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Clinical Consensus Statements on Intervention Content for Gambling Treatment : A Contextualised Delphi Study with Clinical Researchers

Keshani, Imran M. ; Merkouris, Stephanie S. ; Rodda, Simone N. ; Abbott, Max ; Aubin, Henri Jean ; Bellringer, Maria E. ; Berman, Anne H. ; Billieux, Joel ; Bowden-Jones, Henrietta and Browning, Colette J. , et al. (2026) In International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Abstract

There is little consensus on the optimal components of gambling psychological treatments. This study aimed to identify clinical consensus statements regarding the perceived effectiveness of gambling intervention content (change techniques, participant/recruitment characteristics, delivery characteristics, and evaluation characteristics) from a panel of researchers with psychological gambling treatment expertise across 11 countries. A two-round modified Delphi study was conducted. Thirty-five panellists rated the perceived effectiveness of 96 gambling intervention components for achieving clinically helpful change, which was defined as “reduction in gambling severity, expenditure, and frequency”. Consensus criteria on effectiveness and... (More)

There is little consensus on the optimal components of gambling psychological treatments. This study aimed to identify clinical consensus statements regarding the perceived effectiveness of gambling intervention content (change techniques, participant/recruitment characteristics, delivery characteristics, and evaluation characteristics) from a panel of researchers with psychological gambling treatment expertise across 11 countries. A two-round modified Delphi study was conducted. Thirty-five panellists rated the perceived effectiveness of 96 gambling intervention components for achieving clinically helpful change, which was defined as “reduction in gambling severity, expenditure, and frequency”. Consensus criteria on effectiveness and ineffectiveness were defined a priori. Consensus statements were identified for four of 19 change techniques (motivational enhancement, relapse prevention, cognitive restructuring, and plan social support), five of 23 participant/recruitment characteristics (e.g. eligibility screening took place), 17 of 47 delivery characteristics (e.g. the therapy goal was to reduce time and/or money spent gambling), and three of seven evaluation characteristics (e.g. specific process or mediators are targeted by the intervention). These statements, when interpreted with consideration of contextual factors, can inform the selection of likely effective components to employ in gambling treatment programs and indicate where future research efforts may be most beneficial.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
BCT, Clinical consensus, Clinical researcher, Delphi, Gambling disorder, Treatment
in
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:105028997208
ISSN
1557-1874
DOI
10.1007/s11469-025-01565-4
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
28627838-7eda-4321-a38b-03d3be2662ea
date added to LUP
2026-02-23 15:21:47
date last changed
2026-02-24 11:18:58
@article{28627838-7eda-4321-a38b-03d3be2662ea,
  abstract     = {{<p>There is little consensus on the optimal components of gambling psychological treatments. This study aimed to identify clinical consensus statements regarding the perceived effectiveness of gambling intervention content (change techniques, participant/recruitment characteristics, delivery characteristics, and evaluation characteristics) from a panel of researchers with psychological gambling treatment expertise across 11 countries. A two-round modified Delphi study was conducted. Thirty-five panellists rated the perceived effectiveness of 96 gambling intervention components for achieving clinically helpful change, which was defined as “reduction in gambling severity, expenditure, and frequency”. Consensus criteria on effectiveness and ineffectiveness were defined a priori. Consensus statements were identified for four of 19 change techniques (motivational enhancement, relapse prevention, cognitive restructuring, and plan social support), five of 23 participant/recruitment characteristics (e.g. eligibility screening took place), 17 of 47 delivery characteristics (e.g. the therapy goal was to reduce time and/or money spent gambling), and three of seven evaluation characteristics (e.g. specific process or mediators are targeted by the intervention). These statements, when interpreted with consideration of contextual factors, can inform the selection of likely effective components to employ in gambling treatment programs and indicate where future research efforts may be most beneficial.</p>}},
  author       = {{Keshani, Imran M. and Merkouris, Stephanie S. and Rodda, Simone N. and Abbott, Max and Aubin, Henri Jean and Bellringer, Maria E. and Berman, Anne H. and Billieux, Joel and Bowden-Jones, Henrietta and Browning, Colette J. and Carlbring, Per and Castrén, Sari and Chamberlain, Samuel R. and Christensen, Darren R. and Demetrovics, Zsolt and Derevensky, Jeffrey and Fernandez-Aranda, Fernando and Gainsbury, Sally and Ginley, Meredith K. and Griffiths, Mark D. and Håkansson, Anders and Hodgins, David C. and Jackson, Alun and Jimenez-Murcia, Susana and King, Daniel L. and Landon, Jason and Luquiens, Amandine and Molander, Olof and Nilsson, Anders and Odlaug, Brian L. and Potenza, Marc N. and Thomas, Shane A. and Whelan, James and Dowling, Nicki A.}},
  issn         = {{1557-1874}},
  keywords     = {{BCT; Clinical consensus; Clinical researcher; Delphi; Gambling disorder; Treatment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction}},
  title        = {{Clinical Consensus Statements on Intervention Content for Gambling Treatment : A Contextualised Delphi Study with Clinical Researchers}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11469-025-01565-4}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s11469-025-01565-4}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}