This study, from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, examines the experiences of gamblers accessing e-mental health interventions provided by Gambling Help Online.
The most frequent types of e-therapy accessed by gamblers are examined and evaluated in the report, including:
- chat and email counselling;
- self-help website information and self-help modules; and
- community peer support forums.
The study also developed, piloted and evaluated the impact of a text messaging relapse prevention program trialled over a 12 week period.
This is the first Australian study to describe the characteristics of gamblers using e-therapy and raises issues associated with understanding the needs of online service users and customising service responses accordingly.