Past events

Ever wondered when that client is sitting in front of you and you’re aware their asset (car, house or other secured asset) is at serious risk and not sure what the next steps and conversations with your client may be?

Come along to this Financial Victoria session and hear about asset protection strategies and processes. Learn from the experts regarding the various options available to those experiencing gambling harm, as well as their families. Financial Victoria will also cover credit reporting data, and blocks available to people considering how to protect their remaining assets from the perils of gambling harm.

Upon successful completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Understand what asset protection is and why it might be needed

- Learn some of the asset protection strategies available to individuals and families experiencing gambling harm

- Know the various referral pathways or self guided tools available to clients

- Understand the obligations we as financial counsellors have to ensure we have discussed asset protection thoroughly

We thank you for your commitment to our Code of Ethics

Register here.

Single Session Family Consultation (SSFC) is a brief intervention, developed by The Bouverie Centre, for routinely engaging with families and clients. It aims to help the family identify and address their own needs, and to clarify how the family and supports will be involved in the individual's care. The topics covered in the session will include techniques and skills required for single session family consultation along with preventing and managing conflict skills.

This session is open to all therapeutic and financial counsellors that would like to advance skills working with individuals and affected others. This is a great opportunity to understand more about the service offered by Gambling Minds, and will support the co-facilitation of sessions.

Facilitators: Alice Morgan, FaPMI Coordinator & Allira McCall, Family Services Practice Lead at Alfred Mental and Addiction Health

Time: 09:00 – 16:30pm

Date: Wednesday 5 June (in-person)

How to register: https://forms.office.com/r/HXMpckG492

Venue: Melbourne CBD

Financial Counsellors working in gambling harm programs often work with clients and affected others, who disengage in the service during support.

Motivational interviewing is a unique process that explores and resolves resistance, and through motivational processes focuses on facilitating change amongst clients. Understanding motivational interviewing as a technique will assist us to learn the clients’ reason for change, the impact of uncertainties and support the client through their journey to reduce gambling harm and its impacts.

The session will work through case studies and provide practical application opportunities for motivational interviewing techniques and provide you with strategies that can assist effective client centred advice.

This session is hosted by Financial Counselling Victoria and is open to registered members only.

Location: Ibis Melbourne, Victoria Room, 15/21 Therry Street, Melbourne, Australia

In this presentation, Professor Paul Delfabbro from the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide will discuss the growth of cryptocurrency markets and the risks that these highly speculative investments can pose for the community. Although Bitcoin is now considered an established and lucrative long-term investment, most other cryptocurrencies are risky.

Investment in these assets can often be very similar to a form of gambling and can result in significant losses and harm to individuals and their families. Only a minority of investors tend to make significant gains. Paul will discuss the known links to gambling activities, the role of blockchain technology in the increasing monetisation of gaming, the role of social media, and the many scams and pitfalls that are often unknown to new investors in these markets. The implications of these developments for policy, consumer protection and treatment services will be discussed.

BetStop is a safe and free Australian Federal Government initiative to block yourself from all licensed Australian online and telephone gambling providers. People can register at any time and, once registered, online and telephone gambling providers will not be able to:

- Let you place a bet

- Let you open new betting accounts

- Send you marketing messages

This presentation, from the National Self-Exclusion Register Manager, will provide an overview of how to use BetStop, the scope of service (time limits, how providers check it etc.), information on de-registration and other complimentary supports.

The presentation will be of interest to therapeutic and financial counsellors, venue support workers, community engagement professionals and others working with people who may be at risk of experiencing gambling harm. There will be an opportunity for Q&A at the end of the presentation.

This session will focus on an overview of mental health conditions, medical and psychosocial/psychoeducational treatment options and how this can impact on work we do as financial counsellors with individuals and affected others.

It will cover a basic overview on presenting mental health issues when gambling harm is present and how appropriate referrals and support services can be introduced to the person. The focus of the training will be on developing practical strategies with the client, including financial management techniques and hardship, treatment intervention and optimal support for the person.

Upon completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Better understand co-existing mental health conditions and diagnosis

- Understand the impact co-existing mental health conditions have on someone’s gambling

- Develop practical strategies to support clients with mental health conditions

- Understand appropriate referral pathways and support services for clients, family and friends

To satisfy your professional obligations - and to be awarded points for attendance - you are required to participate in the entire session. We thank you for your commitment to our Code of Ethics.

Single Session Family Consultation (SSFC) is a brief intervention, developed by The Bouverie Centre, for routinely engaging with families and clients. It aims to help the family identify and address their own needs, and to clarify how the family and supports will be involved in the individual's care. The topics covered in the session will include techniques and skills required for single session family consultation along with preventing and managing conflict skills.

This session is open to all therapeutic and financial counsellors that would like to advance skills working with individuals and affected others. This is a great opportunity to understand more about the service offered by Gambling Minds, and will support the co-facilitation of sessions.

Facilitators: Alice Morgan, FaPMI Coordinator & Allira McCall, Family Services Practice Lead at Alfred Mental and Addiction Health

Location: Level 4, 549 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Time: 09:00 – 16:30pm

Date: Monday 19 February (in-person) / Tuesday 21 May (online) / Wednesday 5 June (in-person)

How to register: https://forms.office.com/r/HXMpckG492

This session for financial counsellors will provide opportunities to learn about the various regulators, their limitations and abilities and how to use a regulator to create systemic change, as well as individual client impacts.

Upon completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Understand the various National and State Regulators and how to use them within our Gambling Harm financial counselling work

- Understand the impact of system advocacy and individual client complaints when regulators and financial counsellors work together

- Support a client experiencing gambling harm through a complaint to a gambling regulator

- Document and follow a complaint to regulators all the way to resolution stage

To satisfy your professional obligations - and to be awarded points for attendance - you are required to participate in the entire session. We thank you for your commitment to our Code of Ethics.

A growing body of literature points to dysfunction in family environments affected by gambling problems, but relatively little research has addressed the specific impacts of parental gambling on children.

Dr Aino Suomi, Director at the Australian National University Centre for Gambling Research will present on her 2021 research report, Gambling harm experienced by children of parents who gamble. The study addressed the specific effects of parental gambling on children and sought to better understand the harm experienced by children that can be directly attributed to their parents’ gambling.

Dr Suomi’s presentation will highlight key findings from the study, including the areas of child wellbeing that are affected by parental problem gambling, the extent to which parental gambling severity predicts the degree of gambling harm experienced by children and the ways in which exposure to gambling harm in childhood relates to health and wellbeing outcomes later in life.

This session will look at when a gambler’s help financial counselling case becomes a legal case and what are our legal and ethical boundaries?

Gambling and legal issues can often co-occur and include forged signatures to increase credit card limits; sale of items that didn’t belong to the client; stealing from the employer or provision of incorrect information to credit providers.

Upon completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Identify criminal law matters when doing client case work

- Understand their own obligations in relation to clients’ criminal matters

- Advice clients on appropriate referrals relating to any criminal matters

This session is hosted by Financial Counselling Victoria and is open to registered members only.

This session will draw the attention to the different stages of addiction and what might trigger clients to lapse and relapse. We will identify the differences between lapse and relapse and discuss effective financial counselling when working with clients in various stages. We will also look at the impact the lapse and relapse of a client can have on the practitioner and their sense of efficacy and achievement within their role.

Upon completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Understand the theory underlying the different stages of gambling

- Understand the differences between lapse and relapse

- Develop strategies to support clients in the different stages

- Monitor the impact on themselves

- Monitor the impact of clients lapsing and relapsing on their own sense of efficacy and achievement and reframe negative thought patterns

This session is hosted by Financial Counselling Victoria and is open to registered members only.

Dr Eli Kotler is a psychiatrist specialising in addictions and trauma and is the Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital.

Eli's focus is on the underlying psychological and personality factors that predispose people to, and maintain, addictions. He is passionate about helping people with addictions, achieve recovery through a greater understanding of their own psychology and personalities. He is passionate about helping people with addictions, achieve recovery through a greater understanding of their own psychology and personalities.

Professor Matt Browne is based within the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences at Central Queensland University. Prof. Browne primarily researches the psychological and health aspects of gambling with this session focusing on new research around the introduction of the Gambling Harms Scale 20, an extended version of the Short Gambling Harm Scale, designed to cover more moderate-severe harm symptomatology. This scale is benchmarked to health utility, providing a more nuanced understanding of gambling related harm. It recognizes the impact of gambling on those close to the gamblers, filling a gap in the research for affected others.

The validity of these scales is further confirmed through open-ended interviews with gamblers and affected others, stratified by harm levels. The results support the validity of the new measures in discriminating individuals experiencing progressively greater levels of harm from gambling.

The gambling of a person can have an immense impact on the life and wellbeing of family members. This session will look at the psychological impact on affected others and discuss how you as a financial counsellor can best support affected others.

It will also cover what is effective engagement and what are appropriate referrals? How can we best advocate for affected others?

Upon completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Understand the impacts of someone’s gambling on affected others including children

- Provide suitable financial options for affected others

- Make meaningful referrals to a range of services, including legal, health and family services

- Co-work more effectively with a therapeutic counsellor to support the affected other

This session is hosted by Financial Counselling Victoria and is open to registered members only.

*Please note the date was incorrectly listed as 30 July in the latest edition of Partner News. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Dr Sean Cowlishaw is an Associate Professor in the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, and the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University. This seminar will look at findings from a recent qualitative project involving Gambler’s Help staff from Victoria and South Australia, and explore the potential role of gambling help services in identifying and responding to clients who have experienced or used violence in their intimate relationships. This exploration will be positioned in relation to broader evidence regarding how other health service settings have endeavoured to address IPV, such as primary care and mental health services, and include discussion of policy and practice implications.

Dr Stephanie Merkouris is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Deakin University. A researcher in the gambling field for over 12 years, her main research interests relate to how advances in technology can be used for assessment, intervention, and dissemination purposes. She is currently the recipient of a New South Wales Postdoctoral Research Fellowship focusing on the development and evaluation of an online intervention for individuals impacted by someone else’s gambling.

This presentation will focus on the way the advances in technology have allowed unprecedented access to large textual datasets that cannot feasibly be extracted and analysed using traditional qualitative approaches. She adopts an innovative approach to analysing patterns in written text, to explore the experiences and perceptions of gambling forums users, across Australia, the UK and the US.

This session is targeted at financial counsellors working in Gamblers Help programs with access to Recovery Assistance Funding (RAP).

What is RAP and what are the Foundation guidelines for RAP? Join us for some case study discussions on how RAP can be used effectively and how to manage regularly representing clients.

Upon successful completion of this session participants will be able to:

- Understand the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation guidelines for RAP

- Utilise RAP more effectively with clients

- Develop strategies and set long term goals with clients to minimize the reliance on RAP

This session is hosted by Financial Counselling Victoria and is open to registered members only.

Associate Professor Alex Russell is a Principal Research Fellow in the Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory at CQUniversity. His primary focus is on how technology is changing gambling, who is most at risk from these changes, and what can be done to reduce harm.

The presentation will focus on his Foundation-funded study that explores two questions in relation to gaming and gambling amongst young adults: whether games simulated gambling products (e.g., loot boxes, social casino games) are a potential gateway for traditional gambling and gambling harm, and how gaming and gambling by others around young people can influence their behaviour. Based on a survey with over 1000 people aged 18-25, Alex explores the role relationships with their parents, parental attitudes and social norms influence behaviour and discuss how the findings can inform potential interventions.

The Foundation Course provides an introduction to gambling-related harm in Victoria. Hosted by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the 3.5-hour online course covers a range of topics, including types of gambling products, laws and regulations, effects of gambling harm, and risk factors. It also provides an overview of prevention programs and support services funded by the Foundation across Victoria.

The course is ideal for new staff members from the Foundation-funded gambling harm prevention and support sector, and associated community organisations.

NOTE: Participants must complete seven online modules (30 minutes each) before attending the Foundation Course webinar. Instructions to access the online modules will be shared after registration.

Topics covered include:

Gambling in Victoria: products, participation, costs, and regulation

Gambling harm prevention: public health approach and partnership programs

Marketing campaigns and strategic communication: strategies for education and behaviour change

Clinical perspective of gambling harm: understanding gambling harm, risk factors, causes, and treatment approaches

Gambler’s Help: overview of service model and support options available

Intake and assessment of clients to Gambler’s Help: navigating the process

Mental health and gambling harm: assessment, treatment and support options for co-occurring mental health and gambling harm issues.

The Alfred will be hosting a number of seminars over the course of the next two months. Connecting with People is a suite of mental health training modules designed to offer a whole of organisation approach to improve the response shown to people in distress.

While each module is provided as a ‘stand-alone’ training, the three complement each other and can help workers in any role (including non-clinical staff) know how to respond to people in distress, value compassionate care, be more resilient to challenges, and feel equipped to look after their own and others’ emotional wellbeing.

The material covers theory and practice, and invites participants to actively craft their own personal journey, with resources to assist with developing their own wellbeing, safety and compassion plans.

Suicide Awareness for Professionals (Zoom)

Overview- how we protect ourselves and each other from suicide risk.

Date: Wednesday 24 May (09:00 – 12:30)

Registration link: https://portal.connectingwithpeople.org/cwp/registration/7362

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Compassion at Work (Zoom)

Overview: cornerstone on which effective patient care and self-care is founded.

Date: Wednesday 31 May (09:00 – 12:30)

Registration link: https://portal.connectingwithpeople.org/cwp/registration/7363

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Emotional Resilience for Professionals (Zoom)

Overview- cultivating wellbeing beyond resilience. It is how we value and actively maintain our wellbeing.

Date: Wednesday 7 June (09:00 – 12:30)

Registration link: https://portal.connectingwithpeople.org/cwp/registration/7364

Suicide Awareness for Professionals (Face to Face Workshops)

Date: Friday 16 June (09:00 – 12:30)

Registration link: https://portal.connectingwithpeople.org/signup1/6QRJ

Location: Level 4 Training Room, 549 St Kilda Rd

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Compassion at Work (Face to Face Workshops)

Date: Friday 23 June (09:00 – 12:30)

Location: Level 4 Training Room, 549 St Kilda Rd

Registration link: https://portal.connectingwithpeople.org/signup1/7RV8

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Emotional Resilience for Professionals (Face to Face Workshops)

Date: June 30, 2023 (09:30 – 13:00)*

Location: St Kilda Rd Clinic: Level 3, 607 St Kilda Rd Melbourne 3004*

Registration link: https://portal.connectingwithpeople.org/signup1/8VW8