Training and professional development
Partner News - August 2023
In this edition
Community engagement news
Primary Care Connect's NAIDOC Week activities
Above left: Freddy Thuruthikattu and Arkid Shirokaj, Primary Care Connect Gambler's Help community engagement workers. Above right: Smoking ceremony, Goranwarrabul House, Seymour.
Primary Care Connect’s Gambler's Help staff joined NAIDOC Week celebrations in Seymour and Shepparton last month to help raise awareness of gambling harm and local gambling support services.
Both festivals attracted hundreds of community members and service providers, presenting a great opportunity to promote Gambler's Help programs and engage locals in conversations about gambling harm.
Gambler's Help community engagement worker Freddy Thuruthikattu was delighted with the success of the Shepparton information booth.
'We got a lot of exposure to the community because we were located right beside a coffee stall!'
IPC Health celebrates Refugee Week
Left: Art class participants created 'leaves' representing their cultural background. Top right: Storytelling workshop facilitated by Three Sides of the Coin. Bottom right: African drumming workshop.
On 21 June, Gambler’s Help at IPC Health and Hobson's Bay City Council hosted a Refugee Week event called Finding freedom. With fun activities like African drumming, art classes, storytelling workshops and bush dancing lessons, the event was an opportunity for IPC Health to connect with 90 community members who attend English language classes at local community and education centres.
Gambler's Help staff from IPC Health were able to strengthen connections with the local community and network partners by participating in community development and resilience-building as a strategy for reducing gambling harm. As a result, multiple opportunities were identified for future group activities that will focus on this goal.
'This event was certainly fun,' said Gambler's Help community engagement officer Ian Ferretter. 'Staff from each of the workshops reported that although the activities seemed a little challenging at the beginning, the participants were soon fully engaged.'
New Gambling Help Online website goes live
The Gambling Help Online website has undergone a major redesign to improve access to free 24/7 support for all Australians affected by gambling. The easy-to-navigate site now lets people personalise their online experience by selecting their location and reasons for visiting the site. Users are provided customised information and support options, as well as suggestions for activities that can be undertaken immediately, such as:
- talking to an online counsellor using the new anonymous chat function
- assessing their gambling
- doing a self-help module
- joining a gambling support forum.
For those seeking local support services in Victoria, Gambling Help Online provides information about, and links to, Gambler’s Help services. Content is available in 14 languages, with support options for First Nations people.
ARTICLE: Measuring progress towards genuine partnerships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous organisations
Genuine and respectful partnerships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and non-Indigenous service providers are key to improving life outcomes for vulnerable families and children in these communities. This short article outlines the findings of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care's (SNAICC) audit of organisations’ progress towards achieving genuine partnership goals, which identifies strengths and areas still needing development.
Financial counselling news
Gambler's Help financial counsellor Lina Miao spoke to Partner News about the new Gambling 101 e-learning tool she helped to develop with the Financial Counsellors Victoria (FCVic) training team. The tool provides general insights into gambling harm, the gambling environment and available support. It also explores the techniques that generalist financial counsellors can use when working with someone experiencing gambling harm.
-
Tell me about your role in Gambler's Help
I have been a Gambler’s Help financial counsellor at the Melbourne Counselling Service of The Salvation Army for five-and-a-half years. I work collaboratively with a team of therapeutic counsellors to support community members to reduce gambling-related financial harm and improve their financial position in the longer term. My role involves raising awareness of gambling harm and empowering community members to gain control and recover from gambling harm.
-
Tell me about the Gambling Harm 101 e-learning tool and what role you’ve played in developing it?
It was great to be invited by the FCVic training team to co-develop the Gambling Harm 101 e-learning tool. This training tool was designed for general financial counsellors to have a better understanding of the current gambling environment and the best ways to respond to, and support, people affected by gambling harm. The self-paced, two-hour module offers an introduction to gambling harm with opportunities for further learning.
-
Where did you get all the information from?
The e-learning tool is based on research conducted by FCVic, as well as research and information obtained from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF), Australian Communications and Media Authority, Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), Alliance for Gambling Reform and other recently published research papers. FCVic also ran an introduction to gambling harm training session in 2022 and feedback was really positive from financial counsellors who attended.
-
What do you and FCVic hope to achieve with the e-learning tool?
The e-learning tool will be beneficial to anyone who is new in the financial counselling sector or would like to refresh their knowledge on the gambling harm signs, how to start conversations about gambling and strategies to support community members with self-treatment information or referral pathways to Gambler's Help professionals. We wanted to break down barriers that generalist financial counsellors can feel when a client discloses gambling harm, and encourage referrals and collaborative ways of working together with Gambler's Help counsellors and financial counsellors for better outcomes for clients.
-
What other projects are you working on?
I am currently participating in a project as a mentor to support students and will also undertake a course to become a financial counselling supervisor. Mentoring is really rewarding and I feel like I'm supporting the next generation of financial counsellors for our sector!
-
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy my role the most when my clients tell me that they are in a much better financial position, that they haven’t gambled for a long time, or that their relationship has improved dramatically with their partners. And most importantly, when my clients are confident to manage their finance and gambling on their own moving forward.
-
Anything else you’d like to add?
Being a Gambler’s Help financial counsellor is very rewarding. I have the opportunity to advocate on behalf of community members who experience mental health-related gambling issues, to work with big companies including banks, online gambling providers, and other third parties such as VRGF, VGCCC, and AIFS to contribute to a healthier and more equitable society.
-
How can I find out more about the e-learning tool?
If you have any further questions please email Annette Devereaux, Professionalisation and Service Integration (Gambling) Lead at FCVic on adevereaux@fcvic.org.au or visit www.fcvic.org.au/.
Foundation news
Government announces changes to Foundation
Premier Daniel Andrews and the Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Melissa Horne, on 16 July announced a number of reforms to the way in which pokies are offered in Victoria that will help to prevent and reduce gambling harm.
The announcement also stated that the functions currently performed by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation are to be transferred to other government agencies by 30 June 2024, at which time the Foundation will cease to exist as a separate entity.
Training and professional development
Recognition and responses to intimate partner violence in Gambler’s Help services: A qualitative study (webinar)
Thursday, 24 August 2023, 12.30–1:30 pm
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue and a common concern among people who use gambling help services. This seminar will address findings from a recent qualitative research project involving Gambler’s Help staff from Victoria and South Australia, which looked into the potential role of gambling help services in identifying and responding to clients who have experienced or used violence in their intimate relationships.
The session will consider how IPV is addressed in other health service settings, such as primary care and mental health services, and include a discussion of policy and practice implications.
Associate Professor Dr Sean Cowlishaw from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University will join us online to discuss his research findings.
Working with affected others (Financial Counselling Victoria)
Wednesday, 30 August 2023, 1–4 pm (face-to-face)
Financial counsellors of all levels of experience are invited to attend a panel discussion hosted by Gambling Minds, Alfred Health’s statewide mental health and gambling harm service. Participants will learn about the psychological effects of gambling harm on affected others, and discuss how financial counsellors can best engage with, and support them.
Upon completion of this session, participants will:
- understand the effects of someone’s gambling on others, including children
- be able to identify suitable financial options for affected others
- know how to make meaningful referrals to a range of services, including legal, health and family services
- have the knowledge to work more effectively with a therapeutic counsellor to support affected others.
Participants must be members of Financial Counselling Victoria to register.
Evaluating and benchmarking gambling-related harm: new measures and insights (webinar)
Thursday, 14 September 2023, 12.30–1.30 pm
Professor Matt Browne from the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences at CQUniversity primarily researches the psychological and health aspects of gambling. This online session will focus on new research into the introduction of the Gambling Harms Scale 20, an extended version of the Short Gambling Harm Scale, designed to cover more moderate to severe harm symptomatology.
The Gambling Harms Scale 20 provides a more nuanced understanding of gambling-related harm and fills a gap in the research into gambling harm among affected others.
Lapse and relapse when working with people affected by gambling harm (Financial Counselling Victoria)
Wednesday, 25 October 2023, 10 am–12.30 pm
This session will focus on the different stages of gambling addiction and what can cause clients to lapse and relapse. It will explore the differences between lapse and relapse, and discuss effective financial counselling techniques for working with clients at different stages. It will also look at the effect on a practitioner's sense of efficacy and achievement within their role when a client lapses or relapses.
Participants must be members of Financial Counselling Victoria to register.
If you have missed any of our training or professional development webinars, recorded sessions are available on our Training resources web page.
To subscribe to Partner News, please click the SUBSCRIBE button below, or email Andrea Hince.
