None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The nul hypothesis for the study is that there will be no significant difference in the clinical outcomes of cognitive and behavioural therapy approaches to the treatment of pathological gambling (gambling addiction). Some cost or time efficienciies may emerge from this detailed study fo the outcomes of these two approaches to therapy.
Interventions
The programme uses graded exposure therapy with structured sessions of up to one hour a week with homework tasks for clients to practice during the week leading up to their next session. Exposure is graded over time from basic black and white images of their particular gambling cues to full exposure to gambling venues and gambling machines. During exposure tasks clients learn to manage their urge to gamble and overcome their problem gambling.
Generally the programme consists of between 8 and
The programme uses graded exposure therapy with structured sessions of up to one hour a week with homework tasks for clients to practice during the week leading up to their next session. Exposure is graded over time from basic black and white images of their particular gambling cues to full exposure to gambling venues and gambling machines. During exposure tasks clients learn to manage their urge to gamble and overcome their problem gambling. Generally the programme consists of between 8 and 12 such sessions for face to face therapy with psycho-therapists who have post graduate qualifications in mental health science. Therapists' backgrounds are usually in mental health nursing, psychology and social work. In addition to individual face to face outpatient services, the Statewide Gambling Therapy Service (SGTS) also provides a more intensive inpatient service for a limited number of clients who require hospitalisation.
Sponsors
Victorian Department of Justice
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM4) criteria for pathological gambling
Exclusion criteria
No
Outcome results
None listed