SINGAPORE — With the pool of new problem gamblers showing few signs of shrinking, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has appointed more service providers to provide free counselling for punters with addiction issues.

Psychealth Practice (under Healthway Medical Corporation) and Resilienz Clinic have been on board since June. Along with the NCPG’s long-standing designated centre, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, they receive the council’s funding to offer clients up to 16 free counselling sessions each per year.

The addition of service providers extends the NCPG’s network of services available to problem gamblers and their families, said the council’s spokesperson.

Counselling sessions are free for problem gamblers who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents “as they already have financial issues”, said the spokesperson.

The three providers’ services include harm assessment of a client’s addiction, counselling for the client and his family, and clinical assessment. They are staffed by certified counsellors. Psychiatrists are also available at Psychealth, Resilienz and the Institute of Mental Health’s National Addictions Management Service (Nams) for clinical assessments and to help pathological gamblers, said NCPG.

With the English Premier League season in full swing and Chinese New Year around the corner, the NCPG expects an increase in gambling activities, said the spokesperson. She urged the public to keep a lookout for friends and loved ones showing signs of problem gambling.

According to the NCPG, 864 people sought help at Thye Hua Kwan and NAMS in 2013, 1,035 in 2014, and 882 last year. About 75 per cent of them were new cases. NCPG did not provide a breakdown of the cases seen by each centre.

Thye Hua Kwan had been providing problem gambling services at the THK Problem Gambling Recovery Centre until the middle of this year, when the services were moved to the charity’s Centre for Family Harmony at Circuit Road.

Apart from NCPG’s designated help providers, a host of other organisations offers support and assistance to problem gamblers. They include One Hope Centre, MindCare (under AMKFSC Community Services), and Blessed Grace Gamblers Recovery Centre.

Comprehensive statistics of problem gambling cases are not available, but at least two organisations said they have seen increases in new cases in recent years. Nams, which treats people with various addictions, saw the number of new gambling cases increase 26 per cent from financial year (FY) 2013 to FY2014. From 418 new cases between April 2013 and March 2014, the figure grew to 526 the following FY, the latest year that figures are available.

A Nams spokesperson stressed, however, that its data does not reflect the national trend as persons with addictions may seek help elsewhere.

Blessed Grace Gamblers Recovery Centre saw 207 new cases last year, up from 89 in 2014, according to data posted on its website. Its founder, Pastor Billy Lee, said new cases continued to grow this year, hitting 421 between January and last month. Besides more people now knowing about the centre, Pastor Lee said easy credit facilities and the availability of gambling outlets are other factors for the increase.

He welcomed the NCPG’s funding of counselling for problem gamblers at the designated providers, but added that support groups are also important for recovering addicts.

The free counselling sessions funded by NCPG have enabled Resilienz to “help most of (the clients) realise their problems and get them on the recovery path”, said its psychiatrist Thomas Lee, who conducted some of the sessions.

Said Dr Lee of the clients: “They just need someone to be with them because people struggling with addiction are most of the time struggling alone. And they turn to a professional for help because we’re able to understand what they’re going through.”

Resilienz’s NCPG-funded counselling is the same as what it offers to paying clients, said Dr Lee. In general, the sessions could take place every fortnight or every month in the beginning, before tapering to once every two to three months as clients gain better control of their condition, he said.

The sessions include tips to help the gamblers identify their triggers — such as friends or work stress — and how to deal with them. After the clients improve, Dr Lee could give them an open appointment.

“Because of the connection, many of them stay on the path to recovery. They feel they have someone looking after them, and remain stable with the knowledge they have gained from counselling,” he said.

Those who need help may call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1800 6668 668, or access its anonymous webchat service at www.ncpg.org.sg.