Phase 2: Coping with Yesterday
Counselling
All our residents have some very traumatic personal issues they need to address in order to come to terms with their motivation to gamble uncontrollably. Some of these issues are best addressed in the open forum of group discussion with other residents whilst others are best addressed in the relative safety and confidentiality of one-to-one sessions with their support worker. However in order to access the full strength of the staff team, and avoid manipulation, support workers must share information with other staff members. Therefore those issues, which are felt to be of a too sensitive or personal nature to be appropriately addressed through group work or with a support worker, are taken outside the staff team to a specialist counsellor who visits the project once a week.
Specialist Counsellors
We have developed a small team of qualified, experienced, and specialist sessional counsellors who work to a 12-session cognitive behavioural model. Through the review process, the 'Life Audit', individual treatment plans and knowledge gained of the resident during their stay so far, an assessment is made that allows the senior therapist to match the most appropriate of these counsellors to the needs and aims of an individual client.
This counsellor will then undertake 12 sessions of counselling which, if the need arises and the client wishes, will be kept confidential. As the sessional counsellor is not a member of the projects staff team and receives their supervision outside of Gordon House they are able to maintain this confidentiality without breaching good practice guidelines. However they will, together with the client, agree an 'end of counselling' report that is taken to a review held at the end of those 12 counselling sessions in which any uncompleted work is identified.
Support Workers
The support worker, during this phase, supports both the resident and their counsellor, managing the practical issues arising from that resident's stay in the house and those that arise from their counselling. For instance if through counselling a resident feels ready to visit their mother's grave, or to make contact with their children, then the support worker will work with the resident and their counsellor, as appropriate, to achieve these goals.
It is important that during the period a resident is receiving counselling from a sessional counsellor, this counselling is not duplicated, contradicted or compromised by the support worker. The support worker therefore, in their one-to-one sessions with the client, respects the relationship between the sessional counsellor and client by concentrating, as a rule, on strategies, practical issues and only those other issues as agreed with, or requested by, the sessional counsellor. The support worker also acts as a link between the Association and the counsellor ensuring the counselling remains focused and within Gordon House Association's guidelines (whilst still respecting and maintaining the confidential nature of the counselling relationship).
Reviews
The resident, whilst on Phase 2, continues to attend the relevant 'House', 'Evaluation' and 'Support' meetings that are part of the 'Core' experience and is expected to play a full part in the life and running of the house. The resident's support worker continues, as in Phase 1, to ensure that the '6 Week Reviews' and appointments for individuals in their support group are booked and held; that Gordon House Association continues to meet other needs of the resident, as far as is reasonable and feasible; and that the resident continues to fulfil their obligations to themselves and other residents.
At the end of the 12 sessions of individual counselling a review is held and any personal issues that have been raised, but not met, through this counselling are identified and, if appropriate, a means of addressing such issues sought. If this is not possible from within other elements of the Gordon House 'Therapy Programme' outside agencies may be involved and/or the resident may move out of the project for a period of time or deal with these issues after completion of the programme.
