New study to offer free online counselling for rural and remote people struggling with gambling disorders

trevor.kenney — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 21:51:16 +0000

For people living in rural communities and experiencing problems with gambling, the support and resources available to help them are often limited. A new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge study is seeking to help those struggling with a gambling disorder by offering free online counselling.

For people living in rural communities and experiencing problems with gambling, the support and resources available to help them are often limited. Dr. Darren Christensen and his team are bringing free online counselling to those in need as part of a new study.

Dr. Darren Christensen, the Alberta Gambling Research Institute Chair in Gambling and assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and his research team (consisting of Dee Ann Benard, executive director, Alberta Rural Development Network, Drs. Chad Witcher, assistant professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rebecca Hudson-Breen, assistant professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Trent Leighton, assistant professor, Faculty of Health Sciences) will test a contingency management approach to treat problematic gambling.

“The idea of contingency management is to compete with the benefits, or the fun, people might derive from gambling,” says Christensen. “One of the aspects that is most difficult about addiction is that you can drink, gamble, get high or have sex, and the reward is immediate. The difficulty in counselling is that the benefits accrue over time.”

Contingency management offers an immediate benefit, or reward, to the client for remaining abstinent.

“It uses our preference for immediacy, except we’re reversing it and providing a reason for participants to remain abstinent and still get something immediately,” says Christensen. “The important issue is that you’ve got to provide people with things that they value as rewards, they have to be meaningful for them and if not, the rewards aren’t sufficiently strong enough to motivate change.”

He says the study is unique on two fronts. Contingency management approaches have been proven effective in substance abuse treatment but have not specifically targeted rural people. Secondly, by bringing counselling into the home via an online approach, it is reaching a segment of the population that is often shut off from counselling resources and support.

“Those in rural and remote communities may find it difficult to access services, so this is an area that’s not currently being addressed,” says Christensen. “Typically, they would need to come to a larger community centre to receive treatment. Also, gamblers often feel shame and a stigma about their gambling problem. They don’t want other people to know, especially family members, about their problem so making counselling available to them in their own homes, where they can talk to someone about their issues is potentially a very effective process.”

Funded by the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) and in cooperation with the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN), the study will run for 12 weeks, with participants eligible for three counselling sessions per week. Participants must either use a personal computer that has a video camera or access an available computer from an ARDN affiliate. Following a screening and consent process, participants will be randomized and split into two groups, one which will receive contingency management coupled with counselling, and the other just counselling. In both instances, the counselling is free to the participant.

To participate, contact Dr. Darren Christensen at 403-329-5124 or darren.christensen@uleth.ca.

For more information on the study: https://www.uleth.ca/healthsciences/gambling-counselling-internet.

Staying active never grows old

trevor.kenney — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:51:20 +0000

The newest assistant professor in public health arrived at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Health Sciences after travelling several roads across Canada throughout his academic studies. Yet, as a Newfoundlander who did his PhD at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and then postdocs in Thunder Bay and Halifax, Chad Witcher is content to have returned to Western Canada – not least because everyone has been so friendly.

Chad Witcher's research focus includes the promotion of physical activity among older adults.

“I had the feeling during my interview that it was a warm and welcoming environment, and it’s been even more than I could have imagined,” says Witcher, who started in early December 2013. “I only have good things to say – I feel really at home even though I haven’t been here that long.”

Promotion of physical activity among older adults, and particularly the ways in which various contextual influences may affect participation, is the major focus of Witcher’s research. Now that he’s moved back west, he’s keen to replicate some of the research he's done regarding physical activity perceptions in Atlantic Canada here in Alberta, including his doctoral investigation into older adults’ physical activity perceptions and experiences in rural Nova Scotia, and opportunities for physical activity participation available to older adults in long-term care facilities. He’s excited that so many colleagues share his interest in research related to rural health.

While Witcher has been studying older adults for many years, the inspiration for his academic focus can be traced back to childhood.

“I grew up in an extended family that included my parents but also my father’s parents in the same household, so I always felt very in tune with their experiences,” says Witcher. “I always had a desire to understand and help that population.”

Beyond his research program, Witcher is also teaching a course in gerontology, and another on the Canadian health-care system in May. He’s settling in to the landscape too – making use of the city’s trail system where he makes the daily 10 km commute – regardless of the snow.

UNews - Chad Witcher

New study to offer free online counselling for rural and remote people struggling with gambling disorders

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