A cognitive behavioural therapy programme for problem gambling: Therapist manual

The journey of this book started more than 10 years ago. At this time, the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in treating anxiety and mood disorders was well established. However, the efficacy of CBT in treating problem gambling was still unclear. In addition, due to changes in government policies and social factors gambling, in particular casino and electronic machine gambling were legalized and thus, widely accessible to the public in general. Thus, problem gambling and in particular the treatment of problem gambling became an important issue. Professor Oei is one of the earlier researchers examining the efficacy of CBT for the treatment of addictive behaviours, in particular alcohol addiction (Jackson & Oei, 1978; Oei & Jackson, 1980; 1982; 1984). When Dr. Raylu arrived at the University of Queensland in 1999, the journey of this book began. We decided to collaborate. Since both of us were using CBT for addictive behaviours, it was natural for us to find an efficient CBT program for problem gambling