The Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) has confirmed that Dr Ali Lutte-Elliott will head up the charity’s ‘Mindful Resilience’ programme.
Launched in September, the ‘Mindful Resilience’ programme is the result of a collaboration between YGAM, Bournemouth University, the Responsible Gambling Council and Betknowmore UK which aims to ‘deliver specialist training on gambling, gaming, and digital behavioural addictions to healthcare professionals’.
Talking about her new role at the charity, Dr Lutte-Elliott said: “Since joining the team at YGAM, I have seen first-hand the commitment and dedication of the entire organisation. Children and young people are growing up in a vastly different world today than other generations have previously.
“We must equip healthcare professionals in support roles to develop their knowledge and skills to understand and be able to assess for gaming and gambling related harms. It is vital that professionals can engage with young people in this process of discovery and know what support is available to them.”
YGAM has taken responsibility for leading the collaboration, as well as developing the strategic relevance of the training programme. Meanwhile, Bournemouth University is leading the programme’s content creation, supported by the RGC which is taking ownership of evaluations.
Betknowmore UK will complete the collaborative framework, working with YGAM to deliver practitioner recruitment and training.
The programme will enable health care professionals in primary care networks to have access to evidence-led, accredited training on the health risks associated with gambling-related harm, digital addiction and problematic online behaviours.
Having gained experience in Psychology after completing her doctorate at the University of Surrey, YGAM has praised Dr Lutte-Elliott’s wealth of experience in the healthcare sector, having worked for the NHS and other health settings.
Commenting on what the Mindful Resilience programme means to her, Dr Lutte-Elliott explained: “By providing a solid foundation of knowledge and offering ways that professionals can helpfully intervene without necessarily having to be experts in the area, our aim is to reach all those young people who may benefit from additional support.
“I am keen to engage with a wide range of experts who are already doing great work in this area, so that we can share expertise, resources, and best practise. I believe the Mindful Resilience programme will provide a crucial opportunity to raise the profile of gaming and gambling related harm within the health care sector.”
By providing free-to-access training workshops and resources specifically tailored to the needs of health professionals, the Mindful Resilience programme aims to ‘support the vision of the charity to safeguard all children and young people from gaming and gambling related harms’.
Discussing Dr Lutte-Elliott’s appointment, YGAM CEO and Founder Lee Willows said: “Having Ali on board is a huge step forward for our organisation and for those partner organisations invested in delivering the Mindful Resilience programme.
“In my many conversations with Ali, she has constantly demonstrated how her knowledge and professional expertise will be a huge asset to the important overall objective of Mindful Resilience. I am very excited to see the work she comes up with and I know that the programme is in safe hands with her at the helm.”
Dr Sarah Hodge from Bournemouth University is working closely with YGAM on the research aspect of the programme. She added: “I’m very much looking forward to collaborating on the project with Ali and bringing together perspectives from academia and professional practice to support the training of gaming and gambling related harms in young people.”