Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
Lawrence Tan Kok Kah
Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychol Psychother
The aim of the above workshop is to help create a better understanding of Single Session Therapy (SST), a type of brief intervention that has been used widely to work with a range of different psychological disorders. In the realm of addictions (especially for people struggling with a gambling disorder) where the default rate of help-seekers is known to be high, SST has a special role in assessing motivation, planting seeds of change and getting help-seekers to think about utilizing resources available for them. It is also about seizing the moment where therapists work with the understanding that the very first contact with the help-seeker could very well be the one and only contact they would have. In this workshop, we would attempt to give participants a brief overview by looking at the efficacy of brief interventions for gambling disorder and going through the key components of SST (which includes brief advice and assessment, paradoxical interventions, motivational enhancement therapy, solution focused brief therapy, cognitive behavioral approaches, narrative therapy and the use of metaphors and analogies). We would also attempt to give participants a sense of what goes on in a typical SST session (which includes the types of questions to ask to gather important information, ways to make these questions therapeutic in the process of gathering information, linking the information gathered to interventions and suggestions and making a closure). These mentioned subcomponents of the workshop will be further enhanced by the use of video clips and real life clinical examples encountered in the process of administering SST. Recent Publications References 1. Ong S H and Tan Y R (2016) Navigating the cyberworld with your child: a guide for parents, teachers and counsellors. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions. 2. Wong K E (2010) Don't gamble your life away! Help for pathological gamblers. Singapore: Straits Times Press Reference. 3. Petry N M, Weinstock J, Morasco B J and Ledgerwood D M (2009) Brief motivational interventions for college student problem gamblers. Addiction; 104(9): 1569-1578. 4. Talmon M (1990) Single-session therapy: maximizing the effect of the first (and often only) therapeutic encounter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 5. Online T S (2012) Online guide features DIY checklist to help spot gambling habit - Regional.
Lawrence Tan Kok Kah has worked with the department for the past 11 years. In 2009 he was awarded a Health Manpower Development Program scholarship for a two-month attachment at the Problem Gambling Services, State of Connecticut, Department of Mental Health, USA, where he further enhanced his clinical expertise in gambling disorders. He was also awarded the NHG Teaching Award for Non-Physicians in 2012 and has been in the consulting team with NAMS when the Tokyo Metropolitan government visited Singapore for a discussion on best practices in gambling treatment and social safeguards.