9 minute read
Help For Addicted Gamblers Tejus Patel Co-Founder RecoverMe chats to Peter White
HELP FOR ADDICTED GAMBLERS
Tejus Patel Co-Founder RecoverMe chats to Peter White
ully twenty percent of
Fdisordered gamblers contemplate suicide as the ultimate escape from their problems. That’s a sobering statistic. Many of these individuals have already lost their jobs, their personal fortunes, even their families.
The situation seems hopeless. But help is on the way. A trio of British doctors has formed RecoverMe, to help problem gamblers beat the grim odds. RecoverMe uses Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a course of treatment that focuses on changing unhelpful behavioral patterns and thoughts. Developing confidence and problem-solving skills are among its goals. RecoverMe co-founder Dr. Tejus Patel explains more about CBT and his new service.
Can you introduce yourself and your fellow founders? My name is Tejus Patel and I am a junior doctor working in the NHS. I started this project with my fellow two co-founders Minal Jain and Adil
Nayeem who are also doctors. We met at the University of Sheffield as medical students 7 years ago. I am currently doing an A&E job in London, Minal has recently spent the majority of the year working in Mental Health and Adil is working in General Practice in Birmingham.
What was the inspiration behind RecoverMe? In 2017 Minal and I studied at Imperial College London and published medical research on an app that was successful in creating positive behaviour change for those hoping to quit smoking. On the back of that, we met a gentleman in Sheffield who was being treated for depressive and anxiety symptoms by his GP. He had recently split up from his long-term partner, struggling to hold down a job and was contemplating taking his own life. We were fortunate to spend time with him and understand his current situation. He disclosed to us that the reason for him feeling low was due to a gambling addiction. He started betting at the age of 21 when he was at University, occasionally betting on football matches, however this soon led to him placing larger and more frequent bets. When we met him, he was in his mid 20s having lost tens of thousands of pounds over a short period of time.
In addition to this we were becoming aware fellow students at our university who were struggling financially having bet away large sums of money with the extra free time and access to money through student loans.
As keen medical students at the time we brainstormed and looked at all the available treatment options as well as what the potential for gold standard treatment would be. Through our literature review we found that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) was the most effective treatment for problematic gambling habits and to our dismay at that time over 3 years ago there was only one NHS clinic in the whole of the UK that delivered CBT to manage a gambling addiction. As a result of this and familiarity in the field of mobile apps to create behaviour change, we were inspired to start our journey at RecoverMe.
How quick will the RecoverMe App be to install and operate? The official launch date of RecoverMe is the 13th of October. It will be available on both the Apple and Google Play stores. Currently we are at the final stages of development and testing to ensure we are ready for launch. RecoverMe will be available directly to consumers but we expect the majority of users would be referred from organisations like gambling operators, universities, sporting bodies as well as other treatment providers. We are building relationships with leaders in this space to provide most of our users with a free subscription. In terms of pricing we offer great value, the introductory monthly subscription of using RecoverMe is £5.99 and we have discounted the annual subscription greatly for our B2B clientele.
How does it work? RecoverMe is a self-help mobile application to support individuals in managing problematic gambling habits. It has been built in collaboration with current problem gamblers, ex-gamblers, psychiatrists and psychologists.
RecoverMe is the world’s first app that delivers a structured Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) programme specially for gambling addiction. It does this through engaging audio recordings as well as thought provoking questions. It works by
addressing an individuals’ unique thoughts and feelings about gambling. The app provides them with the means to self-reflect and subsequently empowers them by giving them the tools to take back control. The Diary allows users to monitor their gambling habits as well as track their progress.
Another of the innovative features of the app is the SOS tab. This has been uniquely designed to provide immediate support such as tackling acute urges to gamble. We have developed mindfulness exercises that align with our CBT programme to help users focus on the present and not become overwhelmed by the past or present. The art of Mindfulness has proved beneficial alone in addiction, but research suggests that it is even more powerful when combined with CBT. Problematic gambling habits not only affect an individuals’ finances but also can affect their mental health, relationships and housing and the support section of RecoverMe signposts users to useful organisations and charities. Gambling can be very isolating and for that we direct people towards a moderated peer-peer discussion board where users can connect with one another anonymously to provide extra motivation and assistance.
Have you tested RecoverMe with individuals and what was the feedback? We have worked extensively with experts in the field and in particular with those who have currently or in the past have struggled with problematic gambling habits. In the summer of 2019, we tested version one of the app. Incidentally it was called Bet On Me and we received excellent feedback and it was all incredibly positive. Everyone who used the app
said they would recommend it to a friend who required support. Having said this, we were also given a number of ways we could make our app better so we worked tirelessly to create an ever better version. One of those was to change the name from Bet On Me to RecoverMe due to the potential trigger to gamble for some of our users. We have also worked with the EbE (expert by experiences) group at the Gambling Commission recently who have provided further valuable insights. At RecoverMe, we have always wanted to create a solution that is user centric ensuring that our app caters to their needs. One of our next steps once we have released RecoverMe is to perform research studies looking at how effective it is.
Do you think there is a role for AI technology with the future development of the App? Yes, most certainly! This is one of the areas we will be starting to work on very soon. We know that certain personality traits respond to different elements of our therapy in more productive ways than others. We are looking to further iterate the app in a way that delivers personalised therapy that is delivered as a result of multiple variables including personality trait, what individuals gamble on and the severity of their problems. This should provide each user with a unique and truly personal experience when using RecoverMe.
The machine learning aspect we are working on predicts when our users are most likely to gamble. We hope to better understand our users through the app so we are able to support them before the gambling thought or action takes place, which can help prevent the lapse.
From where do you draw your inspiration? During the three years we have been developing RecoverMe we have been fortunate enough to speak to hundreds of inspirational individuals who have been devastated by this hidden addiction. Many have shown an incredible amount of strength, courage and determination that inspires us to continue doing what we do. Each individual has their own unique story of hardship, but we see RecoverMe as a beacon of hope and ultimately recovery. The mission of RecoverMe is to reduce gambling related harm and create positive behaviour change. It is saddening to think that 1 in 5 people who suffer from gambling addiction consider suicide – the highest rate amongst any addiction. We hope that RecoverMe provides an opportunity to challenge this statistic by offering an opportunity to access treatment discreetly
How can organisations who are interested in working with you assist?
An abundant amount of research has gone in over the years in identifying individuals who may have problematic play, unfortunately only a fraction of these have been able to access the support services they need to target the root causes of their problems making relapse and harm more likely. Working with operators to provide RecoverMe to their users who have been identified as having at risk play will be a step in the right direction. Currently less than 10% of individuals who suffer from problematic play seek help and this is something we aim to change. Gambling operators will be able to bulk purchase licenses for their users so they can access these services free of charge with the aim being free for the end user.
What are some of the pivotal moments during the development of RecoverMe that have been crucial in the growth and development of the Course? Downloading our first prototype of the app was an incredible moment for us because we were able to see our vision take form. The feedback we then received really encouraged us - we started off our journey at medical school in the hope of becoming doctors but being able to use that platform to then create solutions for behavioural addictions such as a gambling addiction through the implementation of technology has been our mission ever since! We hope that we can continue to do so! Throughout our journey we have had a number of opportunities such as winning Santander Universities 2019 People’s Choice Award, finishing 2nd at Kickstart - a competition for young entrepreneurs and reaching the Finals at the Founders Forum. We have also been invited to sit on the Panel for the SBC Summit 2020. Moreover, the incredible individuals we have met throughout this journey has really shaped RecoverMe and we are really thankful for the support!
What are the plans and objectives for RecoverMe over the next 18 months? One of the powers of developing an app is the ability to reach a large number of people quickly. We hope to provide a life changing tool to every individual who is suffering from problematic gamlbing habits! It is a big ask but we feel that this tool is accessible by a simple download. Each individual has an opportunity to better manage their gambling addiction.
In the new year we plan to launch in other English-speaking countries. Following that the plan is to translate the app into different languages to reach those in non-English speaking countries where we have already had a lot of interest!
Alongside this is the continued further development of the app to make it as beneficial as we can in people seeking recovery.
What is your vision for the future of RecoverMe? We want to redefine the treatment of gambling addiction within the UK and across the world by embracing technology when considering effective solutions for the treatment of gambling addiction.
For those whom would like to know more can you provide them your website details and contact information. If anyone would like more information please visit our website at www. recovermeapp.co.uk, but also if you do have any queries or would like to know how you can work with us please do email us at contact@recovermeapp.co.uk
