When it stops being fun
What is gambling addiction treatment?
Treatment usually means talking therapy, most often cognitive behavioural therapy, combined with practical blocking and self-exclusion so the opportunity is removed while the work happens.
In Canada a great deal of it is free through provincial health services, and the first step is a phone call rather than a referral.
What the therapy does
Cognitive behavioural therapy works on the beliefs that keep the behaviour running: that a loss is owed back, that a system will fix it, that a near miss meant something.
Motivational approaches work on ambivalence, which is normal. Almost nobody arrives certain they want to stop, and treatment does not require certainty to begin.
The other components
Group support, Gamblers Anonymous and others, free and available in most cities and online.
Financial counselling, because debt is usually part of the picture and it does not resolve itself while the gambling stops.
Practical blocking: self-exclusion across a province's whole register, blocking software covering apps and browsers, and removing payment methods from the device.
How to start in Canada
ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600, free and 24 hours. Every province has an equivalent, listed on take a break with the self-exclusion routes next to them.
Provincially funded counselling is generally free and does not need a doctor's referral. You call, you get an assessment, and it goes from there.
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ConnexOntario answers at 1-866-531-2600. Every province has an equivalent line and they are listed, with the blocking tools and the self-exclusion routes, on take a break. Nothing on that page earns this site anything.