‘Let's Talk About Children’: Investigating the Use of a Family‐focused Intervention in the Gambling Support Services Sector

Abstract

The family‐focused mental health intervention, ‘Let's Talk About Children,’ has positively influenced the lives of families affected by parental mental illness. This paper outlines the use of this brief, strengths‐based intervention for parents with gambling and other co‐occurring issues from the gamblers’ support services sector. Over a six‐month period, a training manual and accompanying resources were adapted for the gamblers’ support services sector and a targeted training session developed. Nine problem gambling counsellors from three Victorian gambling support services trialled the Let's Talk About Children intervention over a four‐month period. Qualitative data were gathered through focus groups, interviews, and practice enquiry groups to determine the impact of the Let's Talk About Children model for gambling support services. The results are presented as ‘practice wisdoms and recommendations’ reporting on the impact of the trial and to provide some guidance to support others in the implementation of a specific family‐focused intervention. This paper reports on the first exploratory trial of Let's Talk About Children for the gambler's support services sector in Australia.

An Evidence-Based Practice Developed in-situ: Let's Talk About Children and a Consolidation of Its Evidence Base

“…To enable LTC to fit these cultures and populations, self-help booklets and the log were translated ( 25 , 26 , 38 , 45 ), and handouts were tailored for different settings (cancer, gambling) to guide discussions with children ( 13 , 34 ). The adapted material was documented as acceptable to parents in Australia and Japan ( 26 , 45 ).…”

“…Organizational ownership with multiple levels of leadership and internal implementers is noted as vital for sustainability ( 35 , 39 , 40 , 42 ). Senior leadership in particular was identified as giving or needed to give authority and vision ( 34 , 35 , 40 , 42 ) while other leadership was important for integrating into practitioners' everyday work ( 39 , 42 ). Infrastructure identified as supporting implementation and LTC's continued use included training structures, data collection and feedback systems on parent numbers, training gaps and practitioners use, and integration into committee structures and policy ( 40 , 42 ).…”

“…The records highlight that the emerging evidence-base of LTC is derived from a set of discrete research endeavors in diverse settings beginning in Finland and now including Greece, Japan, Australia and USA. The variety of settings included adult mental health settings both clinical and Non-government, general hospital psychiatry, child and family services and universal settings (12,20,21,25,27,(34)(35)(36). The range of populations studied included families where a parent has depression, bipolar disorder, life threatening cancer, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, Post-traumatic stress disorder, gambling and other co-occurring issues.…”

“…The research endeavors in regards to LTC have included a focus on its effectiveness, safety and acceptability in its different forms, in different settings and in different populations (20,(25)(26)(27)38). There is also documentation of its implementation (12,21,29,30,34,39) and on its sustainability (21,(40)(41)(42).…”

A Critical Review of the Scholarly Discourse on Gambling Disorder Treatment

“…With a few exceptions, the literature has not focused on including children in treatment in spite of general awareness of the negative effects of parental gambling (Doussa et al, 2017). One possible explanation may be the limited focus of outcome goals mentioned above.…”