Counselling for Gambling

Programme Areas

Self help/ helpline, Addictions - drug & alcohol, Addictions - other

Programme Type

Helpline / self-help - gambling, Coexisting problems – mental health & addictions, Community based support - gambling, Community based support - other

Regions

All of New Zealand

Age Groups

Youth / Rangatahi, Adult / Pakeke, Older adult / Kaumātua

Referral Types

Self referral, GP, DHB clinical services, Corrections

Referral Process

Call 0800 862 342 or Click here if you would like to refer yourself or someone else to Asian Family Services.

Description

Asian Family Services is contracted by the Ministry of Health only to provide support for gamblers, family members and anybody who is negatively affected by someone else’s problem gambling in the past or at present. These services include one-on-one counselling services, couple counselling, group counselling and other social work services. These services are free for those who have been affected by gambling harm.

What is counselling?
The word, counselling, is a foreign term for many Asian countries. Being unfamiliar with counselling can make Asian people hesitant to seek counselling help. Thus it is important for Asians to know about what counselling is and how it works. Counselling is a private and confidential process. You talk in confidence with an experienced, qualified professional who will work with you to help you find ways of coping that are helpful and lasting.

All the clinical staff in our agency are tertiary qualified and maintain professional memberships.
If you’ve never been to counselling before, it’s not unusual to feel anxious before the first meeting.  You are welcome to bring a support person along with you to your counselling sessions. For many people, the most helpful thing about counselling is to have someone they can trust to talk to about things that concern them.

The first appointment is usually between 1 to 1 ½ hours. At this appointment you and your counsellor will talk confidentially and find out how you can best work together.
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At this appointment you will also be asked to fill out some questionnaires, which give the counsellor an idea of how things are going with you. The information from the questionnaires is confidential.

Later the counselling session is generally once per week or fortnightly for 50 minutes, depending on your needs.
People often ask how long they will need to come to counselling but this varies from person to person. With regard to how many counselling sessions you could have, your counsellor will guide you with this decision.