Rosalind Baker-Frampton: “Removing the financial barrier to treatment is a huge step forward”

Rosalind Baker-Frampton, Gordon Moody’s Evaluation and Research Lead, speaks with Casino Guru about the impactful results of the organization’s recent women’s residential treatment program. This six-week program has been praised for its success in significantly reducing depression and anxiety among participants while also helping them address their gambling habits.

Baker-Frampton is optimistic about the implications of the study, emphasizing that specialized, residential care is crucial for overcoming severe gambling addiction and related harms. The program at Gordon Moody is particularly focused on two core objectives: eliminating financial barriers to treatment and ensuring that individuals receive the comprehensive care they need to reclaim their lives.

However, challenges remain. Women from ethnic backgrounds continue to face difficulties in accessing these treatment options. Gordon Moody is committed to addressing these disparities and reshaping how treatment is delivered to meet the needs of all individuals.

Q: Rosalind, what is the biggest takeaway from your recent study focusing on the Gordon Moody women’s residential treatment program? Are you happy with the findings?

Hello, thanks for letting me speak with Casino Guru about the study we have released highlighting the efficacy of our women’s residential treatment program for those suffering from severe gambling-related harms. It is great to be finally able to speak about the fantastic outcomes of my research.

The biggest takeaway from the study is that our six-week residential treatment plan effectively treats women suffering from severe gambling-related harms. I was delighted to see that women’s levels of anxiety and depression were also significantly reduced following treatment.

At the start of treatment, over 75% of women were suffering from some kind of psychological distress. This had dropped to under 35% at the end of treatment and remained under 40% six months post-treatment. Also, over 80% of women reported some form of anxiety. Post-treatment, that level had dropped to under 45%. There were similar results in levels of depression, dropping from over 90% at the start of treatment, to under 48% post-treatment. These are fantastic results from our six-week program.

It can be so lonely when you are hiding gambling-related harms, and these results show that being open, honest, and seeking treatment can lead to a happier and healthier life.

Q: Do the results indicate that such a type of specialized help is an effective way for individuals who want to get better and break away from bad habits?

They absolutely do. For some people, weekly therapy sessions are all they need. But if people are experiencing the most severe gambling-related harms, our residential treatment programs are the best pathway to recovery – and recovery is possible. Our success stories speak for themselves.

"There is now light at the end of the tunnel, when before there was just darkness."

"I now understand why I did the things I did."

"Your treatment has given me my life back."

"I was at rock bottom, it took courage to reach out for help."

Residential treatment takes people out of the places where they experience triggers and cues for gambling and allows them to fully focus on themselves and their recovery.

Many women spend so much of their lives making sure that everyone around them is happy and cared for and our residential treatment allows them to give themselves the same level of care that they deserve, and need. They can focus on reclaiming and rebuilding their lives and learning how to navigate the world following treatment.

Q: What about the financial costs of such treatment? Is it sustainable for individuals who wish to get better?

We will remove as many barriers as possible to help people get the treatment they need to live a life without gambling-related harm. We want people to get the help they deserve and our treatment programs are now offered at no cost to the service user.

Removing the financial barrier to treatment is a huge step forward and something we have been working towards for many years.

Q: Did your study reveal any shortcomings in your approach and areas where you would want to improve yourself?

Research always throws up some shortcomings. We recognized that fewer women are accessing treatment from ethnic backgrounds. We know that women in these communities are more likely to experience gambling harm than White women, so we need to make sure that they can access the right treatment, at the right time, and in the right environment.

Q: What about the women who did not manage to achieve the same level of success as those who did? Are you looking into the reasons why this is the case?

We are indeed looking into the reasons why some women don’t achieve the same level of success as others. There may be additional factors that some women have to address, for example, many women reported additional mental health needs.

Our data show that 83% of our female applicants in 2023-2024 had a pre-existing mental health diagnosis and 39% had previously attempted to take their own life. As part of our treatment program, service users are signposted into local support for additional health needs.

Q: What is next for Gordon Moody and your residential treatment programs?

With continued uncertainty in the sector, we are working hard to ensure that we can help people reclaim and rebuild their lives free from gambling-related harms.

We have undertaken a significant refurbishment of our Dudley treatment center and plan further work later in 2024-2025. Our new treatment center in Redditch is nearing completion and will open in late 2024. The center will provide an additional 27 treatment spaces.

A new service for Gordon Moody, our Affected Others program, had been running a pilot in our Dudley treatment center and, due to its amazing success, has now been rolled out to all our treatment centers. This service provides emotional and holistic support, education around gambling harms, debt advice, financial and legal signposting, and crisis management support to those family members who wish to receive it.

Our men’s residential treatment program has recently been shortened to six weeks (from 14 weeks previously) to bring it in line with our women’s program. This change involves putting more learning and therapy into a shorter timeframe.

If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing gambling-related harms, taking that first step to find support can be challenging. But remember, recovery is possible. Applications for our residential treatment programs can be made through our website – gordonmoody.org.uk, via post, or you can speak to one of our assessment team by calling 01384 241292 or emailing help@gordonmoody.org.uk.

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