KEY POINTS:
Name: Catherine O'Kelly-Shinohara
Job title: Psychotherapist
Working hours: 32 hours/week with Problem Gambling Foundation, and private practice
Employer: Problem Gambling Foundation, other social service organisations
Pay: $60-$100/hour in private practice
Qualifications needed: Training in or qualified in recognised and registered modality e.g. Gestalt psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, narrative counselling, and affiliated to registered national association
Career prospects: Work with wide range of social service organisations with broad range of clients; private practise; specialisation.
Describe your job
I'm a counsellor-therapist with the Problem Gambling Foundation and I also educate and train interested community agencies or those with gambling connections such as pubs and clubs.
The foundation's services are all free to the person who has the gambling problem or to their family and partner. Initially, I do a clinical assessment to gauge the severity of the problem. Then we look at putting the person on a treatment programme. They look at skills to manage their gambling, their pattern of gambling, the high risk areas in their life that lead them to gamble, and what the triggers are.
Then they learn strategies such as limiting their access to money - we can offer budgeting services - how to limit the amount of money they gamble, and self-banning. We work a lot with a person to enable them to bring in their family for support because by the time it's got to pathological gambling it's an addictive pattern that is harming their lives.
The training for pub and club staff raises awareness of how much money is being gambled in New Zealand, the amount of people that gamble, the main area they gamble in, which is the pokie machines, and why they are so addictive.
Easily, 95 per cent of my clients are dealing with pokie addiction. The staff training also works on what holds them back from approaching someone who obviously has a problem.
Why did you choose problem gambling counselling?
I'd been working as a therapist for nearly 10 years and a friend became addicted to pokie machines and when I saw the impact in their lives and the enormous struggle they went through to try and stop themselves I became curious about it and started to read quite a bit about it.
Within a year or two a position became available. Because gambling is such an acceptable part of our life there is a certain naivety about what it can lead to. The fun and entertainment, which it is for many people, doesn't equate to the opposite end, which is crime, relationship break up, financial loss and suicide.
Why is the job important?
My work is important because I touch individual's lives. Every person that comes in the door is unique and if I can work with them so that they have a better quality of life and begin to experience a sense of happiness, that's incredibly rewarding. The absolute pleasure in seeing a person move from desperation to fulfilment is something that many other areas of work don't give. That's absolutely the best part of the job.
What's the worst part of the job?
There is little that I'd describe as difficult or bad. Sometimes there is a feeling of helplessness when I see someone's potential but I know that they are not yet ready to see it.
What are your strengths?
I have a deep appreciation of life and that we are here to enjoy life and yet at times we create situations that bring us enormous suffering. If we accept that we bring some of the suffering on ourselves then we can take our lives in our own hands and make different choices.
There are many things in our lives that we don't control but we are in control of how we respond.
What are the essential qualities of a counsellor?
A deep degree of empathy, life experiences that have taught them a lot, integrity to be able to operate from a place of truthfulness because there are times when one needs to share with somebody some truthful insights.
How should someone pursue a career in counselling?
They should look at different counselling disciplines, and experience them by, perhaps, having some counselling sessions to see what resonates for them. We have skills in different areas: some areas will suit one person more than another. Someone who actually experiences the benefits of counselling can come from a really strong base. Years ago I sought counselling and I remember thinking 'hey, this stuff works'.
