred Health’s Problem Gambling and Mental Health Program
The Problem Gambling and Mental Health Program, delivered by Alfred Health, aims to improve treatment options for people with co-occuring gambling and mental health problems.
The current program was designed in partnership with Alfred Health, and follows on from an extensive study of the impact and influence of mental health on gambling behaviours conducted between 2004 and 2006.
The program covers a range of education, professional development and clinical support initiatives.
Read more about the Problem Gambling and Mental Health Program.
Family-Inclusive Counselling Program
La Trobe University’s Bouverie Centre delivers clinical training, education and support to Gambler’s Help agencies in implementing family-inclusive counselling.
The centre:
- provides Gambler’s Help clinicians with training in strategies to engage people and/or family groups in counselling.
- builds capacity within Gambler’s Help services to ensure innovative practices are developed and sustained long term.
- creates strong relationships between Gambler’s Help counsellors and other counselling programs to improve services for people with multiple and complex problems including problem gambling.
The Beacon Project
The Bouverie Centre also delivers the Beacon Project, which helps to integrate Gambler’s Help with the broader health and welfare service system. The project trains counsellors from the mental health, Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) and Gambler’s Help programs together, to help build strong connections between counsellors from these different areas.
