SPIELSUCHTHILFE - THE COUNSELLING AND THERAPY CENTER FOR ADDICTED GAMBLERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

History:
Spielsuchthilfe is a counselling and therapy center for gamblers and their families in Vienna, Austria. For many years it has been the only institution in Austria specializing in counselling and treatment of pathological gamblers. The center was founded in 1982 by Mr. Wilhelm Gizicki, a former business man and roulette gambler. Established as a self-help group our institution very quickly became a professional treatment center offering medical, psychological and psychotherapeutic help, social work and debt counselling.

Mission statement:
We see it as our mission to offer help to addicted or endangered gamblers and their families and to generate public awareness of the dangers of pathological gambling.

Sponsors (in alphabetical order)

• Austrian Gaming Industries
• Austrian Lotteries
• Casinos Austria
• Concord Card Casinos

We would like to thank all our sponsors for their most valuable aid.

Treatment model
The treatment model of our institution is adapted to the specific needs of our clients (gamblers/their relatives) and includes:

• Psychological, medical, social and debtors counselling
• Psychotherapy for individuals, couples/families (systemic, behavioural, hypno-, trauma therapy and existential analysis)
• Group therapy for gamblers
Group therapy for relatives Referal to in-patient therapy for gamblers

We provide easy access: no costs, counselling is possible also anonymously.

The Staff:
We are a multi-professional team consisting of a psychiatrist, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and a social worker and debts counsellor.

Therapeutic procedure:
In a first meeting our psychologists and psychotherapists will decide together with the clients which offers would be helpful. Every person needs specific counselling and treatment considering his/her background and problems. Together with psychotherapy (individual, couple’s, family and group therapy) medical consultation and/or a meeting with our social worker could be necessary. The frequency of the counselling sessions will depend on the individual situation of every client.