apas continues to provide a free and confidential advisory and counselling service for anyone who is experiencing difficulties in relation to their own drinking gambling, or to the drinking or gambling of a family member. apas is constantly working to improve the accessibility of its services as well as the range of therapeutic approaches and levels of intervention available.
The range of therapeutic approaches available has also been improved and diversified to respond to the different needs of our clients. In addition to Step Facilitation Counselling (which encourages and supports attendance of peer-led self-help groups such as Alcoholics and Gamblers Anonymous) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (which helps the client to develop ways of modifying their gambling behaviour), Psychodynamic Psychotherapy has now also been made available to apas clients. This well-established approach opens up to our clients the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of some of the underlying reasons why drinking or gambling has become a problem in their life, supporting them in the process of working through and addressing any related personal issues that are causing harm and damage, including difficulties in the family, with their partners or at work, and the feelings of anxiety, depression, loss, uncertainty and social disconnection that these difficulties may cause.
One of the successful methods we employ at apas in helping people address, then deal with, their problematic drinking and gambling, is based on therapeutic techniques employed in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, the groundbreaking therapy devised by Dr Albert Ellis in the 1950’s. This technique is similar to that advocated by the SMART (Self Management And Recovery Training) network of self-help groups, widely accessed in the U.S and growing in presence in this country.
The method centres on the straightforward and powerful idea that it is our thinking which determines our feelings and behaviour, and more specifically, that it is our view of events which determines our feelings, more than the events themselves. As it is not in our best interest to pursue activities that are not in our best interest – and in many instances are damaging to us – then it is likely to be useful to us to change our way of thinking about those activities. We thereby aim to equip the individual with the means to change their attitudes towards, and behaviour regarding, alcohol and gambling; positively changing their general behaviour and personal philosophy, helping them to live a more full and rewarding life.
