Peer Support Facilitator's Guidebook

This facilitator’s guidebook has been prepared in conjunction with a peer support group programme to help reduce the risk of relapse among Asian people who have a history of harmful gambling. The group programme was developed as part of a research project, funded by the Ministry of Health Gambling Innovation Research and Evaluation 2018/19, and was tested with two groups – one Chinese and one South Asian. The participants had all encountered harmful gambling.

What is the purpose of the support group programme?

The support group programme is designed to help Asian people affected by harmful gambling to:

• reduce their harmful gambling behaviour;
• improve their help-seeking behaviour;
• raise their awareness of the addictiveness of gambling activities;
• gain knowledge about the triggers for relapse of harmful gambling; and
• increase their skills in stress management and self-care.

Why have we developed the group programme?

Preventing relapses is an important part of gambling intervention. The factors contributing to gambling addiction among Asian people are multiple and complex. Asian peoples living in a Western country, especially recent migrants, are probably vulnerable to harmful gambling because they face many challenges such as immigration and settlement stress, isolation and loneliness, boredom, language barriers, unemployment or under-employment, housing and financial difficulties (Au & Ho, 2015; Sobrun-Maharaj, Rossen & Wong, 2012; Wong & Tse, 2003). Many problem gamblers tend to use gambling as a form of escape from their problems.

There are also considerable barriers for Asian people to seek help for their gambling issues, including language barriers, not knowing where to get help, and cultural barriers such as shame and stigma associated with admitting problems and seeking help (Gibb & Cunningham, 2018; Mehta, 2012; Ministry of Education, 2007). Many Asian people affected by harmful gambling, therefore, tend to seek help only when they are in a desperate situation. Even after they have taken steps to quit gambling, they often feel the cravings to gamble. Additionally, many people with problem gambling issues have limited social contact with others, and they tend to engage in few social activities apart
from gambling. Upon cessation of gambling, individuals are often left with a considerable amount of unstructured time, inadequate social skills, and feelings of emptiness (Hodgins, 2001; Tse, Wong & Chan, 2007).

This group programme is designed to help minimise the risk of relapse for people affected by harmful gambling in situations of vulnerability, such as stressful times, exposure to gambling cues, and/or ambivalence towards personal goals. Peer support is an essential part of the group programme. In peer support, group members talk with and learn from each other through shared experience. The process can help them learn new coping strategies, find renewed motivation, and realise they are not alone on their recovery journey.

Using this facilitator’s guidebook

An eight-session closed group programme which incorporates content related to self-understanding, peer support and relapse prevention strategies are included in this facilitator’s guidebook. Each session lasts up to 90 minutes. Facilitators are required to run the group. The purpose of this facilitator’s guidebook is to assist the facilitators to plan activities in the group, including key messages to share with the participants.

The remaining part of this facilitator’s guidebook contains guidelines about how to facilitate the peer support group, key messages, specific aims, procedures, and evaluation of each group session. It also contains information on how to analyse the evaluation data collected in each group session.

View or Download resources

PGF0061 AFS Peer Support Workbook V3 (1)

Categories

Gambling Harm

Is this information useful ?

Subscribe to our newsletter

We respect your privacy and do not tolerate spam.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.