Treating the Person with a Gambling Problem

Abstract

This short article presents compelling reasons for the treatment of problematic gambling from a solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) perspective. It reviews a set of techniques designed for use by practitioners and clients who face this problem and its serious emotional, social and financial consequences. Although SFBT has theoretical and philosophical foundations, the focus of this article is the "how-to" aspect of importance to both clinicians and clients. SFBT lends itself well to self-help models and group therapy settings, since clients can benefit from asking similar questions of themselves or of one another in group settings.