GamCare trials Way Forward support group for Women 

GamCare has announced that it will trial ‘Way Forward’ support groups designed for women impacted by a partner or family member’s gambling harms. 

The Way Forward groups will be conducted in a ‘semi-structured’ online environment to provide participants with a safe and confidential space to share their experiences.

The online groups will run every Tuesday 11 am-12:30 pm for six weeks on Zoom, starting from Tuesday 18 October until Tuesday 29 November.

Each session will be overseen by trained facilitators, who are specialists in supporting women affected by gambling-related harms.

The groups will explore gambling harms related to issues of understanding addiction, taking care of yourself, dealing with anger and resentment, acceptance and how to manage difficult conversations.

Since 2019, GamCare has operated its ‘Women’s Programme’, aimed at providing dedicated support for women experiencing gambling harms and delivering specialised training for an ‘under-represented’ area in gambling treatment support.

Monitoring progress, this Autumn GamCare revealed that across the UK the Women’s Programme had trained 5,807 professionals and 918 organisations.

Meanwhile, over the past year, GamCare cited a 6% increase in the number of women accessing gambling support in the UK, in which it noted that the Women’s Programme is likely to have positively contributed to alongside other factors. 

“We’re encouraged to see improved access for women using GamCare’s treatment and support services and increased reach in our professionals’ training, which delivers an improved understanding of how gambling harm impacts women.” GamCare CEO, Anna Hemmings, had commented on the programme’s development.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in the percentage of women contacting the National Gambling Helpline for support.”