Gambling Behaviour Change
When gambling starts having more influence over your choices than you want it to.
You may have decided to stop, cut back or set limits, yet find yourself returning to gambling when a familiar situation, feeling or opportunity appears.
Perhaps gambling gives you something to focus on, creates excitement or provides a temporary escape from stress, boredom or other difficult feelings.
You might find yourself thinking about the next opportunity to gamble, spending more time or money than you intended, or returning after a period of stopping even though you genuinely want things to be different.
For some people, the consequences are beginning to emerge. For others, gambling may already be affecting finances, relationships, work or how they feel about themselves.
You do not need to wait until things become worse before seeking support.
Understanding Your Gambling Pattern
There is no single reason people gamble, and the pattern will look different for everyone.
You may notice that you:
gamble at particular times or in familiar situations
experience strong urges when certain opportunities appear
gamble when feeling stressed, bored, frustrated or unsettled
become increasingly focused on anticipation or the possibility of a win
return to gambling after deciding you would stop
spend more time or money than you originally intended
find yourself repeating the same gambling routines almost automatically
become preoccupied with what has already happened or what might happen next
Therapy provides an opportunity to understand what happens before, during and after gambling, rather than focusing only on the behaviour itself.
A Personalised Gambling Program
ILAMOS ILAMOS offers a structured gambling program tailored to your individual patterns, circumstances and goals.
The program focuses on understanding what tends to trigger gambling, what keeps the pattern going and how you can develop more purposeful ways of responding.
Depending on your needs, therapy may also consider the practical supports and safeguards that can help strengthen the changes you are making. Your program material specifically includes support outside therapy and self-exclusion as part of the broader change process where appropriate.
The aim is not simply to tell you to stop gambling. It is to understand what happens for you around the behaviour and help you build a different way forward.
Your program may incorporate strategic psychotherapy, counselling and clinical hypnotherapy depending on your individual needs and preferences.
These approaches may be used to help you understand familiar patterns, strengthen different responses to gambling urges and reinforce the changes you are working towards.
Your program also uses future-focused therapeutic work to help clients develop a clearer sense of life beyond gambling and strengthen the direction they want to move towards. You remain aware and involved throughout the process, with therapy focused on the goals you have chosen.
Strategic Psychotherapy & Clinical Hypnotherapy
Support Beyond ILAMOS
Practical gambling-specific support can be used alongside therapy.
BetStop - the National Self-Exclusion Register allows people to exclude themselves from Australian licensed online and phone wagering providers in one process. BetStop
Gambling Help Online provides free, confidential support across Australia, including 24/7 online counselling and the Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858. Gambling Help Online
In Western Australia, Gambling Help WA through Centrecare also provides free face-to-face counselling and support for people affected by gambling harm and their families. Gambling Help Online
Ready to Make a Change?
You do not need to have already stopped gambling before you begin.
We can start by understanding your gambling pattern, the situations that tend to pull you back towards it and what you would like life to look like instead.