I have seen a few counsellors, therapists in my time, even saw a Gamecare one for about 15 minutes.
The reason i didnt last too long with that one was the unexpected amount of data they wanted from me.
Now every counsellor i had seen previously or since has never required me to fill out forms. Of the many dozens of other folk whom i know who have had counselling either through gamcare or privately the experience has been the same.
My question is why are Gamcare approved counsellors collecting this data & for who, when no one else in the field is doing so.
Where is it being sent & for what purpose?
Who gains most from collating betting patterns & behaviours?
Im all for counselling by the way.
Admittedly a flimsy conspiracy but maybe food for thought
An interesting food for thought and do so love a conspiracy, I'm also a fan of counselling, it gives us a stage where we're the leading stars. My gamcare experience I didn't really notice any data collection, as she scared the sh..it out of me. and I only went once.
But, do have to say Dan, this is not a nice debate as for some it's only the possible route into the counselling route, as money is the biggest concept in bringing people to there knees, hence not having the funds to seek payed counselling. . . Sometimes a lot of frogs need to be kissed and as you said you only sampled 15minutes, so you do surprise me with this topic
It's not GamCare or the government or the Bilderberg Group. I believe in David Icke and it a conspiracy of shape-shifting lizards collating information.....on everyone.
I am finding it helpful to do the IAPT counselling. This is mainly because I like to talk through feelings I have been harbouring for years about depression. I wanted to be fully medically assessed
I dont mind giving certain information. I came through unemployment when I felt I needed ny NI number stamped on my forehead to tell people. I dont give out really personal info or things I dont want them to know.
It depends what they want to know and I agree that the form filling sems to have got out of hand these days. I understand it has to be funded bit if I didnt feel I could get on with the counsellor I wouldnt continue with it.
I never expected miricles but I have found it helpful because I know I have issues and I want to talk about them. My counsellor is good in that I dont feel Im getting empty platitudes and gobbledygook. Some of the initial paperwork was a bit naff along the lines of "Jennifer doesnt like your shirt so dont take it too personally" to paraphrase slightly
As soon as we cut through that and I told them it was deeper, we got down to it. Its something I wanted to do
Best wishes
Hi all
Thanks for this question.
We collect this type of data so that we can have a better understanding about the people using our services, which can help us tailor our services to their needs.
The majority of data we gather is also shared with our commissioners, GambleAware, and feeds into their Data Reporting Framework alongside information from the other treatment providers they fund. It also ensures that our service is held to account and provides the best interventions possible for each client.
Building up a national picture of who is affected by problem gambling and why helps with research into problem gambling, as well as raising awareness about our services. This information is always anonymised so that it does not identify our callers or clients.
Best wishes
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