Over the last three decades, problem gambling in Australia has been recognised as a serious and complex issue by clinicians, researchers and policy makers. Committed to actively making a change in this field is this week’s podcast guest, Dr. Gabriele Byrne, a Senior Advisor at the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Often referred to as an effective ‘Change Agent’, Gabriele has spent the last 20 years assisting individuals, organisations and communities to modify their perception and attitude about gambling related harm.

Between 2009 and 2016, Gabriele designed, structured and trialled a group program to prevent gambling relapse. All programs were designed to provide participants with regular, structured activities; as well as educational sessions aimed at improving their understanding about addiction.

Results revealed significant improvement for participants in the areas of social connectedness, self-efficacy, and mental health. Importantly, results also indicated that the program supported the goals of either abstinence from, or control over, gambling behaviour for participants who completed the program. It is now hoped that the program principles will inform and improve the development of further relapse prevention programs across the addiction help sector.

Tune in this week as our ANMZH ambassador and board member, Libby Trickett has an in-depth discussion with Gabriele regarding the details of her project, the outcomes, and how we can use the results to better understand how we see, treat and recover from addiction.