Long story short, my father is having gambling addiction/problem gambling/compulsive gambling.

Finally after so many years (20++ yrs), my father is willing to admit that he is indeed facing a problem / an illness, and is ready to make a change and reborn again.

However, problem arises as I go and find for NGOs that is providing help/support for gambling rehab. After much of googling, seems that there is only 1 NGO in Malaysia that is doing this kind of work —— the Gambling Rehab Centre, which is, a Christian-based NGO.

Now, I am not judging. I know some Christian-based NGO does not care whether you believe in Christianity when you accept their help——for example, homeless shelter and food canteen which even helps Muslims.

However, I have personally spoken to the person-in-charge and, he told me that the treatment would be heavily based on the faith on Christian religion. In other words, according to their method, its impossible to get rid of the gambling addiction without believing in Christianity.

Me myself personally and also my father, is not fond of Christianity. We just simply don't like the religion. No offense to all Christian out there, its about our personal choice.

Don't get me wrong, me and my father have several very, very nice Christian friends and we do not even mind attending church activities occasionally when our Christian friends has invited us. Just based on the principle that, you believe yours and I respect your religion, but do not try to influence me, as I have my own tradition to hold.

So, with this kind of principle, my father, upon listening to the explanation of the method used by the particular Christian NGO, refuses to go there. He is willing to accept any method of help but if it is religious method, only Buddhist is acceptable.

Sadly, I can't find any NGOs that is of non-religious background or Buddhist background. Is there any? Can anyone provides any contacts?

I have also thought of going for a psychiatrist or a counsellor or a psychologist, but seems the one in private is expensive......how about the psychiatry department in government hospitals or university hospitals (PPUM, PPUKM)? Do they provide such services? I know the main treatment for a gambling addict is to conduct a treatment known as "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy", which should be under the area of psychiatry.

Please, dear all, I really need help for my father......he is willing to change, but he needs help.

You can try Tzu Chi. They may be able to help your dad.

There are 2 things that comes to mind:

1) Last time I went to Hospital Sg Buloh, the counseling dept offer help for addiction problems. Which addiction is not specified, guess they deal with it generally. Staff is mostly malay speakers, so language barrier might be a problem.

2) Many years ago, I visited Genting once. I remember outside the casino there was a notice discouraging people with low "score" from entering and gamble, and urge them to contact some organization to seek help. Can't remember the details.

As I mentioned, you don't need to enter the religion if you don't want to. Nobody can force you. Just go....better than sitting around looking for help when help is just around the corner.

Remember: You are there to heal.....religion wise, nobody can force you if you say no. I'm not Christian....

This post has been edited by whyseej00: Oct 22 2018, 11:28 PM

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Hi ggwpmc,

Sorry to hear about what you're going through. Addiction can be treated in the right hands.

Evidence-based practice in treatment of addictions are through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Motivational Interviewing (MI).

Unfortunately, I do agree that getting the right treatment in a private setting can be costly. With behavioral addiction such as gambling, it may require regular sessions for an extended period of time for the benefits to show. As such, the cost incurred has to be taken into consideration into monthly expenses.

I have written a blog post on various methods and levels of care that can be provided, either through government or private options:
https://people.my/the-ultimate-guide-to-rec...es-in-malaysia/

Do have a read to be informed of your choices.

In your case, there is no medication that is required, but instead psychotherapy through CBT or MI. As such, the option that you'd undertake would only be for psychotherapy.

My advice:

1) Go for a clinical psychologist or an addictions counselor. They should be more equipped to handle your case.

2) Try UMMC. Do take note that it might be a lengthy process to go through. In fact, it may take months before you are being contacted to attend therapy sessions. Some patients had repeatedly gone to UMMC, take a number, and to see the doctor in order for their name to be keyed into the system again. This gives them a better chance to get an appointment for psychotherapy.

3) Try seeing a clinical psychologist trainee. If you are going to a private setting, seeing a trainee will be as low as RM50 - RM60/ session, as opposed to RM200 and above for a qualified practitioner. If the client is going weekly each month, your monthly bill will be about RM200. In my opinion, this is a worthwhile investment as opposed continued behavior of gambling. A clinical psychologist trainee who is already in private practice would be at the tail end of their training before being fully qualified, and is supervised closely by an experienced practitioner.

If you'd like to be sure that the trainee has the right supervision, you may try contacting my center. I am experienced in managing cases of addiction. My trainee will be able to take on the case. Trainee fees are RM60/ session.

Hope this information helps!